Correspondence: The Foundation of the Situationist International (June 1957--August 1960) (Semiotext(e) / Foreign Agents) [Paperback]

Guy Debord (Author), Stuart Kendall (Translator), John McHale (Translator), McKenzie Wark (Introduction)

Book Description

Series: Semiotext(e) / Foreign Agents | Publication Date: December 12, 2008

Yesterday, the police interrogated me at length about the journal and other Situationist organizations. It was only a beginning. This is, I think, one of the principal threats that came up quickly during the discussion: the police want to consider the S.I. as an association to bring about the destruction of France.--from CorrespondenceThis volume traces the dynamic first years of the Situationist International movement--a cultural avant-garde that continues to inspire new generations of artists, theorists, and writers more than half a century later. Debord's letters--published here for the first time in English--provide a fascinating insider's view of just how this seemingly disorganized group drifting around a newly consumerized Paris became one of the most defining cultural movements of the twentieth century. Circumstances, personalities, and ambitions all come into play as the group develops its strategy of anarchic, conceptual, but highly political "intervention." Brilliantly conceived, this collection of letters offers the best available introduction to the Situationist International movement by detailing, through original documents, how the group formed and defined its cultural mission: to bring about, "by any means possible, even artistic," a complete transformation of personal life within the Society of the Spectacle.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The pathos of these letters is that Situationism is falling apart even as it is coming together, and that, in the complicated machinations of his scattered group, Debord is able to perform as many acts of friendship as he does of malice. To borrow the title of the film he made in 1959 about his Lettrist friends, the letters trace a 'passage of a few people through a rather brief moment in time,' a tracing again triangulated by three comrades above all Pinot, Jorn and Constant." Hal Foster London Review of Books

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Writer, filmmaker, and cultural revolutionary, Guy Debord (1931-1994) was a founding member of the Lettrist International and Situationist International groups. His films and books, including Society of the Spectacle (1967), were major catalysts for philosophical and political changes in the twentieth century, and helped trigger the May 1968 rebellion in France.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Semiotext(e) (December 12, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1584350555
• ISBN-13: 978-1584350552
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #373,457 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

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3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars pointless, December 2, 2009

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Richard Kaplan "goof ball" (Santa Barbara, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Correspondence: The Foundation of the Situationist International (June 1957--August 1960) (Semiotext(e) / Foreign Agents) (Paperback)

This is a collection of letters from Guy Debord. Unfortunately, they give some but not much insight into Debord's theories or his personal life or the political context. They are largely filled with the mundane administrative tasks of a leftist journal editor -- Long may he ask for articles and issue threats to recalcitrant authors. Even for the historian, these will be mostly unilluminating.