Guy Debord's Letters, 1957-1972



I believe that all of the people who prefer personal letters to the [situationists'] journal lack the ability to elevate themselves to the generality of the same problems. Thus, they don't see that it is the same position, the same thing, but more utilizable by more people. Of course, if it is a question of saying, "we are all better than that" (than all writing), this is obvious. It is one of our basic themes. But an epistolary correspondence, even with a friend, even if one is understood, seems to me further away from the importance of living than the most profoundly calculated texts. It is even less satisying. (Guy Debord, letter of 2 September 1964 to Ivan Chtcheglov)



Despite Guy Debord's reservations about epistolary correspondences, he engaged in a great many of them -- so many, in fact, that it's going to take six full-sized volumes for Editions Fayard to publish them all. To date, four of them have come out: Volume 1, 1957-1960 (published in 1999); Volume 2, 1961-1964 (2001); Volume 3, 1965-1968 (2003); and Volume 4, 1969-1972 (2005). It isn't known what will be contained in Volume 5 (1973-1976? 1973-1994?). But it is known that Volume 6 will include the pre-1957 period, plus letters that have been received between 1999 and the conclusion of this immense work.

In her introduction to Volume 1, Alice Becker-Ho (a.k.a. Alice Debord) writes:


This global correspondence, which is rich in lessons on the personality and active role that he had during these forty years, thus take their place in the complete works of Guy Debord. It will perhaps orient differently the always growing number of biographers who are pressed to draw premature conclusions from all sorts of legends that have surrounded someone who was especially pleased to have a well-known bad reputation.


In the European Renaissance the "private" letter, usually addressed to a close friend, but also intended for a wider audience and, one hoped, for posterity as well, was one of the most popular literary forms. Unlike more confining forms (such as the novella or the epic poem), the "private" letter allowed the writer to express personal feelings as well as objective insights. As a result, such letters were rich sources of valuable information about the lives and times of these writers. They also contained some of the era's best prose.

And so the publication of these letters -- and the translation of these letters into English -- will not simply help "orient" biographers of Debord. These events will help readers of all kinds reach a better understanding of this modern "Renaissance man," who was a filmmaker; an editor, graphics-artist and publisher; an author of works of critical theory, art criticism, and lots of letters; a translator (fluent in French, Italian and Castellan); and an organizer (the Lettrist International in 1952 and the Situationist International in 1957).

In preparing Guy Debord's Letters, 1957-1972, we have not translated every single letter that appears in the first four volumes of Correspondance. Instead, we have translated what we feel to be the most interesting, relevant and useful ones: 312 in all. In keeping with the original format, our translations are arranged in chronological order. We have preserved all of the "original" footnotes and, where called for, have added some of our own. So that the reader has more than just a date by which to remember a particular letter, we have provided each one with a very brief summary. From these summaries, we hope, the reader will trace the development of Debord's thinking about and involvement in a variety of contemporary historical events: the Hungarian revolution, the May 1958 seizure of power in France; the Algerian War; workers' strikes in Belgium, France, Italy and Germany; student riots in Japan and France; the decline of the Stalinist left in both West and East Europe; the advent of spectacular terrorism in Italy; et al.

We hope the reader will also use Guy Debord's Letters, 1957-1972 as a guide to Guy Debord's relationships with (certain) people, most of them very talented and interesting in their own rights. At least nine of them, presented here in chronological order: Guiseppe Pinot-Gallizio (November 1957 to July 1960), Andre Frankin (Aug 58-Sept 61), Constant (Aug 58-Aug 60), Maurice Wyckaert (June 58-April 61), Henri Lefebvre (May 60-February 63), Raoul Vaneigem (Jan 61-Dec 70), Mustapha Khayati (Dec 64-Jan 71), and Gianfranco Sanguinetti (Jan 69-Feb 81). In each case, the same series of stages: initial enthusiasm, intense collaboration, violent disagreement, separation. Beginning and ending again, over and over, for fifteen years.

-- NOT BORED! 30 October 2005