Lyrical Individualism

Reviews / Votes

A beautifully edited anthology that recenters a major yet unheeded prolific and versatile anarchist thinker and activist. An entire era, milieu, and strand of radical philosophy are resurrected through Colomer's fascinating life story, fearless stances on "insurrectionary aesthetics," and lyrical individualism. -- Constance Bantman, author of <i>Jean Grave and the Networks of French Anarchism, 1854-1939</i> Some historical figures remain neglected for good reason: Andre Colomer is not one of them. Lyrical Individualism restores him to prominence, brilliantly chronicling twenty years of his sparkling, soul-searching writings. Oskar De Wolf reveals Colomer's intelligence, honesty and unwavering commitment to 'perfecting and embellishing of the life of all mankind.' -- Ruth Kinna, author of <i>The Government of No One: The Theory and Practice of Anarchism</i> Lyrical Individualism will immerse the reader in the swirling intellectual currents of early twentieth-century France. For Colomer, anarchism was far more than a political ideology; it was a path to personal liberation. Inspired by Bergson and Nietzsche, Colomer reached for the "amorous imaginations of living." Mark Antliff's foreword reminds us that the philosophy of Henri Bergson influenced anarchists along with many others; Oskar De Wolf's introduction explicates two decades of Colomer's thought. These poetic and polemical essays trace Colomer's intellectual trajectory from his prewar aesthetic individualism to a postwar syndicalist phase, before he abandoned anarchism in his final years and embraced communist revolution. -- Richard D. Sonn, author of <i>Sex, Violence, and the Avant-Garde: Anarchism in Interwar France</i>