Hi folks,

Today we’ll be discussing:

Revolution in the Revolution - Régis Debray

Today’s discussion is:

  • 1/11 - Discussion 1 - Preface and Chapter 1 “To Free the Present from the Past”. pp 1-91 in my edition.

I’m reading the Grove press edition translated by Bobbye Ortiz. These seem to be some digital copies, but please share if you find a better one!

https://archive.org/details/revolutioninrevo0000regi_p5g2/page/n5/mode/2up

http://libgen.is/book/index.php?md5=CA5F03D21F0EED6587F9663A5FDA5D8D

Discussion Prompts

These are some ideas to address while considering this work. None of them are essential, and any of your own thoughts are very much welcome! I’ll be adding my own thoughts later today.

  • What is Debray saying and how is he saying it?

  • Is he persuasive?

  • What has he missed?

  • What would you say the theme of this work is?

  • Did anything surprise you?

  • Is this work applicable outside of the conditions of Latin America in the '60s? What parts are universally applicable?

  • Is this really a “nonessential” or would it be good for any communist to read it?

  • Does the book seem cool? Would you go camping in the mountains with it and share a wistful glance over the flickering embers of a dimming campfire?

Next Discussion

Next week will be:

  • 1/18 - Discussion 2 - “The Principle Lesson for the Present”, “Some Consequences for the Future”, summary discussion on the whole book.

Next Title

If you would like to suggest the next title, please put in a separate comment with the words “submission suggestion”. I think the highest voted title should win.

Books should be:

  • not suggested for beginners.
  • not overly technical or philosophical (I’m just not smart enough to lead those discussions).
  • relatively short (so as not to lose too much momentum).
  • regionally or subject specific (like Che’s Guerilla Warfare is topically specific, or Decolonization is Not a Metaphor is regionally specific?).
  • readily available.

Thanks for your time! :)

  • @redtea
    5•1 year ago

    It seems that the two copies in the links you provided are the same as my copy. Something worth noting from the Foreword and Introduction to the Spanish Edition…

    The original was in French, and apparently his style in his native language is quite, let’s say, poetic. Apparently, the US (who also, apparently, through the CIA, interrogated Debray in his Bolivian prison, where he was allegedly tortured) took advantage of his sometimes ‘allusive and elliptical’ style. The US government Joint Publications Research Service published its own translation of the book:

    which is not only completely unreliable but often grotesque in its errors and misunderstandings.

    The Grove Press edition (my copy) is translated by Bobbye Ortiz, who worked with the original French and the Spanish translation (which had both been prepared by Debray). Debray did not get to see Ortiz’s translation before it was first published because he was imprisoned. It’s interesting to see the kinds of tactics that will be deployed to prevent radical messages being shared.

    Debray had also ‘studied with’ Althusser, which is interesting. Whether they were students at the same time or Debray was Althusser’s students is not clear from the text.