fiction

fiction

Charles Malato, “New Caledonian Tales” (1897)

February 1, 2014 Shawn P. Wilbur
  New Caledonian Tales TALAMO [CHARLES MALATO] —— CHAPTER I A MYSTERIOUS CAPTAIN Old Martinot was a fine old man, and when he walked the streets of Saint-Ouen, straight as an “I” and smiling in his white beard, the housewives greeted him with deference and the gamins ran after him, shouting: “Hi, Captain Martinot! How are you, captain?” From whence came this nickname of “captain,” by which they had all come to call him? The good man had none of the slightly rigid appearance of old soldiers: he never wore a top hat, nor a straight collar clasped by a […]
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Jean Grave, The Adventures of Nono — Chapter XI

December 15, 2012 Shawn P. Wilbur
THE ADVENTURES OF NONO by JEAN GRAVE  [continued from Chapter X] –> XI THE AFTERMATH OF A FIRST MISTAKE On returning to Autonomie, took little part in the conversation. He pondered what he had just seen. A gamin of Paris, a child of workers for whom the greatest journey they could permit themselves was a walk in the woods of Clamart or Meudon, — it was an event when they could go as far as those of Verrières — he knew the sea only from the enthusiastic descriptions that he had found in books. Indeed, of mountains he only know […]
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Louise Michel, “The Claque-Dents” (IV-VI)

November 13, 2012 Shawn P. Wilbur
THE CLAQUE-DENTS [continued] IV There are two little-known islands on the coast of Morbihan. From a distance, Hœdik has the appearance of a seahorse; some bits of land, one having the appearance of bagpipes, the others stamped in the shape of the tail, surround it. Houat is a double star; reefs, where the waves and wind roar, border Hœdik and Houat. On these islands, and on their constellations of islets, live a population of fisher-folk who only know the sea. On the horizon, eating into the coasts of Quiberon and Penmarch, is the sea; between the two harbors, a first […]
Bakunin Library

From Louise Michel’s “The Imperial Bastard”

November 8, 2012 Shawn P. Wilbur
I’ve been reading bits and pieces of Louise Michel’s novels, as part of a larger project to get a general sense of what’s out there, and naturally with some eye to what might be worth translating in the future. One of the titles I’ve been looking at today is a massive work, Le Bâtard Impérial, co-written with Jean Winter and published in 1883. One of the major plot-lines of the novel involves Yvan, who has been an executioner in Russian prisoners, and who, through a plot twist that seems to involve mistaken identities and one of Michel’s favorite plot devices, […]
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Jean Grave, The Adventures of Nono — Chapter X

October 29, 2012 Shawn P. Wilbur
  THE ADVENTURES OF NONO by JEAN GRAVE  [continued from Chapter IX] X THE ENCOUNTER The group was returning very slowly, without hurrying, when Nono saw a splendid death’s-head hawkmoth. He immediately decided to catch it. But when he tried to seize it, the insect, with an unexpected flap of its wings, escaped from the net and came fluttering, as if to taunt him, very close to the hunter who, carried away by the heat of the chase, soon found himself led far from his friends. Finally, stopping near a large oak, the moth seemed within range, and Nono thought […]
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Jean Grave, The Adventures of Nono — Chapter IX

October 28, 2012 Shawn P. Wilbur
THE ADVENTURES OF NONO by JEAN GRAVE  [continued from Chapter VIII] IX THE PROMENADE Nono had been in Autonomie for some time, and that time seemed to have passed like a dream. The time passed quietly; each day brought diverse labors and pleasures, which prevented the children from being bored for a single minute. Nono now knew all his comrades by name, knew who their parents were, what they did, and what country they came from. Most of the time, school-hours were spent in the gardens, on the lawns; but, for variety, they had long since planned a long walk […]
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Louise Michel as a Fiction Writer / The Claque-Dents

October 27, 2012 Shawn P. Wilbur
One of the results of my continuing research on anarchism is that I occasionally find whole new genres of anarchist writing opening up in front of me. And recently, between my work on radical feminist writing and my work on the intersection of science fiction and fantasy and radicalism, I’ve been spending a lot of time reading, researching and translating fiction. A work like Jean Grave’s The Adventures of Nono is relatively unique as a children’s story, but the number of adult novels—including some that are very adult—written by anarchists is very large. One of the prolific novel-writers was Louise […]
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Jean Grave, The Adventures of Nono — Chapter VIII

October 24, 2012 Shawn P. Wilbur
THE ADVENTURES OF NONO by JEAN GRAVE  [continued from Chapter VII] VIII THE SCHOOL Rising from the table, the children scattered on the lawn, where they organized all sorts of games. Nono, coming back down from his room, came to mingle with them. But a group of young ladies, from five to seven years old, wanted him to commence his lesson on the art of weaving flowers, and he acceded to their desire. It is in the midst of this group that, an hour later, Hans, Mab and company came to look for him. “We’re going to school,” they said […]
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Jean Grave, The Adventures of Nono — Chapter VII

October 21, 2012 Shawn P. Wilbur
THE ADVENTURES OF NONO by JEAN GRAVE  [continued from Chapter VI] VII LABOR IN AUTONOMIE It was broad daylight, the next day, whenNono was awakened by a band of his comrades who had invaded his bedroom. “Boo! lazybones,” said Mab, mocking him. “the idler who still sleeps and the sun that dazzles him. Yoo-hoo! “Come on! Get up,” said Hans, “we came to get you to go gardening.” “No,” said Mab, he promised last night to come with me and see the cows milked. I’ll take him”. Nono rose briskly, put on his trousers, dressing in the blink of an […]
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Jean Grave, The Adventures of Nono — Chapter VI

October 15, 2012 Shawn P. Wilbur
 THE ADVENTURES OF NONO by JEAN GRAVE [continued from Chapter V]   VI THE END OF THE EVENING The children rushed to the sheds where the tools and props were kept, and there, helped by Labor, and some of his little genies, they pulled poles and canvas from it, and carried them onto the esplanade. There they raised an immense, square tent, facing the front steps, which would serve as bleachers for the spectators. Nono was amazed to see Labor’s elves rush about; with their help, the heaviest poles were raised by half a dozen of infants without more effort […]