Lyrical Individualism: Selected Writings on Henri Bergson and Anarchism

In the early twentieth century, André Colomer was perhaps the best-known figure in the anarchist movement. A poet, philosopher, activist, and public speaker, he was enmeshed in the Parisian political and artistic scene at a time of political and cultural revolution. Amid the avant-garde explosions of Cubism, futurism, and surrealism and the ferment of radical politics on left and right, Colomer became anarchism’s leading advocate. He galvanized the Parisian public through his agitational writing and organizing, as well as his involvement in a sensational murder case, while developing a distinctive philosophical account of anarchist individualism. Yet Colomer died in obscurity in Moscow, abandoned by his friends and comrades, and is scarcely known in the English-speaking world today.

Lyrical Individualism presents a selection of Colomer’s crucial writings, with a focus on anarchist theory and the philosophy of Henri Bergson. It reveals the richness of Colomer’s philosophical work, particularly his creative engagement with Bergson, Max Stirner, and Friedrich Nietzsche to forge a novel anarchist ideology. Colomer’s writings not only offer valuable insights into interwar anarchism, they also present a distinctive philosophical vision that in many ways anticipates theories and debates animating radical political movements today. This book also showcases his acerbic and pugnacious political commentary on the turbulent events of the 1910s and 1920s. The first translation and publication of Colomer’s work since his untimely death in 1931, Lyrical Individualism allows a range of readers to discover this vital thinker.

André Colomer (1886-1931) was a central figure in Parisian avant-garde and anarchist circles from the years before World War I through the mid-1920s. He led a tumultuous life defined by controversial publications, heated public debates, and political activism, and he died of cancer after leaving France for the Soviet Union.

Oskar De Wolf is a translator, editor, and poet who studied philosophy at the Humboldt University of Berlin and the University of St. Andrews.

Mark Antliff is Mary Grace Wilson Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Art, Art History, and Visual Studies at Duke University.