A World in Flames: The Writings of Bruno Filippi has arrived et it is a pretty one!
For the first time, previously untranslated writings by Bruno Filippi appear in English. (Une édition française est également en préparation et suivra en août.)
This book became quite the voyage. What began in 2020 as a smalltranslation project gradually unfolded into something closer to an archival recovery. One text led to another et fragments surfaced in newspapers, memorial collections, private holdings, et forgotten corners of anarchist history. A note here, a fragment there, a curious détour through an old paper, then another. Each discovery seemed to open another, revealing far more surviving material than anyone had initially realized.
Many of these writings endured through friendships, family collections, tiny presses, private correspondence, et the efforts of individuals who carried them forward across generations, often
outside any formal system of preservation. In several cases, the chain remains remarkably direct. The distance between the present and those who knew Bruno is often much shorter than one might imagine. Tout de même, there are moments when the past feels less than an arm’s length away.
As the work continued, that ‘Rebel with Dark Laughter’ emerged from the pages.. that relentless, young anarchiste capable of moving from argument into vision without warning. Political critique becomes dream, prophecy, hallucination, invective, tenderness, poésie… again et encore, he abandons solid ground and disappears into fire.
Bruno Filippi (1900–1919) died at nineteen years old in Milan. During his brief life he became one of the most singular voices within the anarchiste individualiste milieu surrounding Iconoclasta!, Cronaca Libertaria, Il Libertario, and L’Avvenire Anarchico.
A World in Flames gathers fourteen writings never before available in English, including prison letters, letters to his parents and friends, polemical essays, visionary prose, and writings from the final years of his life. The translations collected here were done by Wolfi Landstreicher. They have been newly organized, source-traced, editorially reviewed with minor language changes agreed upon, and accompanied by a new introduction by Fíona Vivienne (yours truly).
Throughout these writings one encounters an uncompromising insurrectionist whose revolt refused confinement within politics. Philosophy, hallucination, tenderness, fury, imagination, et the occasional spark of that dark laughter are all part of his incendiary force.Some are fierce. Others are unexpectedly moving. All carry the strange intensity that first drew us toward them. More than a century later, Bruno still refuses to stay where one expects him. Toujours ailleurs, toujours in motion.
We are very happy to place this book into the world. It feels particulièrement suited to the curious timeline we currently haunt.
Find your copy in the Bacchus Editions bookshop here:
