BUREAU OF PUBLIC SECRETS


 

 

Notes on BPS Publications

 

Publications included in the book Public Secrets (1997)
Earlier publications not included in Public Secrets
Publications since Public Secrets

 

 

Publications included in the book Public Secrets


Do We Need Snyder for Poet-Priest?
4 May 1970. 100 copies. Leaflet distributed at a Gary Snyder poetry reading in Berkeley. Translated into French by KK et al.

“In this theater . . .”
August 1970. Originally issued as a tiny pamphlet (including the two illustrations from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland that were later featured on the cover of Public Secrets). A few dozen copies were circulated as a sort of announcement of the formation of the “1044” group by KK and Ron Rothbart. Translated into French by KK et al. Translated into Italian by Omar Wisyam (2008). Translated into Spanish by Judit del Río (2012).

Ode on the Absence of Real Poetry Here This Afternoon
Read at an open poetry reading in Berkeley, 27 October 1970. 150 copies. Translated into French by KK et al. Translated into Italian by Omar Wisyam (2008). Translated into Spanish by Judit del Río (2012).

Bureaucratic Comix
January 1971. 500 copies. 18″ × 22″ poster by KK. Signed “For the Power of the Councils” (the name Contradiction was not decided on till a few months later). Reprinted (1000 copies) by Create Situations (New York). Also reprinted in Neon Lights #1 (Manchester, England). Partially reprinted in New Morning (Berkeley, February 1973), Sub 71 #6 (England, 1971), and King Mob #5 (Australia). Translated into French by KK et al.

Critique of the New Left Movement (Contradiction)
April 1972. Excerpts from unpublished drafts by Contradiction (John Adams, Isaac Cronin, Dan Hammer, Ken Knabb, Michael Lucas, and Ron Rothbart), representing about half of the selection that we put together for limited circulation when the project was abandoned. For the complete original selection, see Bureau Prehistory. Translated into French by KK and Didier Mainguy. “Women’s Liberation” section translated into Spanish by Ricardo Fuego.

On the Poverty of Hip Life (Contradiction)
April 1972. Excerpts from unpublished Contradiction draft (see above). Translated into Spanish by Luis Navarro and included in Secretos a voces (Madrid, 2001). Translated into French by KK and Didier Mainguy.

Remarks on Contradiction and Its Failure
March 1973. Pamphlet. 750 copies. Reprinted (1000 copies) December 1974. Translated into French by Daniel Denevert (CRQS, 1974) and reprinted by Le Temps Déborde (Toulouse).

“Reich: How to Use” (comic poster)
June 1993. 2000 copies. 11″ × 17″ poster. Publicity for Voyer’s pamphlet (see below). Reprinted in Twilight in Turkey #7 (Chicago, 1988), in Simon Ford’s The Situationist International: A User’s Guide (2005), and in Active Distribution’s Voyer reprinting (see next entry). Translated into French by KK et al.

Reich: How to Use (Jean-Pierre Voyer)
July 1993. Foldout brochure. 6000 copies. Translation of Jean-Pierre Voyer’s Reich, mode d’emploi (Champ Libre, 1971). Reprinted in Sexzine (London), in Anarchy #42 (New York, 1995), in Twilight in Turkey #7 (Chicago, 1998), and by Active Distribution (England, 2008). Reproduced in eBook format by Primalpub.com (2001). Reproduced in eBook format (along with the comic and “Discretion Is the Better Part of Value”) by Hobgoblin Press (Australia, 2003).

Discretion Is the Better Part of Value (Jean-Pierre Voyer)
July 1973. Leaflet. 200 copies. Translation of excerpts from a Voyer letter elaborating on some points in his Reich pamphlet. Reprinted in Twilight in Turkey #7 (Chicago, 1998).

Double-Reflection
May 1974. Pamphlet. 2400 copies. Reprinted by Spontaneous Combustion (London, 1974). Translated into French by Joël Cornuault (CRQS, 1974) and reprinted by Le Temps Déborde (Toulouse). Translated into German by the Agentur für die Selbstaufhebung des Proletariats (Berlin, 1984). Translated into Greek by Tákes Athanarópoulos (Elefteros Typos Bookshop, Athens, ca. 1985). Translated into Spanish by Luis Navarro and included in Secretos a voces (Madrid, 2001). Translated into Italian by Omar Wisyam (2003). “Remarques sur le style de Double-Réflexion” (excerpts from a letter in French to Joël Cornuault regarding the translation of Double-Reflection) was reprinted in Chronique des Secrets Publics #1 (1975).

Theory of Misery, Misery of Theory (Daniel Denevert et al.)
September 1974. Pamphlet. 2000 copies. Translation by Robert Cooperstein, Dan Hammer & KK of Daniel Denevert’s Théorie de la misère, misère de la théorie (Paris, November 1973); of Chapter 3 of Daniel Denevert’s  Pour l’intelligence de quelques aspects du moment  (Paris, January 1972); and of the CRQS’s Déclaration à propos du Centre de Recherche sur la Question Sociale, signed by Françoise [Nadine] Bloch, Jeanne Charles [Françoise Denevert], Joël Cornuault, and Daniel Denevert (Paris, April 1974). I later revised the translations of these three texts when I added them to my website in 1999, including changing the title text to “Theory of Poverty, Poverty of Theory.”

Notice Concerning the Reigning Society and Those Who Contest It
November 1974. 2000 copies. 9″ × 25″ poster signed by Tita Carrión, Robert Cooperstein, Isaac Cronin, Dan Hammer, Ken Knabb, Gina Rosenberg, and Chris Shutes. Distributed with a second poster (“Modern Revolutionary Theory”) listing publications available from the signers and from the CRQS. Reprinted in Cronin and Shutes’s journal Implications (December 1975). Translated into French, Spanish, and Italian by the Agence pour l’auto-suppression du prolétariat (Lille, France, 1975). French translation reprinted by Le Temps Déborde (Toulouse). Revised French translation by KK et al. New Italian translation by Omar Wisyam (2003). New Spanish translation by Esther Quintana (2006).

The Blind Men and the Elephant
January 1975. 2000 copies. 18″ × 23″ poster. Collection of numerous quotes about the SI, along with excerpts from Debord and Sanguinetti’s La véritable scission dans l’Internationale (Theses 1-3, 5-7, 60) and a proposal to translate the situationist books. The proposal was reprinted in Bureau of Public Secrets #1. An expanded collection of the quotes was included as an appendix in the SI Anthology. Reproduced in eBook format by Primalpub.com (2001).

Bureau of Public Secrets #1
January 1976. 2400 copies. Only issue of BPS journal. The articles were translated or reprinted in various forms:
      “The Society of Situationism” was translated into French by Daniel Denevert, Françoise Denevert, and KK (1976, photocopy circulation) and reprinted by Jean-François Labrugère (Grenoble, ca. 1980). Translated into Japanese, but only the first half was published (in Anarchism #19, Tokyo, 1978). Translated into German by the Agentur für die Selbstaufhebung des Proletariats in Subversion #8 (Berlin, 1985). Translated into Greek in De Bello Civili #1 (Thessaloniki, 1991). Translated into Spanish by Luis Navarro and included in Secretos a voces (Madrid, 2001). Translated into Italian by Omar Wisyam (2003). Translated into Turkish by Melis Oflas (Istanbul, 2008).
       “Notes Toward a Situationist Manifesto,” translated from Daniel and Françoise Denevert’s “Notes pour une manifeste situationniste” (Paris, 1975), was reprinted (along with “The Society of Situationism”) in England by Spontaneous Combustion (ca. 1977).
      “Arms and the Woman,” translated from Françoise Denevert’s “La critique ad mulierem” (Paris, 1975), was first issued as a separate brochure in June 1975 (2000 copies). It was reprinted by Lust for Life (Oregon, 1975), in Anarchist Review #3 (England, 1977), by the London School of Economics Anarchist Group (ca. 1978), in Red Menace #5 (Toronto, 1980), in Not Bored #7 (Michigan, 1984), and in Communicating Vessels #2 (Maine, 2002), and was the basis for translations into Japanese (Tommy Haruki, Fujinomiya, 1978) and Swedish (Praxis #1, Stockholm, 1980). The text was also translated directly from the original French into German, Dutch, and Spanish.
      The excerpt translated from Jean-Louis Moinet’s book Fin de la Science (Paris, 1974) was reprinted in Extraphile #4 (Virginia, 1994).
      The review of Gray’s Leaving the 20th Century in “A Short Guide to the Anglo-American Situationist Image” was reprinted in England by Spontaneous Combustion.       The “Special Investigator” business card reproduced in “Trouble Is My Business” was originally created summer 1973 (1000 copies). Reprinted in Revolte #26 (Hamburg, 1980) and several other places.
       “A Short Guide to the Anglo-American Situationist Image” and “Trouble Is My Business” were both translated into French by KK et al.
      “Affective Détournement: A Case Study” was translated into French by Daniel Denevert and KK (1976, photocopy circulation); revised by KK and Hélène Fleury (2006).

The Realization and Suppression of Religion
March 1977. Pamphlet. 2500 copies. Reprinted in Anarchy #15 (Missouri, 1988), in Twilight in Turkey #5 (Chicago, 1997), by Le Temps Déborde (Toulouse, France), and partially in Destroyer 267 (Macquarie University Anarchist and Kommunist Alliance, Australia, 1991). Translated into French by Grégoire Palamas (Nantes, 1978), by Christian Camus (Paris, 1978, photocopy circulation), and by Joël Guigné and Jimmy Lallement in Essais #34 (Angers/Angoulême, 1979). One or two other versions circulated in photocopies, and excerpts were reprinted in Jean-Pierre Voyer and Pierre Brée’s Revue de Préhistoire Contemporaine (Paris, 1982). In 1984 I prepared a corrected French version (photocopy circulation), and this version was polished and published by Jean-François Labrugère (Grenoble, 1986) and reprinted by Zanzara Athée (Paris, 1998). Translated into Spanish by Luis Navarro (Madrid, 1998) and later included in Secretos a voces (Madrid, 2001). Translated into Italian by Omar Wisyam (2003). Translated into Portuguese by the Coletivo Protopia (2011). Translated into Greek (Eleftheros Typos, date unknown). I also reprinted the Appendix on Kenneth Rexroth as a separate leaflet and distributed it at one of Rexroth’s last public appearances (San Francisco International Poetry Festival, June 1980).


Open Letter to the Tokyo “Libertaire” Group
November 1977. English and Japanese versions (translated by Tommy Haruki) mailed to a couple dozen Japanese anarchist groups. The English version was reprinted in that month’s issue of Libertaire followed by two rather lame responses, one in English and one in Japanese. I circulated 100 copies of the English exchange (1978). Translated into Russian by Eldar Sattarov (2003). Translated into Italian by Omar Wisyam (2003). Translated into French by KK et al.


A Radical Group in Hong Kong
October 1978. Leaflet. 1000 copies. Critical appreciation of the anarchist group “the 70s” and their publications about struggles in China. The last half was reproduced in the introduction to a Canadian reprinting of China: The Revolution Is Dead, Long Live the Revolution (Black Rose Books, Montreal, 1979). Translated into French by KK et al.

The Opening in Iran
March 1979. 11″ × 17″ poster with detourned map of Iran. 3000 copies, of which several hundred were distributed to radical Iranian students in the United States. Translated into Greek by Thanásis Papadjímas (Thessaloniki, 1979). Translated into French by Christian Camus (Paris, 1979), by Éditions du Ténia Armé (Paris, 1979; reprinted by Le Temps Déborde, Toulouse), by La Bande des Dialecticiens (Brussels, 1980), and by Jean-François Labrugère, Jean Martaguet, and KK (Grenoble, 1980). Translated into Spanish by Luis Navarro and included in Secretos a voces (Madrid, 2001). Translated into Russian by Eldar Sattarov (2003). Translated into Italian by Omar Wisyam (2003). Translated into Farsi by Melancholic Troglodytes (2003). Translated into Portuguese by Railton Sousa Guedes (Brazil, 2005).

Banalities
April 1979. Printed on back of a price list of BPS publications. A few hundred copies were circulated with the Iran poster. Reprinted in The Thought (Arizona, May 1999). Translated into Russian by Eldar Sattarov (2003). Translated into Italian by Omar Wisyam (2003). Translated into French by Christian Camus (1979), revised by KK et al. Translated into Spanish by Ricardo Fuego (2010).

The Relevance of Rexroth
Fall 1990. 88-page book. Reproduced in eBook format by Primalpub.com (2001). Excerpts reprinted in Linha Imaginot #23 (Montauban, France, 1995). Provisional translation into French (1993; 100 copies) by KK and Jean-François Labrugère. That translation was later revised and published by the Atelier de Création Libertaire (Lyon, 1997). Translated into Spanish by Esther Quintana (2002) and published as an introduction to a collection of Rexroth’s essays: Desconexión y otros ensayos (Pepitas de calabaza, Spain, 2009). Translated into Portuguese by Railton Sousa Guedes (Projeto Periferia, Brazil website, 2003). Chapter 1 reprinted in Jonathan Vereecke (ed.), Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism, Vol. 364 (Gale, 2018).      

NOTE: I have also engaged in many other Rexroth-related projects, notably including creating the Kenneth Rexroth Archive at this website. It would be too tedious to list all the Rexroth texts I have transcribed or edited for that Archive, but the following projects include some brief writings of my own: Preface to Rexroth's Camping in the Western Mountains; Editorial Note to my selections from Rexroth's Autobiography; and Introduction to San Francisco in the Sixties (Rexroth's complete San Francisco journalism, 1960-1975). (A slightly different version of that latter introduction appeared in a special Rexroth issue of Chicago Review (Fall 2006) along with three of Rexroth's columns. I have also collaborated with Joël Cornuault on the translation of several volumes of Rexroth into French: Les Classiques revisités (essays), Le San Francisco de Kenneth Rexroth (columns), L’automne en Californie (poems), Les constellations d’hiver (poems), and Les Poèmes d’amour de Marichiko.

The War and the Spectacle
April 1991. 4-page brochure. 16,000 copies. Reprinted during the following months in Anarchy #29 (Missouri), Fifth Estate (Detroit), God Speaks Through Me #4 (Butt Cheese Productions, Illinois), Retrofuturism #15 (Iowa), the Aggressive School of Cultural Workers (Iowa), Loompanics Unlimited Catalog and Loompanics’ Golden Records anthology (Washington), Version 90 #3 (Massachusetts), Linha Imaginòt #6 (Toulouse, France), Temple Post (Belgium), and News from Nowhere #1 (San Francisco); and later in Black Star North #3 (Maine, 2001) and by Mutual Aid Portland (Maine, 2003). Partially reprinted in Open Eye #1 (London), in The Thistle (Massachusetts), and in the City Lights anthology War After War (San Francisco, 1992). Translated into Polish in Rewolta #7 (Warsaw). Translated into Greek (two versions, one in Athens, another by the Bello Civili group in Thessaloniki). Translated into Japanese (Tommy Haruki). Translated into French by Jean-François Labrugère, Jean.Pierre Piotaix, and KK (Grenoble, 1991); reprinted by Zanzara Athée (Grenoble, 2002); partially reprinted in Irak: les révoltes inconnues (Montreal, 1992). Translated into Spanish in Ajoblanco (Barcelona, July-August 1991); and by Esther Quintana (Madrid, 1999), the latter translation later included in Secretos a voces (Madrid, 2001). Translated into Russian by Eldar Sattarov (2003). Translated into Italian by Omar Wisyam (2003). Translated into Czech (A-Kontra, 2004).

On Viénet’s Film Can Dialectics Break Bricks?
March 1992. 300 copies. Leaflet publicizing a Berkeley showing of René Viénet’s 1973 film. Reprinted in Anarchy #35 (Missouri) and Extraphile #4 (Virginia). Translated into Italian by Omar Wisyam (2003).

Los Angeles 1965/1992
May 1992. Leaflet. 2000 copies circulated following the 1992 Los Angeles riot. The leaflet consists of excerpts from the SI’s article on the 1965 Watts riot. Translated into Japanese by Tommy Haruki.

Watts 1965: The Decline and Fall of the Spectacle-Commodity Economy (SI)
July 1992. 4-page brochure. 10,000 copies. New translation of the complete SI article “Le déclin et la chute de l’économie spectaculaire-marchande” (Paris, 1965). Reprinted in Anarchy #34 (Missouri) and Extraphile #3 (Virginia). The earlier SI Anthology version of the article was reprinted in Media Blitz #2 (New York) and partially by Notes from Nowhere (Massachusetts). This revised translation was later included in the revised and expanded edition of the SI Anthology (2006).

Strong Lessons for Engaged Buddhists
October 1993. Leaflet. 13,000 copies. Distributed at Thich Nhat Hanh appearances in Berkeley and San Francisco and mailed to Buddhist Peace Fellowship chapters, etc. Reprinted and distributed at Bay Area appearances of the Dalai Lama, Gary Snyder, and Robert Aitken (Zen teacher and BPF cofounder) and at several later appearances of Nhat Hanh. Reprinted in No #10 (Liverpool), in Extraphile #2 (Virginia), and in Turning Wheel: Journal of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship (Berkeley, Summer 1994). Reprinted (along with additional material) in a leaflet by Norman Blair (UK, 2001). Partially reprinted in Social Policy (California, Fall 2002). Translated into Spanish by Luis Navarro and included in Secretos a voces (Madrid, 2001). Translated into French by KK and Jérôme Waag (2003); revised by Eric Rommeluère (2006) and reproduced with comments at his Zen Occidental website (Paris). Translated into Italian by Federico Battistutta in La stella del mattino #4 (2003).

On Debord’s Film The Society of the Spectacle
May 1996. 1000 copies. Leaflet originally publicizing a San Francisco showing of Debord’s film, reprinted for various subsequent Bay Area showings. The front of the leaflet discusses the film, the flip side reproduces relevant passages from the SI Anthology. The discussion of the film was substantially incorporated into KK’s Introduction to Debord’s Complete Cinematic Works.

Situationist Bibliography
Updated version of the bibliography in the third printing of the SI Anthology (July 1995). Continually updated version online at this website.

Selected Opinions on the Bureau of Public Secrets
January 1997. First published in Public Secrets. Updated selection online at this website.

The Joy of Revolution
January 1997. First published in Public Secrets. Reprinted by CrimethInc. (2001). Reproduced in eBook format by Primalpub.com (2001). Published as a book by Theory and Practice (London, 2013). Chapter 4 reprinted in Chain Reaction #7 (Anarchist Black Cross, Austin, Texas, 2001). Chapter 1 partially reprinted in Social Policy (California, Winter 2002/2003). Chapter 3 partially reprinted in Communicating Vessels #8 & #10 (Maine/Wisconsin, 2003). Ecology section of Chapter 4 reprinted in Common Voice #1 (UK, 2004). Terrorism section of Chapter 3 reprinted in Damn the Caesars (New Jersey, 2005). Chapters 1 and 2 reprinted by Towards Generalised Self-Management (UK, 2004). Translated into Spanish by Luis Navarro (Madrid, 1999) and reprinted by Editorial Ultimo Recurso (Argentina, 2005) and by Aldarull Edicions (Barcelona, 2009). Translated into Russian by Eldar Sattarov (2002); Library-SKT (Omsk) published that translation as a book and also put it online; a second edition was published by Editorial URSS (Moscow, 2003). Translated into Portuguese by Railton Sousa Guedes (Periferia website, Brazil, 2002) and published in various e-book formats by eBooksBrasil (June 2003); translation revised by Óscar de Lis and published by Editora Humana (2008; 2nd edition 2010). Translated into French by KK and François Lonchampt (2004) and published by Sabotart Édition (Montreal, 2008). The same translation, but in a different layout, is available in PDF (Infokiosque des Schizoïdes Associés). Translated into Hebrew by Eyal Rozenberg and Yair Hilu (2004). Chapter 2 translated into Polish by Wydawnictwo Utopia (Wroclaw, 1999). An abridged version of the Spanish translation of Chapter 3 was posted by Hernán Elvira (August 2002) as a contribution to understanding and furthering the then-current possibilities in Argentina. “Transforming Work Into Play” section from Chapter 4 translated into Indonesian by Sophie Martini (2011).

Confessions of a Mild-Mannered Enemy of the State
January 1997. First published in Public Secrets. Translated into French by KK and François Lonchampt (2002). Translated into Italian by Omar Wisyam (2003). Italian version of the section “How I Became a Situationist” included in Tracce: Rivisti multimediale di critica radicale #9 (Fall 2009).

Public Secrets: Collected Skirmishes of Ken Knabb, 1970-1997
January 1997. 408-page book comprising virtually all of Knabb’s published writings from 1970-1997. A draft French translation of the entire book was made by the author (photocopy circulation, 1997). Those draft translations were subsequently posted at this site, and during the following few years they were revised with the help of various French friends. Most of them are now included in Secrets Publics: Escarmouches choisies de Ken Knabb (Éditions Sulliver, October 2007).

 

 


 

 

Earlier publications not included in Public Secrets


Bureau Prehistory
Summer 1973. 90-page photocopy collection of the complete publications of three Bay Area situ groups: the Council for the Eruption of the Marvelous (1970), 1044 (1970), and Contradiction (1970-1972). Around 250 copies were circulated. I stopped reprinting it many years ago since all the texts are now posted at this website: Bureau Prehistory.

Situationist International Anthology
December 1981. 406-page book, edited and translated by KK. Reprinted 1989 and 1995. A revised and expanded edition (532 pages) was published December 2006. All the material in the latter edition is online at this site. There have been far too many reprintings and Web reproductions of many of the articles to try to keep track of or list here. Preface translated into French by KK and Hélène Fleury (2006).

Terry and the Situationists
December 1981. 4000 copies. Detourned comic publicizing the SI Anthology. Reprinted in Loompanics Catalog (Washington, 1983), by Lancaster Publishing (New Zealand, 1987), in Promotional Copy (New York, 1993), in This Is Not a Commodity (Australia, 2001), in The Wild Oat (Australia, 2002), and in Simon Ford’s The Situationist International: A User’s Guide (England, 2005). Translated into French by KK et al.

Dagwood on Détournement December 1981. 4000 copies. Detourned comic publicizing the SI Anthology. Reprinted in Loompanics Catalog (Washington, 1983), in The State Adversary (New Zealand, 1987), in Real Life #21 (New York, 1991), in Promotional Copy (New York, 1993), and in Viz. Inter-Arts: A Trans-Genre Anthology (California, 2007). Translated into French by KK et al.

 

 


 

 

Publications since Public Secrets


Lulu’s Public Secrets
January 1998. Four-page brochure (7500 copies) and 11″ × 17″ poster (1500 copies; 2000 copies later reprinted for Occupy movement distribution 2011-2012). Detourned comic publicizing the book Public Secrets. Reprinted in Synthesis/Regeneration: A Magazine of Green Social Thought #16 (St. Louis, 1998). Partially reprinted in Simon Ford’s The Situationist International: A User’s Guide (2005). Translated into French by KK and François Lonchampt.

We Don’t Want Full Employment, We Want Full Lives!
April 1998. Four-page brochure. 2600 copies. Account of 1998 jobless actions in France and of farmers’ sabotage of bioengineered corn, with translations of some of the leaflets. Distributed at a rally in Oakland demanding “Bread, Work and Justice” and at a Mayday festival in San Francisco. Partially reprinted in Red and Black #28 (Australia, 1998). Reprinted as a pamphlet by Red and Black Notes (Ontario, Canada, 2000). English and French versions reprinted by Zanzara Athée (Paris, 1998). Translated into Korean (Seoul, 1999). Translated into Indonesian by Ray, Kolektif Libertania (East Borneo, 2003; revised 2005). Translated into Swedish by Arbetsförnedringen (2006). Introduction translated into Latvian by Pretspars (2007). Introduction translated into French by KK and Luc Mercier (1998).

May 1968 Graffiti
March 1999. Published online. A few hundred paper copies were also circulated. Widely reproduced on the Web (in some case also translated into other languages from the English). Included in the Revised and Expanded Edition of the SI Anthology (2006).

Notes and Reviews
March 1999. Published online. 100-200 paper copies also circulated. Translated into French by KK et al. Includes five brief articles on Josef Weber and Contemporary Issues; Christopher Hill’s The World Upside Down: Radical Ideas in the English Revolution; “Todd Gitlin on the Sixties”; “A Clueless Life of Kenneth Rexroth” (review of Linda Hamalian’s Rexroth bio); and “How Not to Translate Situationist Texts.”

Evading the Transformation of Reality: Engaged Buddhism at an Impasse
July 1999. Published online and as a leaflet (2500 copies). Reprinted (along with additional material) in a leaflet by Norman Blair (UK, 2001). Abridged versions reprinted in Social Policy (California, Fall 2002) and in Turning Wheel: Journal of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship (Berkeley, Spring 2006). Translated into Spanish by Magali Sirera and included in Secretos a voces (Madrid, 2001). Translated into French by KK and Jérôme Waag (2003); revised by Eric Rommeluère (2006) and reproduced with comments at his Zen Occidental website (Paris). Translated into Italian by Federico Battistutta in La stella del mattino #4 (2003).

Talking About Rexroth 31 July 1999. Online transcript of Morgan Gibson and Ken Knabb being interviewed by David Meltzer and James Brook. Included in Meltzer’s San Francisco Beat: Talking with the Poets (City Lights, 2001).

A Look at Some of the Reactions to Public Secrets
April 2000. Published online and printed (400 copies). The printed version includes copies of the reviews discussed. Translated into French by KK et al. The last section (re Jean-Pierre Baudet) translated into Italian by Omar Wisyam (2003).

Loren Goldner’s Website
September 2000. Recommendation of the noted radical author and historian. Published online only.

The Poverty of Primitivism
March 2001. Polemical discussion of a section from The Joy of Revolution. Published online and printed (300 copies). Translated into French by KK and Didier Somvongs (2001); online translation revised to accord with the subsequent translation of The Joy of Revolution by KK and François Lonchampt (2006). Translated into Spanish by Ricardo Fuego (2010).

Total Self-Management (Raoul Vaneigem)
May 2001. Translation of the last chapter of Raoul Vaneigem’s De la grève sauvage à l’autogestion généralisée. (The previous two chapters had already been translated by Paul Sharkey.) Online publication. The whole book (combining those two translations) was later included with other Vaneigem texts in Collection of Desires (Paper Street, 2003).

The Society of the Spectacle (Guy Debord)
February 2002. New translation of Guy Debord’s 1967 book La Société du Spectacle. Initially published online. Published in eBook format by Hobgoblin Press (Australia, November 2002). Another eBook edition was published at Lulu.com (2011). Published as a printed book by Rebel Press (London, December 2004; reprinted 2007) and by Soul Bay Press (Eastbourne, UK, 2009, with an added Introduction by Martin Jenkins) and reprinted as a pamphlet by Black Powder Press (Santa Cruz, California, 2010), and by Last Word Press (Olympia, Washington, 2015). Preface translated into French by KK and Hélène Fleury (2007). A revised and annotated edition was published in 2014.

Complete Cinematic Works (Guy Debord)
June 2003. 270-page book, translated and edited by KK. Debord’s complete film scripts, with illustrations, documents, notes, introduction, etc. Published by AK Press. Film scripts translated into Turkish by Senol Erdogan (2009). Introduction translated into French by KK and Daniel Daligand (2003). Introduction translated into Italian by Omar Wisyam (2003) and reprinted in Pino Bertelli’s book Guy-E. Debord: Il cinema è morto (Italy, 2005). Introduction translated into Portuguese (along with the scripts themselves) by Railton Sousa Guedes (Brazil, 2003). Introduction translated into Spanish by Ricardo Fuego (2010).

George Brassens and the French “Renaissance of Song”
October 2003. Published online only. Reprinted in Anthony Leskov’s Communicating Vessels: An Anthology of Essays (Portland, 2006). Translated into French by KK and Christian Camus.

Ballad of the Ladies of Bygone Times (François Villon)
October 2003. Published online only. Literal and free translations of François Villon’s fifteenth-century poem, with guitar chords for Georges Brassens’s music. The free translation reprinted in Communicating Vessels #22 (Portland, Fall 2010).

Gateway to the Vast Realms
October 2004. Published online only. List of hundreds of books recommended books recommended by KK, with brief comments on why they are worth reading and excerpts from some of the texts. Introduction translated into French by KK and Jean-Pierre Depétris (2006).

Reflections on the Uprising in France
May 2006. Published online only. Analysis of the anti-CPE uprising of February-April 2006, with translations of documents and graffiti and extensive links to other online resources. Reprinted in Social Policy (New Orleans, Summer 2006). Translated into French by Gédicus (2006). Translated into Italian (along with some of the documents) by Omar Wisyam (2006). Translated into Japanese by Bakuto Morikawa (Anarchism #8, September 2006). Morikawa and Keisuke Narita also translated the graffiti into Japanese. Translated into Spanish by Guillem Quílez and Blai Dalmau (June 2007). Graffiti translated into Spanish by José A. Miranda (2009).

Opinions francophones sur le Bureau des Secrets Publics
Fall 2007 (and continually updated). Selected French-language remarks and reviews, particularly on the recent book Secrets Publics. Translated into Italian by Omar Wisyam (2008).

Ten Years on the Web
August 2008. Published online only. Article on the tenth anniversary of this website. Translated into French by KK and Hélène Fleury.

Ken Knabb, the Situationist International, and the American Counterculture
December 2008. Translation of Jean-Pierre Depétris’s Ken Knabb, l’Internationale Situationniste et la contre-culture nord-américaine, which originally appeared in the French journal Gavroche (October 2008). Online publication only. Depétris’s text has also been translated into Spanish (Aldarull Edicions, July 2009).

A Little College Scores a Big Victory
30 April 2010. Article on Shimer College’s thwarting of a hostile rightwing takeover attempt. Online publication only. Reprinted in The Gadfly (Shimer newsletter, Chicago, May 2010), in Tracce: Rivisti multimediale di critica radicale #32 (Italy, 2010), and in Shimer College 09/10: The Unofficial Review (dossier on the crisis published by Shimer students, May 2011). Translated into French by KK and Hélène Fleury (2010).

In the Crossfire: Adventures of a Vietnamese Revolutionary (Ngo Van)
September 2010. Translation of Ngo Van’s Au pays de la Cloche Fêlée (2000) and of excerpts from his Au pays d'Héloïse (2005) by Ken Knabb, Hélène Fleury, Naomi Sager, and Hilary Horrocks. Edited by Ken Knabb and Hélène Fleury. Published by AK Press. The editors’ introductions and some of the new appendixes translated into French by KK and Hélène Fleury. “Reflections on the Vietnam War” and “Note on Stalinism and Trotskyism” translated into Spanish by Ricardo Fuego (2010). “Note on Stalinism and Trotskyism” translated into Portuguese by Railton Sousa Guedes (Brazil, 2011).

A Good Chance to Legalize Marijuana
October 2010. Appeal to support California’s Proposition 19, which would have substantially legalized marijuana. Online publication only. Widely emailed and posted before the election of November 2010. (The proposition failed, but obtained an unprecedented 46% of the votes, which encouraged the eventual legalization in California and many other states in subsequent years.) Translated into Spanish by Ricardo Fuego (2010).

Adventurer Seeks Adventuress: Three Years of Online Dating
February 2011. Online publication only.

Fraternité Avant Tout: Asger Jorn's Writings on Art and Architecture
June 2011. Large collection of Jorn's writings, edited by Ruth Baumeister. Published by 010 Publishers (Rotterdam). Mostly translated from Danish and Swedish by Paul Larkin, but including a few articles translated from French by KK. The latter are online at this website.

The Awakening in America
October 15, 2011 leaflet. 15,000 paper copies. An enthusiastic analysis of the Occupy Wall Street movement, handed out at occupations and demonstrations in the Bay Area, sent to OWS and other occupations all over the country, and very widely circulated, reproduced, and linked on the Web. Reprinted in Slingshot #108 (Berkeley, December 2011). Translated into Spanish (two versions) by Luis Navarro and by Danilo Castelli. Translated into French (two versions) by Gédicus and by Christine Prat. Translated into Italian (two anonymous versions, one of which was included in Tracce: Rivisti multimediale di critica radicale #35 (Italy, 2012). Translated into Portuguese by the Coletivo Protopia.

Yesterday in Oakland
October 26, 2011. Published online only. Brief account of aftermath of October 25 police raid on Occupy Oakland. Reprinted in Tracce: Rivisti multimediale di critica radicale #35 (Italy, 2012).

Welcome to the Oakland General Strike
October 31, 2011. Published online only. Invitation to the November 2 general strike called by the Occupy Oakland general assembly, with other general comments on the Occupy movement. Reprinted in Tracce: Rivisti multimediale di critica radicale #35 (Italy, 2012).

The Situationists and the Occupation Movements: 1968/2011
November 7, 2011. Published online only. Article on the situationist connection with the Occupy movement, with comparisons to the May 1968 occupation movement in France; discussed by way of a critique of Gary Kamiya’s article at Salon.com. Translated into French by Alain Koiran and KK. That French translation was reprinted in Tracce: Rivisti multimediale di critica radicale #35 (Italy, 2012).

Le mouvement des occupations aux États-Unis / The Occupy Movement at Its Peak
November 10, 2011. French-language interview of KK by Serge Quadruppani, on the Occupy movement in the United States. Posted at the Article 11 website. Reprinted in La Révolution Prolétarienne #775 (Paris, December 2011). The English version published online at this website.

Looking Back on Occupy
October 2012. Interview of KK for the French journal L'Échaudée #2 (Paris, December 2012). Translated into French by Gobelin and KK. The English version published online at this website.

Beyond Voting
2000-2016. Excerpts from The Joy of Revolution on the limitations of electoral politics, followed by some remarks on specific American elections. Internet publication only. Widely emailed and posted during the American elections of 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, and 2016. The 2010 version was translated into Spanish by Ricardo Fuego, and into Portuguese by Coletivo Protopia. The 2012 version was translated into French by Bénédicte, Laurent, and KK, and reprinted in Tracce: Rivisti multimedia di critica radicale #36 (Italy, 2013). An abridgment of the 2012 version was reprinted in Consider (University of Michigan student magazine, October 17, 2012).

The Society of the Spectacle (revised and annotated edition)
March 2014. 150-page book. Revised and annotated translation of Guy Debord’s book La Société du Spectacle. To my knowledge, this is the first extensively annotated edition in any language.

Out in the Open: Remarks on the Trump Election
November 16, 2016. Online publication only. Widely emailed and posted. Translated into Spanish by Victor Ferre in Etcetera: Correspondencia de la Guerra Social #56 (Barcelona, December 2016). Translated into French by KK and Christian Camus (February 2017). Translated into Portuguese by Nils Skare (Brazil, August 2018).

Farces and Fiascos on the Way to the Cataclysm (Daniel Denevert)
March 2019. Translation of “Petites scènes de débâcle en attendant l’implosion” (2011) from Daniel Denevert’s book Dérider le Désert (Éditions La Grange Batelière, 2018). Online publication only.

Pregnant Pause: Remarks on the Corona Crisis
May 17, 2020. Includes extensive links to other articles, songs, memes, etc. Online publication only. Widely emailed and posted. Translated into Spanish by Luis Navarro (May 2020). Translated into French (June 2020) by KK and Didier Mainguy.

The Secret World of French Songs
May 2021. Online publication only. Programs of KK’s 10-session series of Zoom presentations on French songs (January-May 2021), including links to hundreds of songs, and to video recordings of the 10 presentations.

Travel Diaries: Illustrated Accounts of Ken Knabb’s International Trips, 1971-2018
November 2021. Online publication only. Accounts of twelve trips to France (above all), Spain, England, Germany, Poland, Greece, Japan, Hong Kong, and Colombia. With 200+ photos.

Inventory of the Ken Knabb Papers at Yale
July 2022. Online publication only.
 


Unless otherwise indicated, all texts are by Ken Knabb or are translated by him.

Most of the translations into French are included in Secrets Publics: Escarmouches choisies de Ken Knabb (Éditions Sulliver, October 2007). Those French translations, as well as most of those into other languages, can be found online at this BPS website.