Letters From Prison

155 Pages·1979·16.639 MB·English

by  Antonio Gramsci, Lynne Lawner (transl.)

LETTERS9
FROMP RISON
BY-===- ==-
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ANTONGIROA MSCI
INTRODUC�BDY
LYNNLEA WNER
'Imprisonimsea n tt errtihbilnebg u,t f orm e dis­
honouorn a ccouonftm orawle akneosrsc owardice
woulbd ee venw orse'
'I'avlew ayrse fusteodc ompromimsye i deaasn da m
readtyo d iefo rt hemn,o tj ustto b ep uti np rison'
(Gramsicnil ettetrosh imso ther)
AntoniGor amsc(i1 891-19w3a7s)o neo ft hef oundeorfst he
ItalCioamnm unispta rtayn da g reaMta rxitshti nker. Fbrya med
MussolinFia'ssc icsotu rtasf tehri sa ctivitiinte hse w orkers'
movementisnT urinh,ew ask eptm ostliyns olitcaornyf inement
andd iedi np rison.
Hisl ettearrsea mongt hem osti mportawnotr kso ft wentieth­
centurIyt alliiatne ratounrf ei;r psutb licaitni1 o9n4 7t heyw ere
awardetdh eV iareggpiroi ze.
ISBN.
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LynneL awnehr:a sw rittae dne taiblieodg raphaincdaa nla lytiinctarlo ­
ductiownh,i chd iscusGsreasm scip'osl itical philohsiosop thhye ri n
writinagsws e lasl int heL etters from PriSsonh.e h oldas Ph.fDr.o m
ColumbiUan ivershiatsyp ,u blishtewdov olumeosf p oetrayn,d has
writteesns aoynsP rovensaanldI talliitaepr atfuorrse c holajroluyr nals.
Dr Lawnelri veisnR omea ndh ash adt hec losceo llaboraotfti hoen
GramscInis tituitnte h ep reparaotfit ohniv so lume.
AntonGiroa msci
LETTERSF ROM PRISON
Selecttreadn,sf lraottmeh dIe t alian
andI ntrodbyu LcYeNdN E LAW NER
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QUARTET BOOKS
LONDON MELBOURNE NEW YORK
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A membero ft heN amaraG roup
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wayo ft radoero therwibsele e,n rte,- sohlidr,eo du to ro therwciisrec ulated thepe rmissitoonp ublitshhel euearssw elals t or eprodumcaen u­
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scrippatg easn dp hotographs.
thaitnw hicihti sp ublisahneddw ithoaus ti milcoanrd itbieoinn igm posoednt he
subsequpeunrtc hasTheirbs.o oki sp ublisahtea dn etpr icaen di ss uppliseudb ject
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RestricTtriavdee Psr actiAccets1, 9 s6.
CONTENTS
I.I ntroduction
II.T heL etters
s7
APPENDIX: LETTER FROM TATIANA SCHUCHT 277
283
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX 285
LETTERSF ROM PRISON
Introduction
1
IN 1946w,h ena fi rsetd itiooftn h eL mm ofA ntoniGor amscwia s
issubeydt hTeo rinefisrem E inauodnic heappa pearn di nt hef orm
ofa pamphlIetta,wl ays j usetm ergifnrgo mt hep hysiacnadlm oral
devastaotfit ohnew arA.f tehra ving floatri wne nty yeartsh eu nder
weighotfd ictatoarnsdho iffipc irahle tortihcen, a tiwoans s uddenly
inundatweidt nhe wspapearr ticbloeosk,s a,n do thepru blications
describeivnegr y koifmn adr tyrduonmd eFra sciasnmdN azisBmu.t
Itawlays u setd op risloint eraMtaunryeo .f i rsg reatienstte llectuals
hadb eenp risonaenrdse xil(eDsa ntCea,m panelPleal,l iicnoa ,
specisaeln sLee opardiY)e.tG ramsciL'mse rasto ncec ommanded
thea ttentoifot nh ef oremomsetm berso ft heI taliiannt elligentsia.
BenedetCtrooc es tayeadw akaew holnei ghttofi nisthh ebo ok and
knewt hahte h adm adea m ajolri terdairsyc oveIrnty h.ef ollowing
yeart,h eL ettewrosn thei mportanVti areggPiroi zUen.t itlh en,
howeveGrr,a mscnia'mse had beena lmousntk nowinnI talpeyo;p le
stiflolu nidta w kwartdop ronounScoem.e r ecaltlheadht e h adbe en
a politfiguircea lw how ast hrowinn tpor isbonyM ussoltiwnein ty
yearesa rlainedrw hod ieadm iseradbelaet ahf tyeera rosfh ardship
andi llneOstsh.e rrse caltlheadht e h adb eena C ommunisitn,d eed
oneo ft hef oundeorfst hep artiyn I 9 2I . YetG ramscwia san
entirneelwyf acotn tchuel tusrcaeln hei:sL ettaenrdws h atf ollowed
themh adt hee ffecotf a ne lectsrhiocc kw,a kinIgt aloyu to ft he
traumoaft hew ara nds ettiintbgsr aiinnm otion.
Itw asa si ft hipsr oswee reas uddesnt retocflh a nedm ergifnrgo m
thes eat,h er emainosfa sunkeins lanad s,e lf-contained region
forminag l ittlliev,e wloyr lodf i tosw n.T hes ubjemcatt tewra s
3