Beyond the Internationale

Many people the world over know the "Internationale." Since its appearance as a battle song on the barricades in May 1871, near the end of the short-lived but inspiring Paris Commune, the "Internationale" has been published or recorded in more than eighty languages in addition to the original French and remains the foremost anthem of transnational struggles for social justice and equality. Among the many who sing this anthem however, few know that the text was written by Eugène Pottier (1816-1887), textile designer, member of the International Working People's Association (IWPA) founded by Karl Marx and others, and, in his words, an "obscure" participant in the February and June revolutions of 1848 before he joined the 1871 Commune as a seasoned activist. Fewer still know that when Pottier fled Paris after the Commune went up in flames during the so-called Bloody Week--in which at least ten thousand Communards were killed by the French army--he fled to the United States. There he wrote down the words of the "Internationale," along with poems, songs, and speeches given to gatherings of fellow socialists in the New York-area before returning to Paris, where he died in poverty in 1887. Beyond the Internationale features letters, speeches, poems, and songs by Pottier, over a dozen translations of The Internationale, and many illustrations. The introduction of this critical edition of Pottier's writing locates the author not only in the history and legacy of the Paris Commune of 1871 but also in the socialist and anarchist circles that welcomed him to the United States, including the Socialist Labor Party and the IWPA.