The Red Virgin of Montmartre
December 1, 2013 11:49 AM Subscribe
Born in 1830, Louise Michel was a school teacher and Anarchist heavily involved with the Paris Commune of 1871. After the supression of the Commune, she refused to renounce any of her actions and told the court “Since it seems that every heart that beats for freedom has no right to anything but a little slug of lead, I demand my share. If you let me live, I shall never cease to cry for vengeance.”
For her defiance, while the court was unwilling to execute her, it did sentence her to exile in New Caledonia (not far from Australia), where she lived up to her principles by siding with the indigenous Kanaks against her fellow European "colonists." After a little under a decade, the surviving Communards were pardoned, and Michel returned to Europe where she continued to agitate for Anarchism and education (despite further incarcerations) until her death in 1905.
A short biography and some primary documents
"Paul Mason on Louise Michel" from the BBC Great Lives biography podcast (audio, ~30 minutes)
"Louise Michel and the Paris Commune" by Lindsay Gross at the Socialism 2013 conference (audio, ~40 minutes)
For her defiance, while the court was unwilling to execute her, it did sentence her to exile in New Caledonia (not far from Australia), where she lived up to her principles by siding with the indigenous Kanaks against her fellow European "colonists." After a little under a decade, the surviving Communards were pardoned, and Michel returned to Europe where she continued to agitate for Anarchism and education (despite further incarcerations) until her death in 1905.
A short biography and some primary documents
"Paul Mason on Louise Michel" from the BBC Great Lives biography podcast (audio, ~30 minutes)
"Louise Michel and the Paris Commune" by Lindsay Gross at the Socialism 2013 conference (audio, ~40 minutes)
Yes! She is the patron saint of the queer, post-migrant, anarcho-syndicalist, sex-positive artists' collective that I'm part of. She's seriously on the cover of every 'zine we've made so far.
posted by LMGM at 9:13 AM on December 2, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by LMGM at 9:13 AM on December 2, 2013 [2 favorites]
If you haven't already been inspired to listen to the audio, "Louise Michel and the Paris Commune" has a moderately amusing moment when the presenter realizes that she a) should have checked her French pronunciation and b) practiced her presentation out loud.
posted by GenjiandProust at 7:19 AM on December 3, 2013
posted by GenjiandProust at 7:19 AM on December 3, 2013
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posted by Mister Bijou at 7:46 PM on December 1, 2013