Intro + Bakunin

Routines for radicals. Sounds kind of contradictory, doesn't it?

I've long been fascinated by the daily routines, over a period of time - anytime from a week to a decade - of people I find interesting. At the same time, I've felt the increasing appeal of the more radical aspects of life - in politics, in art, in whatever (in order not to limit myself, I won't elaborate) - and the people that perpetuate them. People whose lives are generally anything but routine. The spontaneity and creativity of the radical seems at odds with any conception of a routine. 

But to reverse the perspective, consider this passage from Clausewitz's On War, referred to by Andy Merrifield in his book on Guy Debord (and also by me, here): 

The baron, if he saw himself pressed on all sides, took refuge in his castle to gain time and wait a more favorable moment; and towns sought by their walls to keep off the passing hurricane of war.

 Also, these:

Don't just survive while waiting for someone's revolution to clear your head, don't sign up for the armies of anorexia or bulimia - act as if you were already free, calculate the odds, step out, remember the Code Duello - Smoke Pot/Eat Chicken/Drink Tea. (Hakim Bey, T.A.Z.)

It is no longer a matter of foretelling the collapse or depicting the possibilities of joy. Whether it comes sooner or later, the point is to prepare for it[...] What remains to be created, to be tended as one tends a fire, is a certain outlook, a certain tactical fever, which once it has emerged, even now, reveals itself as determinant – and a constant source of determination. (The Invisible Committee, The Coming Insurrection)

It's never too early to learn and practice what less pacified, less predictable times might require of us. (Ditto)

In the context of these precepts, the radical's routine takes on a zen quality, a sort of active meditation. Imagine the life of a Debord before May '68, or a Bey after the World of Islam Festival, or even a Clausewitz between campaigns....

What follows, then, is a Jane's Fonda workout guide to prepare one for the insurrection, an ultimate book of recipes for the revolution of everyday life: each post I make will consist of a brief biographical sketch of a particular "radical," followed by one or several accounts of the routines he or she practiced, for whatever length of time that ended up being.

 

I'm gonna start off with Mikhail (Michael) Bakunin, the legendary Russian anarchist, because the routine described below was the one that finally inspired me to begin collecting these accounts in one place. And I'll skip the bio this time - because Bakunin is not an easily summarized individual, and I've already written so much of my own intro - except to say that his life could mostly be characterized by the extreme opposite of routine. That is, except for here, a selection of Mark Leier's Bakunin: The Creative Passion, referring to a letter written by Bakunin's wife Antonia:

     His ideas on religion now resolved, Bakunin moved with Antonia to Sorrento in May 1865 to meet up with his brother Paul and Paul's wife, Natalie, for a short time. The visit was cordial enough, but did nothing to bring Michael back into the family[...] Nonetheless, Antonia painted a pleasant picture of the time in Sorrento. 'Life here flows peacefully and regularly as before,' she wrote. 'We rise early, Michael bathes, then has coffee and grapes.... The entire morning Michael writes, while I read.' At three, he would put down his pen, she her book, to take a short nap followed by a swim. At six they would dine, then go for a leisurely walk, return for tea at nine before Michael would resume writing until one or two in the morning.

So there, that's a fine example of what I find quite intriguing in the grander context of a radical life. In the future, these posts will be longer on original accounts, shorter on my explanations. Feedback welcomed. That's all.