Arena Two: Anarchists in Fiction

Designed for a general, intelligent, popular readership as well as for scholars and aficionados working in the area, the second issue of Arena aims to provide general insights into the role of the anarchist in fiction, both as protagonist and author. Highlights include:

David Weir's essay "Anarchist Fiction, Anarchist Sensibilities," on the progenitor of anarchist fiction, William Godwin's Caleb Williams, published in 1794.

"Epic Pooh," a newly updated revision of a 1978 article by Michael Moorcock reviewing epic fantasy literature for children, particularly J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.

Santo Catanuto's recently discovered information on the literary side of the Communard Louise Michel, indicating that she was the author of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.

Stephen Schwartz on the arc of French writer Leo Malet from anarchist to Arabophobe.

Ernest Larsen's short story "Bakunin at the Beach," about Mr. and Mrs. Bakunin holidaying at Lake Maggiore under the watchful eyes of Inspector Dupin of the Swiss Department of Justice and Police.

Joseph Conrad's short story "An Anarchist: A Desperate Tale," republished here from A Set of Six (1908).

"Anarchists in Fiction," a collection of idiosyncratic reviews of books in which anarchists are portrayed as an eclectic group of villains and criminal degenerates.

Finally, we conclude this second issue of Arena with an article by our cinema editor Richard Porton on Dusan Makavejev's playful, allusive 1971 film WR: Mysteries of the Organism.