Raoul Vaneigem et la poésie de Mai 68

Abstract

In this article, I analyze the radical political and cultural thought of Raoul Vaneigem, as it is developed in his landmark essay Traité de savoir-vivre à l’usage des jeunes générations (The Revolution of Everyday Life), which was first published in 1967. I focus in particular on his original definition of the poetic language, a language he considers to be essential in the expression of a revolutionary project. In his book, Vaneigem anticipated and captured in his own way the rebellious spirit of the May ‘68 movement. He understood very well that art and literature had to play a major role in the accomplishment of a political Utopia. He favored in this regard the oral dimension of poetry, as opposed to its written one. Orality implied in his perspective the assertion of a primitive and untamed voice, independent from all traditional forms of language. It raised thus the important issue of freedom of speech at a time when the French government imposed a conservative system of education upon its people. In the end, the May ‘68 movement allowed for the integration of poetry inside the festive domain of counter-culture, of which theater and the performing arts were also key elements.