You Don’t Play With Revolution: The Montréal Lectures of C.L.R. James

Edited by David Austin. Published by AK Press 2009

“Revolution is a serious business, and C.L.R. James knew more than most. Our brand-new collection presents eight never-before-published lectures by the celebrated Marxist cultural critic, delivered during his stay in Montreal in 1967 and 1968. Ranging in topic from Marx and Lenin to Shakespeare and Rousseau to Caribbean history and the Haitian Revolution, these lectures demonstrate the staggering breadth and clarity of James’ knowledge and interest.

“Strikingly little information exists today about the period of time James spent working with West Indian intellectuals and students in Canada in the late 1960s, but the research of editor David Austin demonstrates the critical role these encounters played in the development of James’ more mature critical theory. Readers just beginning to delve into James work will find this collection accessible and engaging, an ideal introduction to a complex and multi-faceted body of scholarship. Also included are two seminal interviews produced with James during his stay in Canada, selected correspondence from the time period, and an appendix of essays on James’ work, which includes the seminal Marty Glaberman essay, “C.L.R. James: The Man and His Work.”.

“You Don’t Play With Revolution also includes a preface by Robert A. Hill, co-founder of the C.L.R. James Study Circle and historical advisor to the new James archive at Columbia University, and a lengthy historical introduction by David Austin.”

Reviews

http://caribbeanreviewofbooks.com/crb-archive/22-july-2010/head-of-the-class/
http://www.politicalmediareview.org/2010/06/you-dont-play-with-revolution/

Contents

Preface, by Robert A. Hill
Introduction: In Search of a National identity:
C.L.R. James and the Promise of the Caribbean, by David Austin

PART I: PUBLIC LECTURES
The Making of the Caribbean People
The Haitian Revolution in the Making of the Modern World
Shakespeare’s King Lear

PART II: PRIVATE LECTURES
Existentialism and Marxism
Rousseau and the Idea of the General Will
Marx’s The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte and the Caribbean
Marx’s Capital, the Working-Day, and Capitalist Production
Lenin and the Trade Union Debate in Russia
–Part One
–Part Two
–Part Three

PART III: INTERVIEWS
On Literature, Exile, and Nationhood
Interview by Robert A. Hill for “CBC Tuesday Night”
You Don’t Play with Revolution
McGill Daily interview, Congress of Black Writers

PART IV: CORRESPONDENCE
Alfie Roberts & Mervyn Solomon to C. L. R. James, March 28, 1964
Martin Glaberman to C.L.R. James, July 12, 1965
Robert A. Hill to Martin Glaberman, August 7, 1965
Martin Glaberman to Robert A. Hill, August 22, 1965
Robert A. Hill to Martin Glaberman, August 30, 1965
Martin Glaberman to C.L.R. James, October 13, 1965
Robert A. Hill to Alfie Roberts, November 6,1965
C. L. R. James to Robert A. Hill, December 31, 1965
Tim Hector to Robert A. Hill, March 29, 1966
Robert A. Hill to Tim Hector, April 1, 1966
C.L.R. James to Martin Glaberman & Robert A. Hill, June 24, 1966
Robert A. Hill to Martin & Jessie Glaberman, July 7, 1966
Martin Glaberman to Frank Monico, October 13, 1966
Martin Glaberman to C.L.R. James, November 14, 1966
Alfie Roberts to Martin Glaberman, January 27, 1967
Alfie Roberts to C. L. R. James, December 8, 1967
Alfie Roberts to C. L. R. James, May 3, 1968
Rosie Douglas to C. L. R. James, June 9, 1968
C. L. R. James to Rosie Douglas, June 27, 1968

APPENDIX I
C.L.R. James: The Man and His Work, by Martin Glaberman
APPENDIX II
Beyond the Mournful Silence, by Robert A. Hill
APPENDIX III
On the Banning of Walter Rodney from Jamaica, by C.L.R. James