Semiotext(e)
Encyclopedia
Semiotext is an American independent publisher. It is widely credited for having introduced so-called "French Theory
" to North America through its magazine issues and Foreign Agents series. In 2000, the MIT Press began distributing Semiotext(e), taking it over from the anarchist
publishing collective Autonomedia
. The Semiotext(e) offices are located in Los Angeles
.
in an effort to bridge radical French theory and the intellectual and art worlds of New York
City. The original editorial board included ten people, mostly graduate students at Columbia University
where Lotringer teaches, who chipped in fifty dollars apiece to get the journal started. They held their first conference in 1975: the "Schizo-Culture" conference on prisons and madness. Speakers included Gilles Deleuze
, Félix Guattari
, Michel Foucault
, and Jean-François Lyotard
, now all staples of the Semiotext(e) backlist. Out of this conference came their second issue of the journal, which sold out in three weeks. Following issues included Italy: Autonomia
; Post-Political Polics, and the infamous Polysexuality
. In 1983, Lotringer began the Foreign Agents book series in their iconic 4.5" x 7" black-covered format.
's Walking Through Clear Water in a Pool Painted Black. The Native Agents series went on to publish urgent and visionary fiction and nonfiction by writers such as Kathy Acker
, Eileen Myles
, Michelle Tea
, and Bob Flanagan
.
's Reporting From Ramallah and Alain Joxe's Empire of Disorder, are published quickly in response to urgent issues. Hedi El Kholti joined Semiotexte as co-editor in 2003 introducing a new energy in the press embodied in Semiotext(e)'s recent book, David Wojnarowicz: A Definitive History of Five or Six Year's on the Lower East Side, as well as a title by controversial French writer Tony Duvert
, whose work proposes non-privatized forms of sexuality as cultural conduits. Since 2005, the three have been joined by associates Sarah Wang, Robbie Dewhurst, Justin Cavin, and translator Noura Wedell.
to text, adding the "e" to signify the magazine's initial bi-lingual nature.
French Theory
The French Theory is a body of philosophical, literary and social theories, inspired by French authors' texts of the 1960-1980, which has been studied and debated in the American universities since the 1980s....
" to North America through its magazine issues and Foreign Agents series. In 2000, the MIT Press began distributing Semiotext(e), taking it over from the anarchist
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
publishing collective Autonomedia
Autonomedia
Autonomedia is one of the main North American publishers of radical theoretical works, especially in the anarchist tradition. For many years, it was linked with Semiotext, one of the major sources for English language translations of post-structuralist literature, especially in the 1980s...
. The Semiotext(e) offices are located in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
History
Semiotext(e) began in 1974 as a journal started by French philosopher Sylvère LotringerSylvère Lotringer
Sylvère Lotringer is a literary critic and cultural theorist. A younger contemporary of Gilles Deleuze, Félix Guattari, Jean Baudrillard, Paul Virilio and Michel Foucault, he is best known for synthesizing French theory with American literary, cultural and architectural avant-garde movements...
in an effort to bridge radical French theory and the intellectual and art worlds of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
City. The original editorial board included ten people, mostly graduate students at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
where Lotringer teaches, who chipped in fifty dollars apiece to get the journal started. They held their first conference in 1975: the "Schizo-Culture" conference on prisons and madness. Speakers included Gilles Deleuze
Gilles Deleuze
Gilles Deleuze , was a French philosopher who, from the early 1960s until his death, wrote influentially on philosophy, literature, film, and fine art. His most popular works were the two volumes of Capitalism and Schizophrenia: Anti-Oedipus and A Thousand Plateaus , both co-written with Félix...
, Félix Guattari
Félix Guattari
Pierre-Félix Guattari was a French militant, an institutional psychotherapist, philosopher, and semiotician; he founded both schizoanalysis and ecosophy...
, Michel Foucault
Michel Foucault
Michel Foucault , born Paul-Michel Foucault , was a French philosopher, social theorist and historian of ideas...
, and Jean-François Lyotard
Jean-François Lyotard
Jean-François Lyotard was a French philosopher and literary theorist. He is well known for his articulation of postmodernism after the late 1970s and the analysis of the impact of postmodernity on the human condition...
, now all staples of the Semiotext(e) backlist. Out of this conference came their second issue of the journal, which sold out in three weeks. Following issues included Italy: Autonomia
Autonomism
Autonomism refers to a set of left-wing political and social movements and theories close to the socialist movement. As an identifiable theoretical system it first emerged in Italy in the 1960s from workerist communism...
; Post-Political Polics, and the infamous Polysexuality
Polysexuality (book)
Polysexuality was the tenth issue of the journal Semiotext, designed to illustrate "the plural aspects of sexuality." It was edited by Canadian psychoanalyst François Peraldi and first published in 1981. The front cover depicted a bare-bottomed leatherman sitting on a motorcycle. The back cover...
. In 1983, Lotringer began the Foreign Agents book series in their iconic 4.5" x 7" black-covered format.
Native Agents
In the late 1980s filmmaker and writer Chris Kraus came up with an idea to publish the American equivalent to the Foreign Agents series in writerly terms - non-mainstream American writers who exercise radical subjectivity. Semiotext(e)'s Native Agents series launched with Cookie MuellerCookie Mueller
Dorothy Karen "Cookie" Mueller was an underground American actress, writer and Dreamlander, who starred in many of filmmaker John Waters' early films, including Multiple Maniacs,...
's Walking Through Clear Water in a Pool Painted Black. The Native Agents series went on to publish urgent and visionary fiction and nonfiction by writers such as Kathy Acker
Kathy Acker
Kathy Acker was an American experimental novelist, punk poet, playwright, essayist, postmodernist and sex-positive feminist writer. She was strongly influenced by the Black Mountain School, William S...
, Eileen Myles
Eileen Myles
Eileen Myles is an American poet who has also worked in fiction, non-fiction, and theater.She won a 2010 Shelley Memorial Award.-Early life and career:...
, Michelle Tea
Michelle Tea
Michelle Tea is an American author, poet, and literary arts organizer whose autobiographical works explore queer culture, feminism, race, class, prostitution, and other topics. She is originally from Chelsea, Massachusetts and currently lives in San Francisco...
, and Bob Flanagan
Bob Flanagan
Bob Flanagan was an American performance artist, comic, writer, poet, and musician.-Early life:...
.
Active Agents
In 2003 Semiotext(e) implemented their more overtly political arm, the Active Agents series These books, which include Amira HassAmira Hass
Amira Hass is a prominent left-wing Israeli journalist and author, mostly known for her columns in the daily newspaper Ha'aretz. She is particularly recognized for her reporting on Palestinian affairs in the West Bank and Gaza, where she has also lived for a number of years.-Life:The daughter of...
's Reporting From Ramallah and Alain Joxe's Empire of Disorder, are published quickly in response to urgent issues. Hedi El Kholti joined Semiotexte as co-editor in 2003 introducing a new energy in the press embodied in Semiotext(e)'s recent book, David Wojnarowicz: A Definitive History of Five or Six Year's on the Lower East Side, as well as a title by controversial French writer Tony Duvert
Tony Duvert
Tony Duvert was a French writer and philosopher. In the 1970s he achieved some renown, winning the Prix Medicis in 1973 for his novel Paysage de Fantaisie . Duvert's writings are notable both for their style and core themes: the celebration and defence of pedophilia, and criticism of modern...
, whose work proposes non-privatized forms of sexuality as cultural conduits. Since 2005, the three have been joined by associates Sarah Wang, Robbie Dewhurst, Justin Cavin, and translator Noura Wedell.
Name
The title Semiotext(e) is a portmanteau, connecting semioticsSemiotics
Semiotics, also called semiotic studies or semiology, is the study of signs and sign processes , indication, designation, likeness, analogy, metaphor, symbolism, signification, and communication...
to text, adding the "e" to signify the magazine's initial bi-lingual nature.