Ian_Birchall

Ian Birchall

Ian Birchall

British Marxist historian and author

Ian Birchall (born 1939) is a British Marxist historian and translator, a former member of the Socialist Workers Party and author of numerous articles and books, particularly relating to the French Left. Formerly Senior Lecturer in French at Middlesex University,[1] his research interests include the Comintern, the International Working Class, Communism and Trotskyism, France and Syndicalism, Babeuf, Sartre, Victor Serge and Alfred Rosmer. He was on the editorial board of Revolutionary History, a member of the London Socialist Historians Group and has completed a biography of Tony Cliff.

In 2013, Birchall joined opposition to the SWP Central Committee during the internal crisis over allegations of rape[2] and resigned from the organisation in December.[3]

In August 2015, Birchall was one of 20 authors of Poets for Corbyn, an anthology of poems endorsing Jeremy Corbyn's campaign in the Labour Party leadership election.[4][5]

Selected articles/works

Works translated/edited

  • Lenin's Moscow, by Alfred Rosmer (translated from the French) (1971)
  • Flowers and revolution : a collection of writings on Jean Genet (edited with Barbara Read)(1997)
  • Witness to the German Revolution / by Victor Serge (translated from the French) (1999)
  • The German Revolution, 1917-1923 / by Pierre Broué; translated by John Archer (edited with Brian Pearce) (2005)
  • Revolution in Danger – Writings from Russia 1919-20 by Victor Serge (translated from the French) London: Redwords.(1997)

References

  1. [1]
    Birchall, Ian (25 July 2007). "Sartre was an Optimist, not a Nihilist". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
  2. [2]
    "SWP crisis: Twilight of the idols - Communist Party of Great Britain". Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 12 November 2013.
  3. [3]
    Ian Birchall "2013: Letter of Resignation", Grim and Dim, 15 December 2013
  4. [4]
    Bennetts, Russell (2015). Poets for Corbyn (PDF). Pendant Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9928034-5-2.
  5. [5]
    Bennetts, Russell (25 August 2015). "Yes we scan: Poets line up for Jeremy Corbyn". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 July 2017.


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