Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book provides an innovative look at the reception of Frantz Fanon's texts, investigating how, when, where and why these especially his seminal Les Damnés de la Terre were first translated. It examines how Fanon came to be translated into Italian in the 1960s, viewing the translations as examples of an 'activist' translation practice, used politically and instrumentally by a generation that wished to transform Italian society by looking to other models of revolutionary struggle in the so-called 'Third World'. The book also explores the translation of Les Damnés into English, revealing connections between Constance Farrington and pro-Front de Libération Nationale (FLN) circles in Paris, and drawing on archival material to examine the circumstances of the early American and English editions. It also explores the circulation and reception of the English translation of Les Damnés in East Africa in the 1960s.