Several years back, we were able to unearth previously undocumented articles by the little-known Situationist member Andre Frankin, published in Arguments in 1960 and 1962 – more details here: https://situationnisteblog.com/2019/04/22/andre-frankin-in-arguments-1960-and-1962/. They were as follows:

FRANKIN, Andre. Wilhelm Reich et l’economie sexuelle (in Arguments 18, 1960). Paris: Editions de Minuit, 1960. 64p.; 14 x 22.5 cm.; cream wrappers with text in black and red. Written while he was a member of the Internationale Situationniste, Andre Frankin’s “W. Reich et l’economie sexuelle” was published in issue 18 of Arguments (pp. 29-35). In this substantial article, Frankin provides an introduction to controversial psychoanalyst Wilhelm Reich, who had passed away 3 years before in New York. According to Frankin, “Wilhelm Reich attempted to combine Marxist dialectics and psychonalaysis, advocating for both sexual and social liberation. He was excluded from both the Communist Party…and the International Psychoanalytical Association (1930-1934). His analysis and strong criticism sought to remove all obstacles to full erotic satisfaction…” (pp.29). Post-situationist figure Jean-Pierre Voyer authored an important essay on Wilhelm Reich which was published by Champ Libre in 1971 and subsequently translated into Spanish, Italian, English, German and other languages.

FRANKIN, Andre. Le parti, le quotidien (in Arguments 25-26, 1962). Paris: Editions de Minuit, 1962. 96 p.; 14 x 22.5 cm.; cream wrappers with text in black and red. Written a few months after his resignation from the Internationale Situationniste in March 1961, Andre Frankin’s “Le parti, le quotidien” was published in issue 25-26 of Arguments (pp. 46-48), The article opens with a quote from noted sociologist Henri Lefebvre, then goes on to argue that the failure of Europen’s political parties can be explained by their inability to access workers’ everyday live. “The party, everyday life: there is no possible balance between the two, there is only a dialectical relationship” argues Frankin (pp. 46). Though Frankin is no longer an official member of the SI, the Situationist overtones are clear here. Debord and Lefebvre had met in 1960 and, despite a relatively quick falling out, the sociologist and his ideas had a major impact on the SI.

We are glad to report that both articles have now been translated into English, courtesy of Howard Slater. Slater has written about the Situationist International for several decades (see, for instance, https://scansitu.antipool.org/2001.html) and is also a seasoned translator. More about him here: https://monoskop.org/Howard_Slater . Files available here:

On Frankin, see also the excellent “Personne et les autres” by Coadou and Thomas, published in 2023. https://situationnisteblog.com/2023/03/04/andre-frankin-personne-et-les-autres-1960-2023/