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Voltairine de Cleyre | |
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.jpg) Voltairine de Cleyre in Philadelphia, 1901 | |
| Born | Voltairine De Claire November 17, 1866 Leslie, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | June 20, 1912 (aged 45) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Resting place | Waldheim Cemetery 41°52′12″N 87°49′11″W / 41.869909°N 87.8197364°W |
| Occupation(s) | Writer, lecturer, tutor |
| Era | Second Industrial Revolution |
| Movement | Anarchism, feminism, individualism |
| Children | Harry de Cleyre |
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| Relatives | Adelaide D. Thayer (sister) |
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Voltairine de Cleyre (née De Claire; November 17, 1866 – June 20, 1912) was an American anarchist, feminist writer and public speaker. Born into extreme poverty in Michigan, de Cleyre taught herself how to read and write, and became a lover of poetry. She was educated at a Catholic convent, which improved her literary and linguistic capabilities, but also influenced her turn towards anti-theism and anti-authoritarianism. After graduating, de Cleyre began her activist career in the freethought movement, lecturing around the country and writing for a number of rationalist publications. Drawn towards socialism and individualist anarchism, she converted fully to anarchism in the wake of the Haymarket affair, which radicalized her against the state and capitalism.
She moved to Philadelphia, where she lived for most of her adult life and taught many of the city's Jewish anarchists. By the late 1890s, de Cleyre was a leading figure in the American anarchist movement, regular speaking at events, writing for publications and organizing anarchist groups. She also went on a lecture tour of the United Kingdom, during which she was introduced to Spanish anarchists, who influenced her adoption of the philosophy of anarchism without adjectives and her later defense of propaganda of the deed.
Following an assassination attempt by Herman Helcher, her physical health rapidly deteriorated and she never fully recovered, but was able to return to writing and public speaking after a few years. During the free speech fights of the early 20th century, she was arrested for inciting a riot in Philadelphia. Towards the end of the 1900s, she grew increasingly depressed and lost her faith in anarchism. But by 1910, she had returned to the movement and moved to Chicago, where she lectured on progressive education. During the final years of her life, she was a keen supporter of the Mexican Revolution. After she died in 1912, her body was buried near the grave of the Haymarket anarchists.
Although eulogized by many anarchists of her time, she was largely forgotten or ignored in many histories of the anarchist movement, due in part to her short life. Her biographers, Paul Avrich and Margaret Marsh, and collectors of her writings, such as A. J. Brigati, Sharon Presley and Crispin Sartwell, brought her life and work back to public attention by the turn of the 21st century.