Writing as Self-Construction : Leda Rafanelli’s Life in Anarchism, Typography and Publishing

The anarchist militant Leda Rafanelli (1880–1971) spent her life working at the printing press, publishing her own writings and those of others. She co-founded several publishing houses, organised and promoted many other initiatives in the field. An analysis of her published and unpublished works offers insight into the ways she constructed and presented her identity, not only as an anarchist, but also as an intellectual, a typographer and a publisher. Through this investigation we can see how Rafanelli’s identity construction, articulated in the acts of writing and of publishing, transmitted a precise representation of both her professional identity and her political affiliation.