Yesterday evening I received your letter of the 10th (I received the preceding one a little before that, the one about the country house: bravo!).
The beginning of your pamphlet[1] seems magnificent to me. The tone, the dedication, the pseudonym -- all goes for the best. I will shortly send you a small contribution.
The Italian situation being what it is, I believe that -- fuck![2] -- this text could produce an effect much greater than the Poverty[3] did in 1966. But the extent of the possible scandal is dependent on two imperative conditions.
1. It is necessary to finish work immediately: in the month of October and then get it printed around December (that is to say, to publish in the traditional fashion, which, even with the aid of the Doge,[4] always requires unfortunate delays).
2. It is necessary that no one (neither friends, nor girlfriends, with the exception of the Doge on the appropriate day) reads a line of this text, nor even hears about it, before its publication.
Lacking these two conditions, I believe that the chances that this text accomplishes it goals -- which are considerable -- will be almost nothing. You will have to evaluate the possibilities indicated above and thus soon judge if the enterprise does or does not merit urgent effort. As a last resort, publication in January or even February would still give it a serious chance of arriving on time[5] (but there would still be the chance that the text might be rendered obsolete by new events). But if the secret is not kept totally (including the text's publisher), the blow will not be successful.
Today Alice sent a note to Celeste ([at the] via Strozzi [address]). Thus try to bring her along. For her, as well as Paola, I suppose that the holidays begin on Friday, 1 November. Should I arrive in Venice in the morning of the 1st or the morning of Saturday the 2d? (I would love to be met by you there, and the best train from Paris arrives in the morning). Telephone me when the arrangements have been made.
I see that we will be traveling a lot this winter, from Venice to Rome and passing through Chianti. It will thus be necessary to stay a little in Florence as well.
See you soon,[1] The Veritable Report, signed "Censor."
[2] Translator's note: Italian in original.
[3] On the Poverty of Student Life.
[4] Mr Mignoli. [Translator's note: Ariberto Mignoli, Gianfranco Sanguinetti's attorney.]
[5] Translator's note: The Veritable Report on the Last Chances to Save Capitalism in Italy would not be published until August 1975.
(Published in Guy Debord Correspondance, Vol 5: Janvier 1973-Decembre 1978 by Librairie Artheme Fayard, 2005. Translated from the French by NOT BORED! March 2007. Footnotes by Alice Debord, except where noted.)