April 4, 2009 (Valencia) – This is the ninth annual anarchist book fair in Valencia. Events will include presentations on books, discussions, and other activities. For more information, please visit this site: http://www.radioklara.org/spip/spip.php?article2054
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Anyone on the west coast of the United States in June will want to check out the Portland Anarchist Bookrfair. It will occur on June 6 and 7 and is sponsored by the Axiom Collective. For more information, please go here.
We recently received an email from the folks at the Kate Sharpley Library. As we’ve said on this blog before, the KSL is an incredibly important resource for our movement and we highly recommend, after you read the announcement below, that you visit their new web site, read your fill, donate, offer to help out, or send them your feedback and ideas.
The Kate Sharpley Library—dedicated to recording and restoring the history of Anarchism—has redesigned and expanded its website at www.katesharpleylibrary.net
The new design means you can now explore the website by author, translator or subject. Subjects include Anarchism, Lives (for biographies, autobiographies and obituaries), Reviews as well as events like the Paris Commune or Spanish Revolution and Civil War.. All back issues of the KSL bulletin are available in HTML and PDF format. We are now able to take paypal payments for orders or donations.
The many new texts on the website include:
Libertad Ródenas by R. Montsant del Priorat
Octavio Alberola interviewed about Cuba (2004)
Antonino Dominguez (from Against all Tyranny! Essays on Anarchism in Brazil) by Edgar Rodrigues
The first guerrillas In Cantabria by Antonio Téllez Solà
Freie Arbeter Shtime by Shelby Shapiro
A voice from Texas [on the Haymarket martyrs] by Ross Winn (1895)
And lots of reviews
We welcome ideas for what else you’d like to see or feedback on what’s already there.
The AK Press collective is pleased to announce our spring tabling schedule. We hope to see you all at some of these events—and please let us know if you are organizing (or attending) an event that we should be tabling at but that is missing from this list!
March 27-29 in Baltimore
The City From Below
In cities everywhere, new social movements are coming into being, hidden histories and herstories are being uncovered, and unanticipated futures are being imagined and built. This conference is a space to gather and share our stories, our ideas and analysis, a space to come together and rethink the city from below. http://cityfrombelow.org/
April 11 in New York
NYC Anarchist Bookfair
A one-day exposition of books, zines, pamphlets, art, film/video, and other cultural and very political productions of the anarchist scene worldwide, along with two days of panels, presentations, workshops, and skillshares. http://www.anarchistbookfair.net/
April 17-19 in New York
Left Forum
Left Forum brings together organizers and intellectuals from across the globe to share ideas for understanding and transforming the world. http://www.leftforum.org/
April 24-26 in Chicago
Finding Our Roots
A yearly conference held in Chicago to to discuss anarchist theory and action. The theme of this year’s conference is SPACE. Why and how is space important to anarchists, and so often central to our struggles? http://mayfirst.wordpress.com/
April 25-26 in Los Angeles
LA Times Festival of Books
For one weekend in April, people who love books will gather with people who love to write, publish and sell books. The country’s largest celebration of the written word. http://www.latimes.com/extras/festivalofbooks/
May 16-17 in Montreal
Montreal Anarchist Bookfair
A gathering of over 100 booksellers, distributors and groups from all over Canada and beyond, sharing their publications with eager readers—plus workshops, films, and more. We go every year and always find it well worth the trip! http://www.anarchistbookfair.ca/en/
May 26-30 in San Diego
National Conference on Race and Ethnicity (NCORE)
Designed to provide a significant forum for discussion, critical dialogue, and exchange of information, the NCORE conference is the most comprehensive national forum on issues of race and ethnicity in American higher education. http://www.ncore.ou.edu/2009/index.html
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Don’t see anything near you on our list? Well then, in keeping with true DIY spirit, we strongly encourage YOU (yes, you!) to become part of our network of grassroots distribution and help us get our books into the hands of people at your local events, on your band’s tours, or in your community. We can set you up with a wholesale account, give you advice, list your events on our website, and send you free catalogs and AK swag to pass out. Sound good? Shoot an e-mail to bookmobile@akpress.org.
Those unable to attend last December’s Los Angeles Anarchist Book Fair may wish to check out the following video, which provides a great overview of this inspiring, exciting event.
This is the first in a hopefully multi-part series about the questions raised by anarchist projects that employ and depend upon capitalist business practices. I’ve written this first installment as a sort of personal take on my experiences in several such projects. In the future, I intend to interview other “anarchist businesses.” And I’d also like to include the thoughts of people I haven’t directly sought out, either in the comments sections of each post or through serious, thoughtful, and productive articles (i.e. no rants) submitted to blog@akpress.org.
Thanks,
Charles
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From 1987 to 1990, I was a member of the Left Bank Books collective in Seattle, WA. Left Bank is located in one of the most heavily trafficked tourist areas of the city. This is, of course, a very good thing for a bookstore—but for an anarchist bookstore it raises some delicate questions. When I was a part of the collective, we would periodically discuss the issue of how we should relate to the endless stream of tourists that passed our doors. Obviously, they were a potential source of revenue—much bigger than the folks stopping by for anarchist books. But how much were we willing to “compromise” in order to lure them into the store?
I have no idea how the various configurations of the collective have dealt with this dilemma over the last two decades and, admittedly, my beer-fogged memory hasn’t retained too many specific details of our discussions. But I don’t recall there being much debate about whether we should tap the tourist vein: the only question was how? Could we sell books they wanted—placed prominently in the front window and on the display shelves near the front door—without violating our principles? What sorts of books should they be? Where was the line? How should we approach this opportunity to financially support our central project without one day finding ourselves halfway down a slippery mercantile slope? And how should we balance all that with the political benefit of bringing a more mainstream audience into the store and exposing them to radical ideas?
I’m sharing this memory because I think it adds a little concreteness and clarity to the recent discussions I’ve seen in the anarchist press about the deeply problematic idea of “anarchist business.” In most of the public debates I’ve followed, good approaches to these questions are few and far between. Most perplexing is the apparently widespread belief, judging from what people have written, that the people running anarchist businesses aren’t fully aware of, or continually grappling with, the contradictions that their projects involve. Either there’s an assumption of evil intentions on the part of anarchists who sell stuff or they’re portrayed as totally oblivious to the implications of their actions.
As any anarchist with half a brain knows, “anarcho-capitalism” doesn’t exist. It’s a contradiction in terms: anarchism is, and has always been, anti-capitalist. By definition, capitalism is based on exploitation (and a host of corollary horrors), and is thus the antithesis of anarchism. Case closed. In the same sense, one might say that there’s no such thing as an anarchist business. Or, at least, whenever one is “doing business,” one can’t be doing it as an anarchist. Yet, over the last 170 years, anarchists have frequently created and maintained capitalist businesses and, of course, have always been necessarily embroiled in capitalist social and economic relations. Nineteenth-century intentional communities sold their crafts and produce in the town market. Today’s infoshops sell books that, at every step of their production process, from forest to bookshelf, depend on exploited labor and hierarchical social relations. The list could go on, but the point is that it’s hard to imagine any “pure” position outside the oppressive structures of capitalism from which to effectively spread anarchist ideas.
The entire AK Collective would like to thank everyone who visited AK’s tables at last weekend’s Bay Area Anarchist Bookfair. It really means a lot to us when you come by and say hello, purchase our books, and let us know that you support and value our work. Thank you so much!
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[In this photo, in addition to one end of one of AK’s magnificent tables, you are viewing Harjit, Zach, and Suzanne.]
This weekend, buy AK Press-published titles for 25% off! We decided that since we will be selling our own books on the cheap this weekend at the Anarchist Bookfair (see below), those of you who cannot attend should not be penalized further. Be warned: our website’s shopping cart system was created in the dark ages, so the discount won’t be reflected when you “check out,” but we’ll apply it when we download your order. Not sure which titles we publish ourselves? I did a little search for you, so now you have a list! Here.
Also, please don’t miss our online “sale” table (we marked more than 50 items to $5 or less!). It’s here.
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Saturday, March 14th & Sunday, March 15th: The Bay Area Anarchist Bookfair
County Fair Building, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco
Saturday 10–6; Sunday 11–5
FREE
Join AK Press and fifty other sellers at the Bay Area Anarchist Bookfair the second weekend in March. The bookfair is put on by Bound Together Anarchist Collective Bookstore and is now in it’s fourteenth year. There’s always something for everyone—whether you’re looking for hard-to-find pamphlets, new zines, contemporary books on anarchism, or rare editions—as well as a packed agenda of speakers and some delicious baked goods, courtesy of Arizmendi in SF (a link because they do not get enough glory, as far as I am concerned). Check out the bookfair’s website frequently as they’ll be updating speakers and listing other events happening around that time.
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Friday, March 20th: Screening of Shutdown
AK Press Warehouse, 674-A 23rd Street, Oakland
7PM
FREE
On this date in 2003, San Francisco was brought to a grinding halt by thousands of protesters who occupied the streets to oppose the war. It was a mass uprising that forced the police to declare the financial district “shut down.” The filmmakers of this new AK Press DVD were members of Direct Action to Stop the War, the group that spearheaded the action. This film is a must-see for those engaged in the continuous struggle toward social justice.
We might make popcorn. No promises.
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Sunday, March 22nd: Tennessee Reed launches Spell Albuquerque
Bird & Beckett, 653 Chenery Street, San Francisco
2:30PM
FREE
Join us at Bird & Beckett for an afternoon event, as Tennessee Reed launches her new book, Spell Albuquerque. The daughter of writer/choreographer Carla Blank and novelist Ishmael Reed, Tennessee was diagnosed at an early age with several language-based learning disorders. The bottom line, the experts agreed, was that she would never read or write. Spell Albuquerque is an inspiring memoir of one woman’s struggle to overcome racism and institutional authority and to achieve what everyone said was impossible. Tennessee is also the author of five books of poetry, proving them wrong all over the place.
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Sunday, March 22nd: Diana Block launches Arm the Spirit
Women’s Building, Audre Lorde Room, 3543 18th Street, San Francisco
3PM
FREE
Diana Block launches Arm the Spirit, her memoir about living a decade underground, after she and five companions—active in the struggle for Puero Rican independence—found a surveillance device in their car. The book offers insights into efforts to build homegrown clandestine resistance to US imperialism, and traces Diana’s political development on either side of her period underground. Arm the Spirit offers a history of the culture and politics of the 1960s and 1970s and an analysis of the political terrain of the 1990s, when Diana resurfaced and tried to reintegrate into a very different world.
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EVENTS ARE AT THE AK PRESS WAREHOUSE, UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.
AK Press 674-A 23rd. St Oakland, CA
b/t MLK and San Pablo – near 19th St. BART and West Grand Exit of 80/980
For more info contact:
AK Press at 510.208.1700, akpress@akpress.org or visit www.akpress.org
It’s a busy month for AK’s intrepid publicist (um, me)—March marks the release of four amazing new titles, all of them fantastic reads, all of which you should go out and buy or ask your local library to stock! It never ceases to amaze me how different the titles we publish are … and at the same time, each one has a relevance and significance for anarchist and anti-authoritarian politics in its own way. David Berry’s History of the French Anarchist Movement is a solid, scholarly investigation of the compromises we make in the name of dismantling capitalism, viewed through the lens of early twentieth-century anarchist praxis in France. Michael Schmidt and Lucien van der Walt’s Black Flame is a remarkable contribution to the debates surrounding the class politics of the anarchist tradition, both as a historical movement and as a living, breathing, acting praxis in our daily lives. Tennessee Reed’s memoir, Spell Albuquerque, is a stunning indictment of racism and prejudice in the public school system, and a testament to the great lengths that spirit and perseverance can carry us in the face of adversity. But the one that stands out for me the most right now is Diana Block’s memoir Arm the Spirit.
Diana’s book details the years she spent underground, having been forced to flee Los Angeles in the late 1970s as a result of her activities on behalf of the fight for Puerto Rican and Black liberation. Reading it for the first time right before its release, I think I was expecting a sort of political treatise, an indictment of the system that forced Diana and her companions underground fearing for their safety and their liberty, and not a lot else. What I found was much, much more than that—Diana’s book is truly a blending of the personal and the political. Her account of raising two children who didn’t know their mother’s real name, of having to tell her kids that their grandparents were dead or risk giving away her hidden identity, of the toll that life underground took on her relationship with her partner, and of the choice to marry that partner right before resurfacing, despite her lifelong commitment to resisting social institutions and the strictures of church and state, is nothing short of captivating. I’m recommending it to all of the women (and men) I know who are constantly engaged in the struggle between their lifelong commitment to activism and the societal pressure to settle down and raise a family. And sending a copy to my mom!
In the meantime, while you’re waiting for your very own copy to arrive, check out the brief interview I conducted with Diana about the book, and about her experiences. And be sure to check out her website (http://www.armthespirit.com) for her tour schedule—she’ll be all over the Bay Area and along the East Coast in the coming months to promote the book!
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AK: Hey Diana, thanks for taking the time to answer a few questions for Revolution By the Book! Your new memoir, Arm the Spirit: A Woman’s Journey Underground and Back appears this month from AK Press, and so far the response has been fantastic! Can you tell our readers a little bit about the book?
DB: The book is the story of the thirteen years I spent underground in the eighties and nineties as part of a collective doing solidarity work with the Puerto Rican independence and Black liberation movements. The book also examines my history during the seventies, with glimpses back to my childhood, to explain why I decided to take the huge step to go underground. The book comes full circle when I return to public life in 1994 and resume political activity in the Bay Area. Of course, there is a lot of personal story in there too—my coming out as a lesbian in 1973, my decision nine years later to become involved with my life partner Claude, and our parenting of two children while underground. I won’t give away anything more.
AK: It must be difficult to reflect back on a decade spent hiding your real identity and constantly fearing that people would find out who you really were—can you talk a little about what motivated you to write the memoir, and about your experience of going back and revisiting those painful times? (more…)
There are many pleasurable aspects about working at AK Press. One in particular is being a distributor and seeing new materials our fellow publishers are releasing. For the past couple of years we’ve been distributing some great pamphlets from Edmonton, Aberta’s Black Cat Press, and now we’ve finally gotten copies of their newest offerings: Kontrrazvedka: The Story of the Makhnovist Intelligence Service and The Russian Revolution in the Ukraine (Volume I of Nestor Makhno’s memoirs). We truly hope that Black Cat will receive the support they deserve for all of their hard work. Please check out their projects available through AK Press hereand at their own site, here. I took a moment to ask Malcolm a few questions about the press—its past, and its bright future.
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So, Black Cat Press is both a printer and a publisher. How was Black Cat formed? How long have you been printing and publishing?
Black Cat Press started way back in 1972 when I bought an offset press and copy camera for the grand total of $650. But it’s only been full time since 1994 when I and a couple of friends lost our jobs around the same time. It’s always been a marginal business but somehow manages to survive the continual crises which beset any small business. We are mainly a commercial printer and publishing is only about 5% of our work but increasing rapidly.
How is the print shop organized? Do you operate as a workers’ collective, or have some alternative structure? Similarly, do the printers share the publishing tasks and vice-versa?
Our shop is organized by the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP), one of the more progressive Canadian unions. Our shop almost never has more than 2 or 3 workers at a time and the union has allowed the owner (me) to be a member, partly because I work with my hands. Our workers have always been active in the Local which includes several blue collar bargaining units. Since we are so small, everyone has to get involved in all phases of production, from proof-reading to shrink-wrapping. In the case of book production, we are able to draw on volunteer help from the anarchist community in Alberta for editing, production, distribution, etc.
What distribution channels do you use?
We’ve had difficulty finding distributors, partly because our book production uses a print-on-demand model, which is not conducive to the sort of discounts wholesalers expect. This has forced us to rely on anarchist book fairs and our own website to get our publications out there. We’re grateful that we’ve recently been able to establish good relations with AK Press and appreciate the advice received about marketing our books.
Do you have specific goals as a publisher? Who do you see as your audience? (more…)
This week marks a changing era for AK Press. February was Craig O’Hara’s last month at AK Press. After eleven years of toil Craig has moved on. Craig witnessed AK Press grow out of a closet in San Francisco to a 6,000 sq. ft warehouse in West Oakland, and to a new east coast branch. He saw his self-published book turn into a consistent seller as an AK Press book, eventually translated into numerous languages and reprinted often. For the past five years he’s been located in rural West Virginia, working on expanding our distribution and making contacts on the East Coast.
I’ve had my agreements and disagreements with Craig over the years, as it should be. But as Craig moves on, AK Press loses someone willing and capable of working long, hard hours with both his head and his hands—and for that he’s earned great respect in the radical community. We wish him the best of luck with all his future endeavors. Keep up with his future work here.
And while we bid Craig a fond farewell we are happy to announce that the AK Press Baltimore office is running strong and we’ve just bucked the economic climate by hiring Chuck Morse to work as a member of the collective. Chuck has been volunteering very closely with AK for the past seven months and will be only increasing his involvement in the months and years to come.
So as doors close new ones open, and we step boldly into the future.
the KSL is an incredibly important resource for our movement and we highly recommend, after you read the announcement below, that you visit their new web site, read your fill, donate, offer to help out, or send them your feedback and ideas.
running strong and we’ve just bucked the economic climate by hiring Chuck Morse to work as a member of the collective. Chuck has been volunteering very closely with AK for the past seven months and will be only increasing his involvement in the months and years to come.