Montreal's annual Anarchist Bookfair is coming up on May 21-22, 2011. It has become one of the largest anarchist bookfairs in North America. As always, the main bookfair workshops, talks, and tabling (with vendors from all over, including AK Press, Black Rose Books, South End Press, PM Books, and many others) will occur over a weekend, but there are events planned throughout the month of May as part of the Mayday / Mayworks "Festival of Anarchy." Information on all these events can be found on the Bookfair website here. But specific workshops are designed as "introductions" for those unfamiliar with anarchist ideas and history, and other workshops are geared for more in-depth presentations and discussions for people already well-versed. As usual, there are events in both English and French in relatively equal proportion, and many (if not all) offer "whisper translation" for those who need it.
Most evenings also have one or more social events lined up, many with live music. For example, on Friday, May 20th there will be an "Anarchist Cabaret" with assorted bands and performances. On Saturday night, there are at least three events, including a potluck, barbecue, and the annual "Glamarchist Lookfair" queer fundraiser dance party.
For anarcho-parents, there is a "kid zone" with lots of games, activities, snacks, and (I presume?) some degree of supervision.
Finally, yours truly will be doing a version of an older talk (first presented as a paper at the Canadian Historical Association) on Sunday, May 22 at 3pm entitled "Anarchism, Colonialism, and Aboriginal Dispossession in the Canadian West." The focus of this talk is on the early historical visits to Canada of Peter Kropotkin (1897), Emma Goldman (1907), and Rudolf Rocker (1913). Each of them travelled or lectured across the country, and visited or passed through Winnipeg and the Prairies in the late 19th or early 20th centuries. This talk explores these travellers' respective views on colonization and indigenous peoples, in an attempt to grapple with classical anarchism's contradictory relationship to settler-colonialism.
Looking forward to seeing old friends, and meeting new ones! Hope some or all of you in the nearby vicinity can make it out this year. I am bringing my five year old son with me, so I'm not sure how much bookfair talking or evening socializing he will let me get away with. We shall see. 🙂
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