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By kersplebedeb, on March 15, 2013, at 8:42 am i often disagree with Noel Ignatiev – and the following essay is certainly no exception in that regard – however his reasoning is often provocative, which though a bit maddening is also not a bad thing. As such, it should not be assumed that the views in the following guest contribution are those of yours truly. However, it is worth reading in the context of the ongoing discussion of Zak Cope’s book Divided World Divided Class. The other essays referenced here are by Charlie Post, Matthijs Krul, and Don Hamerquist. (Note that Krul also posted a further response
. . . → Read More: Sketchy Thoughts: Progress and Poverty: a response to Krul, Post and Hamerquist from Noel Ignatiev
By Tyler Morgenstern, on February 15, 2013, at 4:54 pm Owing in large part to Hollywood’s discovery of its infinite star vehicle potential, the “intersecting lives” narrative has become, in recent years, something of a cop out. When the A-story isn’t strong enough, simply prop it up with parallel stories B through F and have them all fatefully (and conveniently) collide about a third of the way through the final act. It’s a trite and often tiresome trick that, with few exceptions, sacrifices meaningful narrative at the altar of novelty.
In riffing on this form with his debut novel London Triptych (Arsenal Pulp, 2013), Jonathan Kemp is playing with fire. (Read more…)
By kersplebedeb, on January 26, 2013, at 10:32 am Divided World Divided Class: Global Political Economy and the Stratification of Labour Under Capitalism is a book published by Kersplebedeb (and available from leftwingbooks.net) back in September of last year.Divided World Divided Class charts the history of the ‘labour aristocracy’ in the capitalist world system, from its roots in colonialism to its birth and eventual maturation into a full-fledged middle class in the age of imperialism. It argues that pervasive national, racial and cultural chauvinism in the core capitalist countries is not primarily attributable to ‘false class consciousness’, ideological indoctrination or ignorance as much left and liberal thinking
. . . → Read More: Sketchy Thoughts: Divided World Divided Class Reviewed and Discussed by Matthijs Krul and others
By Tyler Morgenstern, on November 16, 2012, at 9:01 pm In a delirious, hallucinogenic voice, author Barry Webster turns directly toward the place and experience of femininity in a queer life dominated by masculine desires. . . . → Read More: Art Threat: Femininity, fantasy, and fever dreams – Book review: The Lava in My Bones by Barry Webster
By Gordon Cawsey, on November 13, 2012, at 11:58 pm Before undertaking to read and review C. James Jensen’s book, ‘Beyond The Power of Your Subconscious Mind‘, I had already read many books of a similar nature, titles like ‘The Magic of Believing‘ and ‘The Secret‘. I had already formed the opinion that people are very much like ice bergs, that what we perceive as our potential is but a fraction of the power that lies below the service. In human beings that potential rests within the subconscious, and whether its used actively or passively, its power is immense. We’re all using it every (Read more…)
By Gordon Cawsey, on September 28, 2012, at 11:48 pm
Author Helio Fred Garcia, Executive Director of Logos Institute for Crisis Management and Executive Leadership has written an important book for individuals who are in positions of leadership, and for those aspiring to leadership roles. This excellent work has already received some pretty hefty endorsements and positive reviews from business leaders and luminaries such as: Jeffrey Bleustein – Retired Chairman and CEO, Harley Davidson Inc and Amy C. Edmondson – Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management, Harvard Business School…among numerous others. I hardly think the opinion of Canadian Soapbox warrants comparison, but regardless I am more than . . . → Read More: Canadian Soapbox: Leading or aspiring to lead? Invest in ‘The Power of Communication’ – (Book Review)
By kersplebedeb, on September 24, 2012, at 5:58 pm My comrade Josh recently wrote a review of Zak Cope’s Divided World Divided Class on his excellent MLM Mayhem blog. You can read it here, but i am also reposting it on Sketchy Thoughts here:
These days, at the centres of capitalism, it is en vogue for leftists to attack Lenin’s theory of the labour aristocracy. Some marxist critics, feeling like they know better than the leader of the Bolshevik Revolution, would like to remind us that Lenin’s theorization of a term bandied about by Engels showed no understanding of what Engels meant in the first place––indeed, the
. . . → Read More: Sketchy Thoughts: MLM Mayhem Reviews Zak Cope’s Divided World Divided Class
By kersplebedeb, on September 24, 2012, at 5:47 pm The following interview appeared recently on anti-imperialism.com, the blog of the Revolutionary Anti-Imperialist Movement (RAIM), with Zak Cope, about his book recently published by Kersplebedeb, Divided World Divided Class: Global Political Economy and the Stratification of Labour Under Capitalism.
Zak Cope is the author of Divided World Divided Class: Global Political Economy and the Stratification of Labour Under Capitalism, which was just published this past August by Kersplebedeb Press as part of their recently launched Kalikot series. The book “charts the history of the ‘labour aristocracy’ in the capitalist world system, from its roots in colonialism to its
. . . → Read More: Sketchy Thoughts: The Revolutionary Anti-Imperialist Movement Interviews Dr Zak Cope
By Gordie_Canuk, on September 18, 2012, at 9:03 pm
This dusty little corner of cyberspace attracts its fair share of email. I get all manner of messages suggesting topics to write on, causes wanting some promotion and books looking for reviews. I read every message in my inbox, and though I usually ignore them, I have reviewed one book. A recent email asked me to review a book that isn’t yet published. Jan Reuter and Dr. William Borgen are writing a book called ‘Recession Proof Your Career‘. Their PR firm contacted Canadian Soapbox asking for assistance in finding success stories to be featured in the book. “It . . . → Read More: Canadian Soapbox: Rising from the ashes – Don’t let life’s setbacks define you
By Michael Nenonen, on September 15, 2012, at 5:06 pm
“Factories By the River” by Aaron Henry Gorson, Pittsburgh, PA
“Allegheny, BC” is Rodney DeCroo’s first published book of poetry. It follows a body of musical work that has received international acclaim. His albums—there have been six so far—have earned considerable respect from reviewers on several continents for the power of his lyrics and the haunting quality of his music.
The river that both his book and his poem “The Allegheny” are named for runs through DeCroo’s hometown of Pittsburgh. Though he has lived in Vancouver, BC, for most of his adult life, his mind has been swimming in that
. . . → Read More: Art Threat: Growing up in the muck-stream of America – The poetics of defiance in Rodney DeCroo’s "Allegheny, BC"
By Tyler Morgenstern, on July 12, 2012, at 5:35 pm
Invocation of the Queer Spirits (Governor’s Island) – AA Bronson
There is always a certain magic to be found in the moment of queering. As bodies are opened to unsanctioned desires and sensations, tense moments of wonder unfold before them. Static charges crackle and spark as genders and sexualities are peeled away from the sticky fabric of the everyday.
Such moments and times pulse with magic; they ask us to overreach ourselves, to live in other bodies, to step outside of axiomatic truths and ways of being. To be queer, or to queer, is, in this sense, a kind of
. . . → Read More: Art Threat: Invocation of the Queer Spirits – Book review: Queer Spirits by AA Bronson and Peter Hobbs
By kersplebedeb, on July 1, 2012, at 12:42 pm I must admit that it is difficult for me to write an honest review about Com. David Gilbert’s “Love and Struggle” (you can purchase your personal copy here), especially because of the enormous respect that I have for him and the sacrifices that he has made for the revolutionary cause, and a fear that any criticism of his work will be regarded as unfair, un-comradely and disrespectful. However, simultaneously I believe that such a review is absolutely necessary because Com. David’s life and politics have often intersected at key points in my own development as an activist, although completely unbeknownst
. . . → Read More: Sketchy Thoughts: Workers Dreadnought Reviews David Gilbert’s, “Love and Struggle: My Life in SDS, the Weather Underground, and Beyond”.
By kersplebedeb, on June 18, 2012, at 1:29 pm
The opening graphic in The Anti-Capitalist Resistance Comic Book is striking, showing a Black Bloc member squaring off against a cop, each as representatives of the clash between Empire and free peoples from centuries past. To what degree do you feel that the clashes at today’s summits represent a continuity with the history of anti-colonial resistance?
To start with, I wouldn’t limit the concept of anti-colonial resistance simply to counter summit mobilizations. But in general, I do think there’s a connection in that free, autonomous societies have always resisted the rule of civilization and its empires, which the graphic you
. . . → Read More: Sketchy Thoughts: Anti-Capitalism and Violence: Gord Hill Interviewed by Kersplebedeb
By kersplebedeb, on May 31, 2012, at 10:18 am
On KPFA’s Letters and Politics show featured an interview with Gabriel Kuhn, on the subject of the West German Autonomen, and the book Fire and Flames (which Kuhn translated into english). i have mirrored the interview here; it is well worth listening to. i found his comments on the evolution of the Black Bloc to be of particular interest, and so i have transcribed the relative passages here:
GK: The history of militant resistance is a long one; i think the particular form that the Black Bloc took on in Germany during the 1980s was determined by the
. . . → Read More: Sketchy Thoughts: Fire and Flames, Black Blocs, and Militant Resistance
By kersplebedeb, on May 24, 2012, at 2:07 pm There was an “anti-colonial Victoria Day” book launch in Montreal on May 21, where Maia Ramnath presented her new book Decolonizing Anarchism, published by AK Press and the Institute for Anarchist Studies (and available from leftwingbooks.net). What made this launch special, and different from most such events, was that the Ramnath spoke on a panel with Ponni, a radical activist from India, who used her intervention to level a detailed and outstanding critique of the book, from an anti-authoritarian and anticolonial perspective.Given the strength of this critique, i asked Ponni if i could upload the transcript here
. . . → Read More: Sketchy Thoughts: Decolonizing Anarchism: An Anticolonial Critique
By kersplebedeb, on May 23, 2012, at 5:19 pm On April 13, Philly celebrated the release of the book Love and Struggle: My Life in SDS, the Weather Underground, and Beyond, by David Gilbert, who is a political prisoner in New York State. (For more about David, click here!) The event, at Goldilocks Gallery, featured speakers, a short video tribute to David and the book, and a showing of a quilt made by imprisoned community members at SCI-Chester.
Thanks to comrades involved, videos of the speakers have been uploaded – i am posting them all here and also to my Love and Struggle events webpage.
To
. . . → Read More: Sketchy Thoughts: David Gilbert’s Love and Struggle: The Philly Launch Online!
By David Eaves, on May 4, 2012, at 2:14 pm This week, the Literary Review of Canada published my and Taylor Owen’s review of When the Gods Changed: The Death of Liberal Canada by Peter C. Newman. For non-Canadians Peter Newman is pretty much a legend when it comes to covering Canadian history and politics, he was editor of the country’s largest newspaper and main news magazine and has published over 35 books. I also think the review will be of interest to non-Canadians since I think the topic of the decline of Liberal Canada are also true for a number of other countries experiencing more polarized politics.
Some other
. . . → Read More: eaves.ca: My LRC Review of “When the Gods Changed” and other recommended weekend readings
By Jen Croll, on April 16, 2012, at 3:00 am
At the very top of the spiral marble staircase in the Carnegie Centre, past the century-old stained glass windows depicting Milton, Shakespeare, Spencer, Burns, Scott and Moore, there’s a small, light-filled classroom. Inside, ten people sit around a table holding pens, scraps of paper in front of them. This is the Thursdays Writing Collective, a weekly workshop run by SFU Writer’s Studio alumnus Elee Kraljii Gardiner. But this isn’t your typical week at Thursdays, because today Kraljii Gardiner’s handing out contributor copies of V6A.
V6A, coedited by Kraljii Gardiner with poet John Mikhail Asfour and published this April by
. . . → Read More: Art Threat: Artistry flows from V6A, “Canada’s poorest postal code”
By kersplebedeb, on April 11, 2012, at 7:51 am Here is the official trailer for David Gilbert’s Love and Struggle: My Life in SDS, the Weather Underground, and Beyond, recently published by PM Press. As many of you know, David is an anti-imperialist political prisoner serving a 75-year-to-life sentence in New York State – he has been locked up since his capture in 1981. (For more about David, click here.)
Some comrades of David’s put together a youtube video trailer to accompany the book, to give a taste of what it’s all about. Enjoy.
There have been book launches and discussion groups across the united states
. . . → Read More: Sketchy Thoughts: David Gilbert’s Love and Struggle: the Videos!
By kersplebedeb, on April 3, 2012, at 7:00 am The following review is reposted from the Alpine Anarchist:
David Gilbert mentions the documentary film The Weather Underground by Sam Green and Bill Siegel, released in 2002, on the very first page of his book Love and Struggle: My Life in SDS, the Weather Underground, and Beyond. Gilbert relates how the film has made many activists of a younger generation aware of his case, leading to very rewarding and inspiring correspondence. Fittingly, my own awareness of David Gilbert’s role in the Weather Underground and of his subsequent involvement with the Black Liberation Army is strongly tied to watching the
. . . → Read More: Sketchy Thoughts: Gabriel Kuhn Reviews David Gilbert’s "Love and Struggle: My Life in SDS, the Weather Underground, and Beyond" (Oakland: PM Press, 2012)
By Tyler Morgenstern, on March 16, 2012, at 11:40 am
[Forward: When I saw that Arsenal Pulp Press had these two books on hand I immediately thought of Tyler. A thoughtful writer, Tyler had the pleasure of meeting Thomas Waugh last summer, and I knew he'd have an interesting perspective on both Out/Lines and Lust Unearthed. He certainly delivered. The following article is definitely worth a read to the end. - Amanda McCuaig, Art Threat Contributing Editor.]
In the summer of 2011, I had the good fortune of working with the organizing team behind We Demand: History/Sex/Activism, a three-day conference exploring the history of gender and sex activism in
. . . → Read More: Art Threat: Thomas Waugh flirts with fantasy while fucking reality – An analysis of Out/Lines and Lust Unearthed
By Michael Lithgow, on February 27, 2012, at 4:00 am
Eleven artists were invited by the School for Advanced Research to come together in a series of seminars to share their thoughts on their art work and on their lives and experiences as indigenous women. Out of these seminars comes the book Art In Our Lives: Native Women Artists In Dialogue (SAR Press, 2010). From their conversations emerged themes that individual artists wrote about: home/place, transgression/boundaries, art as healing/art as struggle, pain/joy, art practice/work, and survival/colonization. Includes chapters by Elysia Poon, Gloria Emerson, Sherry Racette, and Lora Evans.
Looks like an excellent read …
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eaves.ca: My LRC Review of “When the Gods Changed” and other recommended weekend readings
This week, the Literary Review of Canada published my and Taylor Owen’s review of When the Gods Changed: The Death of Liberal Canada by Peter C. Newman. For non-Canadians Peter Newman is pretty much a legend when it comes to covering Canadian history and politics, he was editor of the country’s largest newspaper and main news magazine and has published over 35 books. I also think the review will be of interest to non-Canadians since I think the topic of the decline of Liberal Canada are also true for a number of other countries experiencing more polarized politics.
Some other
. . . → Read More: eaves.ca: My LRC Review of “When the Gods Changed” and other recommended weekend readings