April 27: Peacebuilding and Conflict Resolution in Rojava

Posted on April 3, 2025 - April 26, 2025 by Orange

GET THE READING PORTION HERE: ZINE OR SCREEN, CAMAS BOOKS‘ FREE BOX, or EMMA’S FREE LIBRARIES AROUND TOWN.

ALSO LISTEN (35:00-end, 20m) and WATCH (14m)

Facilitators should note the Facilitation Guide.

We will be discussing the Peacebuilding and Conflict Resolution methods and praxis of Rojavan revolutionaries in the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.

VARC-goers are expected to read Peacebuilding in a Conflict Setting: Peace and Reconciliation Committees in De Facto Rojava Autonomy in Syria (2017) by Dr. Yasin Duman, listen to The Women’s War podcast episode 5 Grandma Law And Revolutionary Sacrifice, (2020) and watch the SubMedia video The Fall of the Regime (2025) ahead of time for our discussion.

As always, we meet at Camas Books, 2620 Quadra Street, on Lekwungen Territory. Our meeting is Sunday April 27th @ 6:30PM.

—

PS: Our friends at the Anarchist Network of “Vancouver Island” have put together a list of anarchist and adjacent projects on the territory. If you are looking to involve yourself in anarchist activism, look at their trifold! Particularly, Food not Bombs serves free vegan food for revolution every Sunday 4-6PM at Spirit “Centennial” Square and have been facing increasing harassment tied to the gentrification of the Square. Come show up to eat! They also need help from volunteers.

Announcing the First ‘Victoria’ Anarchist Film Festival

Posted on April 30, 2024 - April 30, 2024 by Light

Our friends from the ‘Victoria’ Anarchist Bookfair collective, in conjunction with Camas Books and FreeSkool ‘Victoria,’ are proud to announce this year’s first ‘Victoria’ Anarchist Film Festival, operating on unceded L’kwungen territory, from May Day (May 1st) to May 11th.

While no one will be turned away at the door, we encourage donations, which support this year’s bookfair. The full screening schedule can be viewed here.

Sep 17: Creeker Zine Volume One

Posted on September 9, 2023 by Creatrix

There’s nothing like actually getting to read something that is local and close to our hearts like we are this week with the first installment of the Creeker Zine. Yes, it is time for us to consider all the trials and tribulations our comrades over on the blockades have been experiencing as we take a few moments to ponder over their words in Creeker Volume One. Join us for an undoubtedly intense journey by clicking on the link to their zine here.

As always, we meet at Camas Books, 2620 Quadra Street on Lekwungen Territory. This meeting will take place on Sunday, Sept 17th at 6:30 pm. Be seeing you!

August 6: How to Start a Libertarian Municipal Fire

Posted on July 31, 2023 - July 31, 2023 by Light

We were split down the middle between delving more into insurrectionary anarchist theory, and social, organizational anarchist theory. Therefore, we have decided to read both How to Start a Fire:
An Invitation by Anonymous, (2017) and Libertarian Municipalism: An Overview by Murray Bookchin (1991) congruently.

Both of these texts are available for free through the Anarchist Library:

How to Start a Fire: An Invitation by Anonymous (2017)

Libertarian Municipalism: An Overview by Murray Bookchin (1991)

As always, we are meeting at Camas Books, 2620 Quadra Street, on Lekwungen Territory. The next meeting is Sunday August 6th @ 6:30PM.

July 23: Anxiously Throwing Squatted Dance Parties

Posted on July 11, 2023 by Light

For our next circle, we are going to be reading two Crimethinc zines! They are We Are All Very Anxious: Six Theses on Anxiety and Why It is Effectively Preventing Militancy, and One Possible Strategy for Overcoming It (2014) and How To Throw a Squatted Dance Party (2022).

We Are All Very Anxious is available as screen or as an imposed zine PDF.

How To Throw a Squatted Dance Party is available both as screen or an imposed zine PDF.

As always, we are meeting at Camas Books, 2620 Quadra Street, on Lekwungen Territory. The next meeting is Sunday July 23 @ 6:30PM.

June 25: Pride Was a Riot

Posted on June 18, 2023 - June 19, 2023 by Light

June is Pride month. As some queer anarchists at Crimethinc have said: “Stonewall [Pride] was a violent, leaderless, multiracial, joyous and youthful anti-police riot” spearheaded by BIPOC trans women. For Pride, we have decided to discuss two queer readings.

These readings are (linked) Queers Read This (1990), an essay from Queer Nation distributed as radical pamphlets at Pride events arguing queerness as inherently political and confrontational to cishet hegemonic state authority, and Female Socialization is a Transphobic Myth (2021) by Devon Price Ph.D., which argues against the transphobic talking point.

Edit: Some folks are reporting a paywall on Female Socialization is a Transphobic Myth. Here is a rich text format copy below if you’re unable to access Medium.

Female Socialization is a Transphobic Myth

As always, we are meeting at Camas Books, 2620 Quadra Street, on Lekwungen Territory. The next meeting is Sunday June 25 @ 6:30PM.

John Zerzan Special Guest Presentation

Posted on August 1, 2022 - November 1, 2022 by Creatrix

July 14th, 7 PM: The Prison System in Canada

Posted on July 6, 2020 - July 6, 2020 by Creatrix

Continuing with the theme of prisons and incarceration in relation to social issues, we decided to further explore that theme on the prison system in Canada.

* “Everything you were never taught about Canada’s prison systems” explores what the writers call an “urgent human right crisis”. Their research highlight the relationship between crime rate and incarceration, living conditions, and targeted populations.

* In “Why Indigenous Women Are Canada’s Fastest Growing Prison Population”, we learn the stories of indigenous people and their experience with the prison system.

Links to the readings:
> http://www.intersectionalanalyst.com/intersectional-analyst/2017/7/20/everything-you-were-never-taught-about-canadas-prison-systems
> https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/5gj8vb/why-indigenous-women-are-canadas-fastest-growing-prison-population

Although we are no longer physically meeting as a group, we still operate on occupied, unceded Lekwungen territory. Our next meeting will be held on our private Jitsi server on Tuesday, July 14th at 7pm PST.
Jitsi is open-source software that is fully encrypted end-to-end, and which does not track your IP address. In the time when it seems like everyone’s falling for the most insecure communications platforms motivated solely to collect, sell and trade in your data, we created our own Jitsi instance as an infrastructural countermeasure.

If you are interested in participating in this week’s reading circle, please contact varc[at]victoriaanarchistreadingcircle.ca introducing yourself to confirm your place in the shadow-cabinet list and obtain access to the meeting.

June 27: Emma Goldman’s 150th Birthday Party!

Posted on June 23, 2019 - June 23, 2019 by Creatrix

Emma Goldman MugShot On June 27, 2019, we will be celebrating Emma Goldman’s 150th Birthday! Come join us at Camas Books (2620 Quadra st) from 7-9 pm for vegan cake and an open house style socializing!

Co-hosted by members of The Anarchist Reading Circle, Camas Books, and The Victoria Bookfair Collective.

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