"Victoria" Anarchist Reading Circle

Oct 29: The Continuing Appeal of Nationalism & Media Literacy Workshop

Posted on October 22, 2023 - February 6, 2024 by Creatrix

Due to outstanding media events regarding Palestine & Israel, we will be reading Fredy Perlman’s The Continuing Appeal of Nationalism (1984) as a primer for a workshop, as well as a discussion, on understanding conflict, navigating media, and practicing solidarity in a time of war and crisis overseas.

One member fled Afghanistan as a refugee during the Soviet occupation. They were active in the post-9/11 anti-war movement, and organized with Afghan-led voices internationally against the NATO war in Afghanistan.

One presenter studies the intersections of infrastructure, conflict, and politics in North America, Central Asia and the Caucasus.

The Continuing Appeal of Nationalism (1984) is available to read for free on the Anarchist Library https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/fredy-perlman-the-continuing-appeal-of-nationalism

As always, we meet at Camas Books and Infoshop, 2620 Quadra Street, on unceded Lekwungen Territory at 6:30pm on Sunday October 29th.

October 15th: A Critique of Ally Politics Double Header

Posted on October 3, 2023 by Creatrix

Spilling over from our discussion on how “Reconciliation is Dead” we turned to Tawinikay’s evocation of the Two-Row Wampum representing the original intent of cooperation and equality that was part of the earliest relations between Indigenous and Settler peoples (specifically the Haudenosaunee and the Dutch). We then talked about what, in a similar spirit, could be most relevant for our movements today and decided to read a few classics to get our bearings on the matter.

For October 15th, we will be reading two texts contesting the term “Ally.” The first text is the classic, “Accomplices not Allies: Abolishing the Ally Industrial Complex,” from Indigenousaction.org, which you can get from this link. A Print-friendly .pdf is available here. The second text is from Crimethinc. and is called “Ain’t No PC Gonna Fix It Baby: A Critique of Ally Politics”, which you can get from the Anarchist Library here.

As always, we meet at Camas Books and Infoshop, 2620 Quadra Street, on unceded Lekwungen Territory at 6:30pm on Sunday October 15th.

October 1st: Reconciliation is Dead: A Strategic Proposal

Posted on September 21, 2023 - September 25, 2023 by Light

In lieu of the Canadian State’s declaration of the national ‘holiday’ “National Day for Truth and Reconciliation” observed September 30th, we have decided to read Reconciliation is Dead: A Strategic Proposal (2020) by Métis water defender Tawinikay. In the piece, Tawinikay asserts that “the concept [of reconciliation] is a state-led smoke screen used to advance a more sophisticated policy of assimilation” that perpetuates and ensures the survival of the settler-colonial state.

Reconciliation is Dead is free to read on the Anarchist Library, and is also available as an imposed PDF.

Optionally, Autonomously and with Conviction: A Métis Refusal of State-Led Reconciliation is a recommended sister-text, which is also available as an imposed PDF.

As always, we are meeting at Camas Books, 2620 Quadra Street, on Lekwungen Territory. The next meeting is Sunday October 1st @ 6:30PM.

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!

September 3: Art is Activism, ft. Stefan Christoff

Posted on August 30, 2023 - August 30, 2023 by Light

This time we are shaking things up! Join us at 7:00PM at Camas Books, 2620 Quadra Street, on Lekwungen Territory on Sunday, September 3rd for an in-depth discussion about how art can infuse unionization drives, Indigenous solidarity campaigns, and the struggle for Palestinian justice with militancy.

This interactive workshop, facilitated by long-time community organizer and artist Stefan Christoff, will highlight three examples of creative activist campaigns and community organizing work that explores the intersections of art and activism.

First Stefan will speak about current efforts in Québec to mobilize artists to join the struggle against Bill 31, newly proposed legislation in Québec that aims to cut into the capacity of renters to express solidarity through lease transfers. Stefan is working on a campaign called Artists United Against Bill 31.

Stefan will speak about the campaign to support Dollarama warehouse workers in Montreal during the peak of the pandemic crisis who faced unjust and unsafe working conditions. Many workers were facing the realities of precarious status and pending deportations from Canada. Stefan helped coordinate artist support for this campaign as part of the Immigrant Workers Centre (IWC), which included an open letter and street art posters.

Also, Stefan will speak about an ongoing collaboration with Wet’suwet’en activist Marlene Hale to support the Indigenous land rights of the Wet’suwet’en people who are struggling against the imposition of the Coastal GasLink Pipeline on their traditional Indigenous territories. Stefan coordinated a series of events and an open letter signed by many local artists to support the Wet’suwet’en resistance to contemporary colonialism.

Finally, Stefan will speak about helping to coordinate the global #MusiciansForPalestine campaign, which has brought over 1500 artists together to support the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against the apartheid policies of the Israeli state against the Palestinian people.

There will be a presentation aspect and also a street art aspect to this workshop. Participants will cut out street art lettering to express an important campaign and / or political demand that arises from the conversation in this workshop.

August 20: Quiet Storm – Technology and Social Control Screening

Posted on August 13, 2023 by Creatrix

For the next reading circle, we decided to put the texts down and watch a video together! So we headed over to our anarchist educational co-conspirators at sub.Media for inspiration and of course, they came up with the goods! We are going to be viewing (together at the circle) Quiet Storm: Technology and Social Control, which is part of their Trouble Series of documentary films. After the movie we will discuss what we learned.

As always, we are meeting at Camas Books, 2620 Quadra Street, on Lekwungen Territory. The next meeting is Sunday August 20th @ 6:30PM.

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.

July 9: Indigenous Identity & Appropriation

Posted on June 28, 2023 - June 29, 2023 by Light

The genocidal settler-colonial Canadian state is celebrating its 156th official year of colonialism, racism, and capitalism on July 1st, and so we have naturally circled back to our Indigenous readings.

We have decided to read Michif-Cree anarchist Tawinikay’s piece Settlers on the Red Road (2021), which digs into hard questions of Indigenous identity and settlers in anarchist spaces who choose to take it up. Her zine is a critique of both identity, as well as its appropriation.

Settlers on the Red Road is available for free to read on the Anarchist Library. It is also available as an imposed PDF zine (double-side short edge) here.

As always, we are meeting at Camas Books, 2620 Quadra Street, on Lekwungen Territory. The next meeting is Sunday July 9 @ 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.

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