Category: Events

For our sixteenth reading group we will be reading Abolitionist Voices, a compilation edited by David Gordon Scott. From the blurb:

Why have so many radical thinkers advocated for the abolition of prisons and punishment? And why have their ideas been so difficult to popularize or garner the political will for change? This book outlines several different approaches to penal abolitionism and showcases their calls for the ending of legal coercion, domination, and repression.

This exciting and innovative edited collection shows how abolitionist ideas have continued topicality and relevance in the present day and how they can collectively help with devising new ways of thinking about social problems, as well as suggesting alternatives to existing penal policies, practices and institutions.

We will be reading Abolitionist Voices over two sessions. This month we will be reading Part I and Part II.

We normally link to a free online version of what we are reading, but this month we could not find one. If you would like to join the reading group but can no afford to buy Abolitionist Voices, please send us an email and we will try and get something sorted for you. Our friends at Freedom Press here kindly offer the space for our use, visit them for radical books, news, and events.

The reading group will be meeting on Tuesday the 25th of November, 19:00, at Freedom Bookshop, 84b Whitechapel High St, London E1 7QX. You are welcome to come and join in the discussion even if you have not finished the reading.

For our fifteenth reading group we will be reading What About The Rapists by Dysophia. From the blurb:

“This short book is aimed at anarchists thinking about how to deal with abuses of power and acts of domination in their communities. It brings together a collection of articles representing different approaches to this problem, from transformative justice-based accountability processes to retributive-based acts of survivor-led retaliation.

Focusing on lessons learnt from experiments in this field and concerns that persist about these methods, it offers possible ways forward for those looking for grassroots responses.”

A free version of What About The Rapists can be found on the Dysophia site here and our friends at Freedom Press here have offered a 10% discount on physical copies for the reading group. Just quote “London SolFed Reading Group” or pop into Freedom for your general radical book buying needs.

The reading group will be meeting on Tuesday the 28th of October, 19:00, at Freedom Bookshop, 84b Whitechapel High St, London E1 7QX. You are welcome to come and join in the discussion even if you have not finished the reading.

For our fourteenth reading group we will be reading Anarchy Works by Peter Gelderloos. From the blurb:

Anarchy Works takes examples from around the world, combing through history and anthropology, showing that people have, in different ways and at different times, practiced mutual aid, self-organization, autonomy, horizontal decision-making: all the principles that anarchy is founded on, regardless of whether they call themselves anarchists. Well documented and expansive, this book is an inspiring answer to those who would say that anarchism is unrealistic, that it sounds nice but it couldn’t actually work. This point-by-point introduction shows that it already has.

A free version of Anarchy Works can be found on The Anarchist Library here and our friends at Freedom Press here have offered a 10% discount on physical copies for the reading group. Just quote “London SolFed Reading Group” or pop into Freedom for your general radical book buying needs.

The reading group will be meeting on Tuesday the 30th of September, 19:00, at Freedom Bookshop, 84b Whitechapel High St, London E1 7QX. You are welcome to come and join in the discussion even if you have not finished the reading or are jumping in half way through the book.

For our thirteenth reading group we will start reading No Spiritual Surrender: Indigenous Anarchy in Defense of the Sacred by Klee Benally. From the blurb:

“The most bitter medicines are the strongest. We end despair by ending what is causing our suffering: destroying what destroys us. After all, anti-colonial means anti-settler society.

No Spiritual Surrender is a searing anti-colonial analysis rooted in frontline experience. Klee Benally (Diné) unrelentingly agitates against colonial politics towards Indigenous autonomy and total liberation of Nahasdzáán (Mother Earth).”

We have been reading No Spiritual Surrender over two months. This month we will finish the book, starting from chapter eight: Indigenous-Rooted Direct Action.

A free version of No Spiritual Surrender can be found on LibCom here and our friends at Freedom Press here have offered a 10% discount on physical copies for the reading group. Just quote “London SolFed Reading Group” or pop into Freedom for your general radical book buying needs.

The reading group will be meeting on Tuesday the 26th of August, 19:00, at Freedom Bookshop, 84b Whitechapel High St, London E1 7QX. You are welcome to come and join in the discussion even if you have not finished the reading or are jumping in half way through the book.

For our twelfth reading group we will start reading No Spiritual Surrender: Indigenous Anarchy in Defense of the Sacred by Klee Benally. From the blurb:

The most bitter medicines are the strongest. We end despair by ending what is causing our suffering: destroying what destroys us. After all, anti-colonial means anti-settler society.

No Spiritual Surrender is a searing anti-colonial analysis rooted in frontline experience. Klee Benally (Diné) unrelentingly agitates against colonial politics towards Indigenous autonomy and total liberation of Nahasdzáán (Mother Earth).”

We will be reading No Spiritual Surrender over two months. This month we will read up to and including chapter seven; The Politics of Frybread.

A free version of No Spiritual Surrender can be found on LibCom here and our friends at Freedom Press here have offered a 10% discount on physical copies for the reading group. Just quote “London SolFed Reading Group” or pop into Freedom for your general radical book buying needs.

The reading group will be meeting on Tuesday the 29th of July, 19:00, at Freedom Bookshop, 84b Whitechapel High St, London E1 7QX. You are welcome to come and join in the discussion even if you have not finished the reading or are jumping in half way through the book.