How rad to be side by side with @margaretkilljoy for this early May Day celebration—at least in spirit via our books, both published by the equally rad Strangers in a Tangled Wilderness collective!

And while our anarchist holiday thankfully doesn’t revolve around shopping, anarchist books have a long, storied history in educating, agitating, and being the inspiration for all sorts of good troublemaking. They also make for good bedtime reading given that they’re filled with the stuff of sweet dreams. Plus in this case, you can get both our new books through May 7, so you can focus fully and freely on May 1.

That said, I hope you do decide to snag copies of my “Try Anarchism for Life: The Beauty of Our Circle” and Margaret’s “Escape from Incel Island.” I also hope that my book encourages you to remember some of the many beautiful reasons we’re in the streets, forests, cities, and elsewhere, not merely fighting for a better world, but already living as if it were here.

May Day and books—and who we are and what we put into this world—are crucial carriers of the flames of liberation and freedom, especially in a time that feels and is so antithetical to all we strive for and try hard to prefigure. We need our blessed flames more than ever as the gloom and doom of fascism descends.

So write, read, and rebel, knowing that words can shape and transform lives, that words can be our weapon and collective defense, that words can keep us going and lend comfort and joy to each other. Words can sabotage the current social order by sharing stories of what’s possible instead.

Plus both our books, in this specific instance, are fun to read.

To order, see www.tangledwilderness.org

Use the promo code: MAYDAY.

#TryAnarchismForLife
#BeautyOfOurCircle
#ReadWriteRebel
#AlwaysCarryABook
#AnarchistsCareAboutBooks
#HappyMayDay

(photo features the covers of the two books—Margaret’s with a drawing of swords and palm trees sticking out of an island, and mine sporting a big, bright pink circle A with a simple floral pattern in it surrounded by a spring-green background)

There are countless spaces of state and fascist violence, systematic brutality and unnecessary loss, these traumatizing days. So it’s extra worth celebrating each and every space of possibility that we ourselves carve out. It’s worth jumping for joy when our collective efforts feel good. When they hold out delicious promise, if only for the much-needed nourishment of a big, quirky, beautiful anarchist family reunion—aka the 2023 Montreal Anarchist Bookfair.

It’s extra worth proudly sharing a delightful peek at some of the rebellious beauty that’s emerging from our hours of collective organizing toward that the said bookfair. And tonight that means excitedly sharing the freshly done artwork and poster design by @pendracocomics.

As this marvelous poster declares, “Anarchists Care about Books,” and this year’s Salon du livre anarchiste will feature almost 100 tablers, over 2 dozen workshops, a kidzone along with a KidsKlez music show, anarchist fun and games, an interactive grief and remembrance space, a display of historical anarchist posters, live theater piece, live-streamed panel, late-night show, care space, and more. Maybe most important, it will bring together more anarchists than any other bookfair in North America for schmoozing, socializing, and reconnecting, for meeting old friends and making new ones, for reinspiring and refreshing ourselves—for all of those times that aren’t so pleasurable yet demand that we stick by each other for the long haul.

So if you’re not already planning to come to the Montreal Anarchist Bookfair, May 27-28, whatcha waiting for? Clear your calendar and join in the magic!

#AnarchistsCareAboutBooks
#AlwaysCarryABook
#AutonomousCommunitiesAreBeautful
#ACAB
#ReadWriteRebel

www.salonanarchiste.ca
www.anarchistbookfair.ca

(Artwork features two anarchist folks reading books, and two animals, atop a smashed-up Montreal police car with flowers and grass growing out of it)