Last call for my mini-fundraiser for @ratzonpgh and @pinkpeacock—while my dwindling supplies of these four books last.

Yesterday, I tried to mail two packages of some of these titles to two kind contributors to this sliding-scale funder. I walked through a downtown bedecked in red-and-green Xmas decorations while the Muzak lyrics of “Christ the savior is born” blared out of public loudspeakers at me until I finally reached the post office, only to find that Monday was a “legal holiday.” All that not only underscored the need for an ongoing “war on Christmas”—even after it’s allegedly over—and its Christian (fascistic) hegemony but also, in counterpoint, the need for illegal or at least subversive holidays and spaces that embody dreamy-queer, anarchistic-liberatory lifeways. Like Ratzon, a center for healing and resistance in Pittsburgh, and Pink Peacock, a pay-what-you-can-down-to-nothing Yiddish anarchist café and infoshop in Glasgow—both self-organized and collectively rebellious projects.

Hence my second round of this fundraiser: because such spaces are precious and fragile. They show us a glimpse of the world to come in the here and now. And especially because the here and now is so absurdly difficult, making many of us feel all-too-fragile, even the idea that such spaces are doable and possible and beautiful—even if one isn’t in Pittsburgh or Glasgow—is heartening.

And if nothing else, I hope this pretty arrangement of the books on offer warms up your day a bit.

All proceeds, minus my actual costs, will be divided between these two projects. So, decide which book(s) you want, DM me and name your price from the range below, I’ll let you know the media mail cost ($3-5), and soon the books will be on their way to you.

Rebellious Mourning: The Collective Work of Grief (AK Press): $9-16

Deciding for Ourselves: The Promise of Democracy (AK Press): $9-15

Anarchism and Its Aspirations (AK Press): $6-9

Try Anarchism for Life (Strangers In A Tangled Wilderness): $8-15

(Note: All of these books, and others by me, are always available at akpress.org, including ebook versions)

#AbolishXmas
#BeGayDoIllegalHolidays
#BooksNotBorders
#AlwaysCarryABook

Chanuka/Hanukkah/Janucá/Khanike/Xanuqa (etc.) fundraiser for two Jewish anarchist spaces that are near and dear and queer to my heart: @ratzonpgh and @dirozevepave!

Because it’s that time of year when I want to #AbolishXmas (along with capitalism, cops, christian fascism, and so much) and lean into the time-space of eight nights of much-needed light, illuminating resistance and resilience. And because I have some brand-new copies of six of my books “leftover” from a few events that got cut short by me sadly catching COVID this fall, after 2.5 years of being communally careful.

So rather than these titles getting lonely in boxes on my floor—I can always get more when I have the delight of trying again to do book-related events (DM or email me if you ever want to host one)—I’m turning them into this modest fundraiser!

Whether you’re Jewish or not, whether you hate Xmas or not, join in raising some gelt. I’ll donate anything over the material cost to me of each book to the two projects above.

DM or email (cbmilstein at yahoo) me if you want any of the following titles, sliding scale (or more) plus media mail ($3-5 per book) via my PayPal, while supplies last (alas, only for shipping in the US):

Anarchism and Its Aspirations, $6-9

Taking Sides: Revolutionary Solidarity and the Poverty of Liberalism, $6-9

Rebellious Mourning: The Collective Work of Grief, $9-16

Deciding for Ourselves: The Promise of Direct Democracy, $9-15

There Is Nothing So Whole as a Broken Heart: Mending the World as Jewish Anarchists, $10-19

Try Anarchism for Life, $8-15

(photos, featuring the covers of all six books, borrowed from @camasbooks, @cryptotaenia.plant.sanctuary, and @scottcampbell, with much appreciation; all these books are also available from @akpressdistro, with #TryAnarchismForLife at @tangled_wilderness too)

#AlwaysCarryABook
#AllChanukkahsAreBeautiful