Morning Comrades.
Welcome back to your weekly free for all dispatch from this end of the screen to yours. It’s Sunday night and I am sitting in my kitchen on my one day off this past week, eyeing whatever is left in my pantry trying to decide what to cook and my attention was drawn to the fact that I wanted to write this dispatch here. Admittedly, my attention wavered this afternoon, I felt drawn to too many subjects, current events and what not, and sure, there is heaps of the fuckening to discuss, but as I am sure you have noticed I have been trying to refrain from reactionary dispatches these past months. I feel as if there is too much “content” - I despise this term for a plethora of reasons merely reacting to the shenanigans of the ruling classes as if we all don’t know that they’re bastards already. Obviously, I still believe that there is merit in highlighting the fast ones they are pulling on us but on the other hand, contributing to you wonderful readers positive trajectory remains a strong reason “why” for me.
I reminded myself of a quote from Lenin, a writer that often grappled finding the balance between reactionary and non-reactionary pieces himself, that is also the title of today’s newsletter: “Without revolutionary theory there can be no revolutionary movement.” That’s the main gist of today’s offering, a step out of the constant barrage of “WTF- did you see this already?!” and a step towards offering something more substantial.
On that note, something fun to start this week off for you. I know I said I was taking a break from the Black Lodges Weekly Jams, and that still stands, but I have got some music for you. My work schedule is unrelenting and certainly doesn’t allow me to sit down and actively vibe to new music as I used to but it is without question that a lot of we do in our kitchen and restaurant only works with music. Seemingly it matters not if I spend my days drawing, writing or cooking, music remains the main and most important source of creativity and without much further shit talk, here is a new playlist for you. As with the last few years, this one is absolutely not “curated”, it’s simply three hours of tunes I have saved over the last month because those songs made me go “ fuck yeah”. Feel free to listen to them in the order of the playlist or on random, both work just fine.
With that, here is an updated reading list for Spring, one that I am also getting into starting in March. March because amazingly so, I actually have a week off during which I will travel to Lisbon for some much needed sitting down in a random cafe / bar, read, people watch and drink wine. One additional thought though - Reading Groups.
Reading groups have been the backbone of revolutionary groups since the start of our movement They are where new people go to connect their intuition that the world is unjust to an analysis and critique of capitalism. They are where activists go to learn from the past and adapt their forebears’ strategies to new conditions. Most important, reading groups are where we stop reading by ourselves and start to socialize our knowledge. Don’t know anyone else in your neighbourhood? Put out the word that you are starting a reading group to talk about, well, everything. Put up posters at your library, the community college’s history and sociology departments, local coffee shops, and the bookstore. Make sure posters mention the date; time; location; contact information; and, above all, what you’re reading. Email some friends who might be interested and post to Facebook community groups. A good reading group goes for about an hour and a half. Respect everyone’s time. For many people, the ideal start time is usually at 6 or 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, but it depends on your community and the shifts your target audience works. If you hope to attract people you don’t know, pick a public place, such as a coffee shop or library. Choose somewhere with parking, close to public transit, and that is wheelchair accessible. In your publicity, ask whether anyone needs child care. Reading groups are the backbone to organizing as well as understanding the presented material at a much greater depth. Without them I wouldn’t be where I am today.
Spring Reading List: Everything is linked to their respective publishers and online shops, all you have to do is click on the picture.
These are the titles currently on my must read list. They offer a great spectrum of interests and insights, some I hope will also be relevant to you. Again, as important it is to be aware of the menacing fuckery the ruling classes are up to, it is equally if not more important to step aside from the insidious cycle of distraction, build knowledge and more importantly, non-reactionary futures for us and those that come after us.
See you all again on Wednesday, as always, thank you for your time & attention.
Yours, warmly,
V.