Meanwhile the Bristol Anarchist Bookfair Collective has issued the following statement on 8 September 2008:

START

On Saturday the 13th of September, between 10am and 5pm, St. Werburghs Centre on Horley Road will host Bristol’s first Anarchist Bookfair in over a decade.

This free event includes 26 stalls from independent publishers, distributors, bookshops and local and national campaign groups. There are also 25 workshops including talks on anarchist principles and tactics, the economy, climate change and transition towns, a bicycle maintenance workshop, a lesson in Taiji, and an “alternative” cycling tour of Bristol. Added to that is live acoustic music in the courtyard and the Kebele community co-operative – Bristol’s long-running radical social centre – will be in the kitchen providing a cheap all-day café, proving how delicious vegan food can be.

Bookfair Collective member Andy Brigade said “This is a community event, and we encourage as many people as possible to come down to spice up their bookshelf, and engage in the debates, even if they aren’t yet convinced anarchism provides a solution to the chaos our world is in.”

The day is about breaking down the misconceptions of anarchism being all about starting riots, waving placards and drawing the letter “A” in a circle. As Collective member Kate Sharpley stated “We are right to be angry after centuries of exploitation, injustice and abuse. As well as carrying a new world in our hearts, anarchists are also building that new world here and now. The Bookfair will demonstrate the depth & breadth of anarchist ideas, beliefs & practice, free from media manipulation and state control.” She went on to add “Our aim is to provide an enjoyable day for everyone that comes along and we hope all will leave with a head full of ideas, a belly full of food and a bag full of books”.

The idea of a bookfair promoting anarchism is not a new one. London has been running theirs since 1983. Since then the idea has spread with independent anarchist bookfairs in cities all over the world. With a healthy community of anarchists and activists based in the South-West and Wales it was felt that the region needed its own event, and we hope this is the first of many.

Anarchism is about mutual aid, solidarity, autonomy and social change. It’s about class politics, resisting injustice and exploitation and defending the earth we live on. Anarchism emerged as a defined movement in the mid-19th century as part of the struggles of the growing European working class. Yet its origins can be traced back centuries to whenever people came together to resist oppression, to whenever people tried to live peacefully in harmony with the environment around them.

The Bookfair venue is fully wheelchair accessible, and easy to get to by foot, bike, local trains and buses. It is organised by volunteers from around Bristol and Bath who are involved with grass roots campaigning and community action. There are of course no corporate or party political sponsors.

For more information on the event visit  http://www.bristolanarchistbookfair.org/ or email  bristolanarchistbookfair@riseup.net

END