Newspapers and magazines have been a part of the anarchist movement since its inception.
They contain daily agitation for ongoing struggles and are excellent sources of the history of a movement that is usually ignored by other left tendencies and historians alike.
They keep the flame of anarchy alive and depend on readers for their solidarity and mutual aid. Take a look at the sampling we have here and consider ordering them to assure their survival.
Some are magazines with staffs, others are the efforts of a single person. All deserve our support.
Slingshot Autumn, 2017
This tabloid looks like it could be in an archive for the underground press of the 1960s. Its layout is done by hand; no computer design program used. Hand drawn headlines and graphics, psychedelic split ink fountain coloring, pasted down text columns, etc. And, one of my favorites.
A community-based and staffed paper which melds the personal and political in their coverage of the events and issues of the day—climate, race, addiction, antifa, community gardens, plus zine and movie reviews.
They invite submissions and want volunteer staff.
PO Box 3051, Berkeley CA 94703 slingshotcollective.org
—Peter Werbe
Oystercatcher #14
An anarcho-surrealist magazine co-edited by frequent Fifth Estate contributor, Ron Sakolsky.
This issue tells the story of the Comox Potato War, and nudity against colonialism. Also, an essay and letter exchange on the recuperation/misrepresentation of the word surreal by Merriam-Webster naming it their Word of the Year.
An essay with some spectacular and grotesque descriptions of the pestilence of the U.S. presidency, another on the anarchistic potentialities of water with some unanswered questions about our current doomed ecological situation, and an excerpt from Eberhardt Press’ new book, The Tramp Printers. Some full page surrealist art completes the journal into a marvelous project.
$5 or zine exchange
Ron Sakolsky, A-4062 Wren Road, Denman Island, British Columbia, Canada V0R 1t0
—Lena Kafka
Industrial Worker Summer 2017 #1780
That’s right, this is the 1780th issue of the Industrial Workers of the World’s official publication.
Once a homely tabloid, it’s now a slick magazine on glossy paper.
These radical unionists have been organizing around anarcho-syndicalism since their founding in 1905 and continue today.
Their impact was substantially reduced following their suppression during WWI, but are experiencing a recent upsurge, organizing locals in a variety of industries including among sex workers.
This issue marks the 100th anniversary of the Bisbee, Arizona Deportation where 1,200 striking mine workers were rounded up at gunpoint by deputies and vigilantes, herded into box cars, and dumped in the desert.
An article on the IWW political culture looked inviting, but reads like its original Spanish was put through a Google translator program. Lots of union news and reviews.
PO Box 180195, Chicago, IL 60618 Subscriptions & membership: iww.org.—PW
Earth First! Journal Mabon/Fall 2017
This issue opens with how Hurricane Irma delayed their publishing. But they got it out and it is filled with reports on solidarity actions, and why we need to continue the fight to defend Mother Earth.
International updates from the Mattole Forest, Williamette forest, Biatowieia forest, Camp White Pine, Flint, Michigan, and what readers and fellow eco-warriors can do to aid these struggles. More revisions on the Field Guide to Monkeywrenching; my favorite section. Reportbacks from the EF! Roadshow and Rendezvous, updates on prisoner support, and a list of actions in the eco-war round out another solid issue from EF! PO Box 964, Lake Worth, FL 33460 earthfirstjournal.org/
—LK
Anarcho-Syndicalist Review, #70, Summer 2017 $5
ASR can seem rooted in the past with its emphasis on the history of radical unions of bygone eras, but Jon Bekken’s article on “Anarcho-Syndicalism Today” brings it into the present.
Plus, learning our past when anarchism was centered in unions like the IWW and Spain’s CNT is important for our understanding of today.
This issue shares Fifth Estate writers such as Dan Georgakas who writes a piece of historical fiction, and Jeff Shantz describes the “Homegrown Roots of Trumpism.”
PO Box 42531, Philadelphia PA 19101 Syndicalist.us
—PW
Black Seed No. 5, Summer 2017
When do they sleep? Besides this 32-page tabloid, this collective of green anarchists also publish Little Black Cart books at a rate of almost one a month from their own printing facility, plus distro our magazine and many others. LittleBlackCart.com
Unlike previous green anarchist formations, they differ by having positive political programs and “the ability of our people to achieve them.” This issue features texts on subjects as varied as what it means to be a green anarchist, “The Erotic Life of Stones,” science is capital, eco-extremism or extinctionism, the way of the violent stars, and more unique and challenging articles.
Black Seed has a print run of 20,000, all of which are distributed free. They want local distro and article submissions. Donations are helpful.
PO Box 3920, Berkeley CA 94703 blackseed.anarchyplanet.org
—PW
Anchorage Anarchy #28.
This issue examines the anarchist drama around author and activist Michael Schmidt by going into the background of the accusations as to whether he is a “racist agent or anarchist super-sleuth,…he actually accomplished nothing in either project.” The real problem, they write, with Schmidt is his creeping authoritarianism. Also, a critique of electoral “lesser evilism” and the chant, “Not my President,” because “portraying [the president] as an aberration from the usual type gives the institution a pass.”
Bad Press bad-press.net $1
PO Box 230332, Anchorage AK 99523
—LK
Lena Kafka is a member of The Big Idea Collective Bookstore and Filler Zine Distro in Pittsburgh.