Octopus Books - Events Feed

REVOLUTION 1: Revolutionary Traveller by John S. Saul

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 21:09:59 -0500

Start: 18/03/2010 - 19:00

End: 18/03/2010 - 19:00

We are excited to host the launch of Revolutionary Traveller, by John S. Saul at the store on Thursday, March 18 at 7 pm.

No admission fee, wheelchair accessible.

In Revolutionary Traveller, John S. Saul draws on a series of his own occasional articles written over a span of forty years which, together with a linking narrative, serve to trace not only his own career as an anti-apartheid and liberation support movement activist in both Canada and southern Africa but also help recount the history of the various struggles in both venues in which he has been directly involved. He thus shapes a unique memoir, capped by some longer summary pieces on the global processes of empire and decolonization that he has witnessed and on the reading, listening, playing and family pleasures that have enlivened his life’s passage.

REVOLUTION 2: You Don't Play With Revolution edited by David Austin

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 09:56:07 -0500

Start: 20/03/2010 - 14:00

End: 20/03/2010 - 16:00

We are excited to organize the launch of You Don't Play With Revolution: The Montreal Lectures of C.L.R. James edited by David Austin.

The event will take place in the auditorium, Main Library (120 Metcalfe) on Saturday, March 20 at 2:00 p.m.

No admission, wheelchair accessible.

Revolution is a serious business, and C.L.R. James knew more than most. Our brand-new collection presents eight never-before-published lectures by the celebrated Marxist cultural critic, delivered during his stay in Montreal in 1967 and 1968. Ranging in topic from Marx and Lenin to Shakespeare and Rousseau to Caribbean history and the Haitian Revolution, these lectures demonstrate the staggering breadth and clarity of James' knowledge and interest.

Strikingly little information exists today about the period of time James spent working with West Indian intellectuals and students in Canada in the late 1960s, but the research of editor David Austin demonstrates the critical role these encounters played in the development of James' more mature critical theory. Readers just beginning to delve into James work will find this collection accessible and engaging, an ideal introduction to a complex and multi-faceted body of scholarship. Also included are two seminal interviews produced with James during his stay in Canada, selected correspondence from the time period, and an appendix of essays on James' work, which includes the seminal Marty Glaberman essay, "C.L.R. James: The Man and His Work.".

Launch of The Global Fight for Climate Justice by Ian Angus

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 21:01:04 -0500

Start: 23/03/2010 - 19:00

End: 23/03/2010 - 21:00

We are thrilled to host the launch of The Global Fight for Climate Justice Anticapitalist Responses to Global Warming and Environmental Destruction edited by Ian Angus.

The event takes place at the store, on Tuesday March 23 at 7 pm.

No admission fee, wheelchair accessible.

As capitalism continues with business as usual, climate change is fast expanding the gap between rich and poor, and between and within nations, as well imposing unparalleled suffering on those least able to protect themselves. In The Global Fight for Climate Justice, anti-capitalist activists from five continents offer radical answers to the most important questions of our time: Why is capitalism destroying the conditions that make life on Earth possible? How can we stop the destruction before it is too late? In essays on topics ranging from the food crisis and carbon trading to perspectives from Indigenous peoples, the authors make a compelling case that saving the world from climate catastrophe will require much more than tinkering with technology or taxes. Only radical social change can prevent irreversible damage to the earth and civilization.

Ian Angus is one of the world’s best-known ecosocialist activists. He edits the online journal Climate and Capitalism (http://climateandcapitalism.com/?page_id=264), which has been described as “the most reliable single source of information and strategic insights for climate justice.” Ian is also an editor of Socialist Voice, director of ReadingfromtheLeft.com and a founding member of the Ecosocialist International Network.

Joan Baxter: Dust from our Eyes

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 21:09:02 -0500

Start: 08/04/2010 - 19:00

End: 08/04/2010 - 21:00

Details are still in making, but on Thursday, April 8 Joan Baxter will be talking about her book Dust from Our Eye: An Unblinkered look at Africa.

The event takes place in the auditorium, Main Library (120 Metcalfe).

Part memoir, part adventure tale, part political thriller - a compelling read that dissolves stereotypes and exposes paradoxes about Africa. Joan Baxter draws on more than two decades of living in and reporting from Africa to reveal that there is more to the continent than poverty and suffering, and far more to Western involvement than benevolent charity. Alternately funny, chilling, moving and disturbing, Dust from our Eyes is a fast-paced, passionate narrative told with journalistic accuracy and anthropological acumen.

Joan Baxter is a Canadian anthropologist, journalist and award-winning author who lived and worked for 21 years in Africa. For many years and from many countries she reported for the BBC World Service, Associated Press, and also Reuters. She has contributed to many radio programs of the CBC and to WGBH’s The World in Boston. Her writing — articles, features and columns — have also appeared in The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star, The Sunday Telegraph, Washington Post, the EU Courier, BBC Focus on Africa Magazine, and the Chronicle Herald in her native Nova Scotia.