From Embers

Welcome to the Victoria Anarchist Bookfair!

N.O. Bonzo is an anarchist street artist and illustrator whose work is much admired in the activist community. In this interview, Bonzo discusses their beautifully illustrated edition of Peter Kropotkin's most famous book, Mutual Aid, and the politics of anarchy and art. Check out Bonzo's edition of Mutual Aid:

https://www.pmpress.org/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1185

The Terrain Vague, which loosely translates into English as the "wasteland," is a large de-industrialized and partially wooded area on the outskirts of Hochelega, a neighbourhood in Montreal's east end, and close to the Port of Montreal.

That space is under threat from several major development projects, and those who care about the Terrain Vague have been getting organized in the past years, connecting the developments to broader colonial-capitalist strategies at play by the Quebec government, making links with neighbourhood groups, and taking direct action to physically defend the space.

I spoke with a francophone anarchist from Montreal about the history and context of the Terrain Vague, the Quebec government vision for the St. Lawrence River, logistical hubs as points of anarchist intervention, questions around settler-led land defence and how it relates to indigenous land defence, and how this project might connect to a renewed push to "Shut Down Canada."

Terms:

Terrain Vague - Wasteland

Avantage St Laurent - "Advantage St. Lawrence", formerly known as the Quebec Maritime Strategy

CAQ / Coalition Avenir Quebec, ruling right-wing nationalist provincial political party

Links:

Le terrain vague n'est à personne

Mobilisation 6600

Montreal Counter-Information

Contrepoints Media

With music from Total Nada and Blemish

An interview with Mike Gouldhawke about Truth and Reconciliation Day, the Canadian state, and #LandBack.

Find more of Mike's work here: https://mgouldhawke.wordpress.com/

Also check out his new chapter "By All Means, Anti-Politics" in the new Little Black Cart anthology "Not On Any Map."

Music in this episode by AwareNess.

Writer, researcher and teacher Dr. Alex Khasnabish talks about a recent workshop he gave at the Halifax Anarchist Bookfair called "You Can't Police Yourself Out of a Pandemic: Anti-Authoritarian Strategies in an Age of Crisis."

We discuss both state and far right responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, some of the tensions surrounding vaccination, anti-authoritarian strategies for collective care, and questions about where to go from here.

In the later part of the episode, Alex briefly references an article he wrote for Roar magazine entitled "From white fragility to white power in the age of COVID-19" - you can read it here

Interview with Tawinikay about her essay released in spring 2021 Settlers on the Red Road: On Indigeneity, Appropriation and Belonging which addresses the problem of race-shifting in anarchist and anarchist-adjacent spaces.

Music from Snotty Nose Rez Kids.

This episode features an interview with two members of the Halifax Anarchist Bookfair collective. We talked about how and why to organize an anarchist gathering during the pandemic, anarchy in Halifax, and why we need anarchist bookfairs in 2021.

Music by Slow Man Tofu (Kingston) and Desperate Times (Halifax).

For this episode I sat down (in person!) with author, farmer and organizer Aric McBay. We talked about the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, what climate scientists are now saying about the future of the planet, whether it's still worth trying to stop climate change, and whether and how to maintain hope in the face of increasingly apocalyptic news.

To learn about Aric's most recent book, Full Spectrum Resistance, check out the full episode we did with Aric two years ago when the book came out. To find the book and more from Aric, check out https://www.aricmcbay.org/. You can also find his recent handbook on civil disobedience, co-authored with Pamela Cross, here: http://directaction.works/Direct-Action-Works-Mar-22-2020.pdf.

This episode features an interview with Skyler Williams of 1492 Land Back Lane, a land reclamation on the edge of the Six Nations of the Grand River reserve near Caledonia, Ontario. This week marks the one year anniversary of the camp which was reclaimed last July in response to plans to develop a subdivision on Six Nations Territory. Skyler speaks about a year spent at the camp, the recent announcement that the McKenzie Meadows subdivision has been cancelled by the developer because of Six Nations resistance, and what's next for folks at Land Back Lane.

Music in this show is all from artists who have performed at Land Back Lane: Six Nations singer-songwriters Derek Miller and Logan Staats, as well as Ottawa-based "powwow-step" group The Halluci Nation, formerly known as A Tribe Called Red.

A discussion with an anarchist participant in the Fairy Creek blockades on so-called Vancouver Island.

Further reading:

Five Months of Direct Action... (No More City)

The Return of the War in the Woods? (BC Blackout) Desert (The Anarchist Library)

After nearly a year on hiatus, we're excited to finally be re-launching From Embers. In this mini-episode we briefly explain our absence, reflect on why the show still feels important to us, and tease two upcoming episodes.