from Instagram
Building Power While The Lights Are Out
from Instagram
Join us for a conversation with Jimmy Dunson, editor of the new anthology on disaster relief mutual aid, at 7pm 7/23 in person and live-dreamed on our Instagram. “Disaster capitalism, although still currently dominant, is no longer the only powerful force when disasters occur. There is a growing movement of movements engaged in decentralized, liberatory disaster relief, rooted in the values of mutual aid and solidarity. These efforts, grounded in radical social movement organizing, offer a direct action alternative: meeting the survival needs of the people and building power from below, while challenging the forces of Money and Power. This mutual aid disaster relief movement is a broad ecosystem, with diverse organizations, positions, and practices. As hurricanes, fires, pandemics, and other disasters increase in intensity and frequency, the insights, visions, and experiences the authors in this book share offer a valuable road map to meet the climate crisis head on, struggle for a just recovery when disasters do hit, reimagine our relationships to each other and the planet, and as the Zapatistas taught civil society, “Don’t seize power, exercise it.””
Kristian Williams @ Wooden Shoe (In-Person Event)
from AK Press
Registration not required!
In Gang Politics, Kristian Williams examines our society’s understanding of social and political violence, what gets romanticized, misunderstood, or muddled. He explores the complex intersections between “gangs” of all sorts—cops and criminals, Proud Boys and Antifa, Panthers and skinheads—arguing that government and criminality are intimately related, often sharing critical features. As society becomes more polarized and conflict more common, Williams’s analysis is a crucial corrective to our usual ideas about the role violence might or should play in our social struggles.
Kristian Williams is the author of six books, including Our Enemies in Blue: Police and Power in America. Williams has been actively writing and leading discourse on anarchism in historical and present-day contexts, social inequalities, and critiques on police and political force since the 1990s. He lives in Portland, Oregon.
Revolutionary Letters Marathon Reading Signup!
from Google Forms
Thank you for your interest in the marathon reading of the expanded 50th anniversary edition of Diane di Prima’s Revolutionary Letters, which will be released by City Lights Books in October 2021! We’ll be hosting the reading at Wooden Shoe Books in Philadelphia on October 16, 2021 from 6-9PM.
To help us plan the lineup, please fill in your name & contact info, availability, & the poem you would prefer to read. (Please feel free to add a 2nd or 3rd choice; we’ll be assigning poems on a first-come basis.)
If you don’t have a preference, we’ll assign you a poem within your available time slot(s). Some of the poems in here are previously unpublished & will be new to all of us!
We’ll be reading in order of the TOC, so please keep this in mind if you have any time constraints: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-06JUJzKcFZ5XBpHNxaA4TvUI0cno4HjzAAHe3tDbsw/edit?usp=sharing
We can’t wait to see you there!
Makhno and Memory
from Instagram
Join for an evening chat with author of MAKHNO AND MEMORY and PHD candidate at the University of Alberta, Sean Patterson! In this talk at the Wooden Shoe, he’ll explore perceptions of anarchism before during and after the Russian civil war. There will also be a question and answer period after the lecture concludes, so stick around and ask some questions! Link for eventbrite is in our bio!
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
704 South St]
Why We Fight: Author Shane Burley with Kim Kelly & George Ciccariello-Maher
from Facebook
The essays in Why We Fight: Essays on Fascism, Resistance, and Surviving the Apocalypse (AK Press, 2021), many published here for the first time, cover the shifts in rhetoric and tactics of the Alt Right since their disastrous Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville in 2017, and the explosion of antifascist, antiracist, and revolutionary organizing that has risen to fight it. Burley unpacks the moment we live in, confronting the apocalyptic feelings brought on by nationalism, climate collapse, and the crisis of capitalism, but also delivering the clear message that a new world is possible through the struggles communities are leveraging today. Burley reminds us what we’re fighting for not simply what we’re fighting against.
This free online event will be in conversation with Kim Kelly and George Ciccariello-Maher. Zoom link will be shared soon.
[Thursday, May 6, 2021 at 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM EDT]
HAYMARKET Documentary Film Screening
from Instagram
Wooden Shoe to Re-Open
from Instagram
The Wooden Shoe is open again!!! Our doors are unlocked and open to customers, starting 12-10 today and tomorrow. We’ll just need you to wear a mask while you’re in the shop and also have to limit it to 5 customers at a time. There will be plenty of hand sanitizer on hand to make sure we all stay safe during this pandemic. And we are aiming to return to our regular hours, 7 days a week, but please call ahead if you are making a special trip just to make sure: 215-413-0999
Wooden Shoe Temporarily Closing
from Instagram
The Wooden Shoe is temporarily closing due to growing public health concerns in the midst of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. As anarchists we assert that in times of crisis people have the capability of taking voluntary action, both collectively and individually, to mitigate the risks posed by an outbreak such as this. We understand it is imperative to slow the spread of contagion to lessen the chance of the catastrophically unprepared healthcare system becoming overwhelmed. It is in the spirit of these concerns that we make this decision. However, we are also aware that state and government forces are more than willing to exploit crises by abusing tools like quarantines and other states of exception. This often comes at the expense of the most vulnerable, especially those detained and imprisoned in overcrowded jails, prisons, and concentration camps. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and critically and encourage all to do the same. We apologize to all of those in the community who rely on this space.
Wooden Shoe Events Update
from Facebook
Dear friends of the Wooden Shoe,In the past week, we have had a number of event cancellations due to coronavirus-related concerns. We will keep you posted when these are rescheduled. In the meantime, we do a have a few events coming up in the next week at the Shoe. See below for more info.
Also, please check out this local mutual aid resource: Neighbors Helping Neighbors: Philly Mutual Aid for folks Affected by COVID-19: https://docs.google.com/…/1FAIpQLScfKlHLhLMEyXyLFN…/viewform
Love and rage,
The Wooden Shoe collective
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Sunday March 15th, 7 pm
Live show & reading with That Bastard, Lexi Spino, OK Mistakes, & Jane-Rebecca Cannarella
A gathering of emotional misfits and anarchists just wanting to have some fun while sharing some words and music
That Bastard aka Tony Strouse aka degenerate from York, Pa. Musician, punk, rambler, ready to scream and scrap. Don’t feed him after midnight
Lexi Spino is a poet from York, PA currently on tour for her newest book release The Electra Complex. She writes on mental illness and suicidal tendencies to bring awareness and help connect to others who may be struggling with the same.
OK Mistakes is an Acoustic folk pop duo originally from York PA and now one half lives in Philly. They sing about love, death, and not much else.
Jane-Rebecca Cannarella is a writer living in Philadelphia. She is the author of the flash fiction collection Better Bones and the poetry chapbook Marrow (both Thirty West Publishing House). She is also the editor for HOOT Review and Meow Meow Pow Pow Lit. She enjoys cats and playing the piano and cats who play the piano.
Thursday March 19th, 7 pm
The Story Hole: Planting Seeds
Take a break from all the hand-washing and get ‘em dirty with us at The Story Hole: Planting Seeds starring Vernon Payne and Katherine Williams! Join us to hear and share stories of new ideas, perspectives, journeys, and plans taking root…or rotting in the pot. Open mic spots will be available.
Vernon Payne is a comedian and storyteller from Brooklyn, NY. He got his start in Albany, NY in 2009 and has gone on to perform at the Emerging Artist Festival “Teenage Love” and “Hilariously Mediocre,” Union Hall, Under St Marks Theater, The Duplex, New York Comedy Club, The Duplex, and other Venues along the east coast. He has also written comic strips for “Spaz Comics.” Vernon’s brand of comedy is set to make you think about the word we live in while laughing at the same time. You can find him on social media as cool_ass_ vern.
Katherine Williams is a Philly-based storyteller, stand-up comic, and writer. She is a two-time winner of the Moth’s StorySlam. She has performed in festivals all over the country, including the Boston Comedy Festival, Bridgetown Comedy Festival, Laughing Skull Comedy Festival and Philly’s Phunniest. She was a finalist in the 2014 Ladies of Laughter competition and She-Devil Comedy Festival. Notable NYC productions include Williams’ full-length play My Dead Mother is Funnier Than You, which got a shout-out on Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen and two solo shows: Call Me (selected for Midtown International Theatre Festival and Plus One Solo Show Festival) and sold-out hit of the New York International Fringe Festival, SHIKSAPPEAL: Getting the Chosen to Choose Me, which garnered a mention in the New York Times and New York Post. Her work has been reviewed by Show Business Weekly, The Jewish Daily Forward, and nytheatre.com. TV appearances include AXS TV’s Gotham Comedy Live and online credits include Morgan Spurlock’s series Failure Club and BADMomLife, in which Williams discusses life as a new mom.
The Story Hole is Philly’s shameless monthly storytelling event blending curated and open mic spots. It’s a free show: free to get in, free to say what you want (except bigotry). Come, dump your stuff, and let shit go.
Send questions and pitches to thestoryhole215@gmail.com. Now accepting pitches for April 22 “Oops” and May 21 TBD.
Hosted by Moth-champion and Risk! podcast alum, Vara Cooper. For more about Vara, visit varacooper.com
Friday March 20th, 7 pm
Reading w/ Kirwyn Sutherland & Caleb “The Negro Artist” Rainey
Kirwyn Sutherland is the author of Jump Ship, published by Thread Makes Blanket Press in 2019. He is a Clinical Research Professional and poet who makes poems centering the black experience in America. He is a Watering Hole fellow and has attended workshops/residencies at Cave Canem, Winter Tangerine, Poets House, Philadelphia Sculpture Gym, and Pearlstein Art Gallery at Drexel University. Kirwyn’s work has been published in American Poetry Review, Blueshift Journal, APIARY Magazine, The Wanderer and elsewhere. Kirwyn has served as Editor of Lists/Book Reviewer for WusGood magazine and poetry editor for APIARY Magazine. Kirwyn is currently teaching Spoken Word/Poetry Performance at the University of the Arts.
Caleb “The Negro Artist” Rainey is an Iowa based spoken word poet that has performed in multiple cities in over half a dozen states, including Chicago and New York City. He is a winner of the Des Moines Poetry Slam, the Iowa City Poetry Slam, and finalist for the UNESCO City of Literature Global Slam – Iowa City. Caleb is the author of two books, Look, Black Boy, and Heart Notes along with publications in Best Emerging Writers in Iowa 2019, the Little Village, and Black Art; Real Stories.
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For updates and more info: http://woodenshoebooks.com/calendar.html
Reflections on Black Bloc, White Riot Today
from Facebook
Author AK Thompson in conversation with Kim Kelly
This year marks the tenth anniversary of AK Thompson’s classic book Black Bloc, White Riot. Join AK Thompson and Kim Kelly for a lively discussion to consider what has changed—and what hasn’t—since the book was first released. How have street-level political confrontations evolved in the Trump era, and what can we learn from our past? Come find out on March 1st!
AK Thompson got kicked out of high school for publishing an underground newspaper called The Agitator and has been an activist and social theorist ever since. Currently a Professor of Social Movements and Social Change at Ithaca College, his publications include Sociology for Changing the World: Social Movements/Social Research (2006),Black Bloc, White Riot: Anti-Globalization and the Genealogy of Dissent (2010), Keywords for Radicals: The Contested Vocabulary of Late-Capitalist Struggle (2016), Spontaneous Combustion: The Eros Effect and Global Revolution (2017), and, most recently, Premonitions: Selected Essays on the Culture of Revolt (2018). Between 2005 and 2012, he served on the Editorial Committee of Upping the Anti: A Journal of Theory and Action.
Kim Kelly is a freelance writer and organizer based in Philadelphia. She is currently the labor columnist for Teen Vogue, and her writings on labor, politics, and culture have appeared in the New Republic, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Guardian, Pacific Standard, and many others. She is a proud member of and councilperson for the Writers Guild of America, East, and has been active in multiple organizing and contract campaigns (including serving as a worker-organizer for the VICE Union) since 2015.
[March 1 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM at Wooden Shoe Books and Records 704 South St]
Touch the Sky: Stories, Subversions, & Complexities of Ferguson
from Facebook
A new video collage reflecting on the raw moments of the 2014 Ferguson riots. A film for the wild ones, the anarchists, and the dreamers…
More info: https://touchthesky.noblogs.org/
110 minutes followed by a short discussion
[January 11th 7-9PM at Wooden Shoe Books 704 South St]
Deceiving the Sky: Collective Experiments in Strategic Thinking
Submission
-book tour-
Emerging from a study group on strategy, Deceiving the Sky is a collectively produced book, resource and study guide. While the word “strategy” can evoke hierarchy, centralization and a satellite’s-eye view of the world, we feel it is necessary to strengthen our own strategic reflexes. We believe that strategy can be a lens, an orientation to the world that understands existence as a shifting array of forces, capacities and intentions. Deceiving the Sky is an attempt to build a new language that we can share, to develop our collective capacity for strategic thinking, to become more powerful together.
Dec. 4th at 7:30pm
Wooden Shoe Books
704 South St
State Violence and Crowd Control in France
from Facebook
Presentation by the French collective Desarmons-les!
The collective “Let’s disarm them!” was founded in 2012 by anarchist activists who for several years faced state violence and were directly affected by the use of grenades and rubber bullets. Invested in major radical anti-capitalist and ecological struggles between 2011 and 2015 (anti-nuclear and against “useless big construction projects”), the collective met other groups opposed to police violence, street medics, but also many victims, mutilated or close to people killed by the police.
At the end of 2014, “Let’s disarm them!” participated in the building of a national network of mutilated people, the “Assembly of the Wounded”. The state of emergency decreed at the end of 2015 after the attacks of Charlie Hebdo and Bataclan fundamentally transformed the French society and the militarization of the public space accelerated between 2015 and 2018, together with a sharp rise of the far right. Members of the collectives were under house arrest and on numerous occasions prohibited from demonstrating, arrested and brought to justice. The revolts against the labor reform and those of the Yellow Vests between 2016 and 2019 were harshly repressed. Many people have been injured, mutilated and imprisoned.
A member of the collective is organizing an infotour on the East Coast of the United States in November 2019. He proposes to describe the workings of state violence and the evolution of policing in France, from a historical and radical perspective.
[November 18 7PM at 704 South St]
Black Anarchism and the Revolutionary Abolitionist Movement
from Facebook
A discussion focusing on Black anarchism highlighting the work of Kuwasi Balagoon and Russell Maroon Shoatz. What does Black anarchism mean in the 21st century? Why is it important? Where does Black anarchism fit into our current movement work today? What is the connection between abolitionist politics and the politics of Black anarchy? How does the Revolutionary Abolitionist Movement fall into this?
[September 13th at 7 pm at Wooden Shoe 704 South St]
