Sep 18
2009

From Mythmakers and Lawbreakers:

Paul Goodman (1911–1972), was a lot of things to a lot of different people. To the psychotherapy world, he is known as one of the co-founders of Gestalt theory. To the literary world, he was a novelist. Perhaps his most famous novel is The Empire City, a story that follows a ’50s rebel in New York City. But he’s also well known as the author of Growing Up Absurd, and his works were hugely influential on the ’60s student radical movement, a movement he later criticized as sometimes both too dogmatic and too fickle.

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Sep 18
2009

From Mythmakers and Lawbreakers:

William Godwin (1756–1836), considered by some “the first anarchist,” did indeed lay down an impressive amount of anti-state theory, in part in his remarkably titled Enquiry concerning Political Justice, and its Influence on General Virtue and Happiness. He also, however, wrote what is considered the first mystery novel: Things as They Are or The Adventures of Caleb Williams. He was married to Mary Wollstonecraft, one of the first feminists, and fathered Mary Shelley, one of the first science-fiction authors. He was libeled and persecuted heavily for his political be-liefs and spent much of his life living as anonymously as possible.

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Sep 16
2009

From Mythmakers and Lawbreakers:

Kevin Doyle (1961–), a member of Ireland’s anarchist Worker Solidarity Movement, has been a writer of fiction and non-fiction for years. His stories have appeared in a number of magazines, his interview with Noam Chomsky has appeared in Chomsky On Anarchism, and he has an unpublished novel, Step F. He’s been involved in a number of campaigns over the years from pro-choice battles to No Borders campaigns. When I told him about this book project, he had some interesting things to say:

I think fiction is very important in our lives and in how we understand the world we find ourselves in. I think it is important to encourage and promote more writing from below. Some regard the writing process as “waffle” and a “waste of time”—maybe even “a diversion from the real struggle.” I wouldn’t agree at all. Writing from below is an essential part for me of creating an alternative culture and vital if we are to move anarchism into the broad center of world politics where it must be one day.

Author’s blog:

kfdoyle.wordpress.com

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Sep 16
2009

From Mythmakers and Lawbreakers:

Jim Dodge (1945–) is a bioregionalist theorist, an anarchist, and a writer. His novels explore a sort of modern folklore, often including magic amidst otherwise real-world events. In his bioregionalist essay “Living by Life”, he says that anarchy is an intrinsic value to bioregionalism, and says: “Anarchy doesn’t mean out of control, it means out of their control.”

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Sep 15
2009

From Mythmakers and Lawbreakers:

Voltairine De Cleyre (1866–1912) was a poet and theorist who converted to anarchism in 1887 after the Haymarket trial shattered her faith in the American justice system. She was an early believer in “anarchism without adjectives,” which meant that she didn’t choose to identify specifically with communist, mutaualist, or individualist anarchism. She fought voraciously for the rights of women. The most famous piece of her fiction is “The Chain Gang,” a short story included in The Gates of Freedom.

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Sep 12
2009

From Mythmakers and Lawbreakers:

Steve Cullen (n.d.) is the author of The Last Capitalist: A Dream of a New Utopia as well as a non-fiction book exploring the libertarian critique of education, both published by Freedom Press in the UK.

From Ben Beck’s Anarchism and Science Fiction:

Published by London’s anarchist Freedom Press, [The Last Capitalist] is essentially an anarchist utopia set in a future Britain. The story involves a quest for the eponymous capitalist, and contributes greatly to the book’s readability. England has been renamed ‘Atopia’, and is explicitly anarchist, but the state and capitalism have pretty much crumbled world-wide. Alternative polities exist, to reflect local conditions and aspirations; among these is a republic on the Isle of Man, based on delegate democracy. In Atopia everything is voluntary, education is through free schools, and the economy is based on barter. Informed by green principles, technology is nevertheless sufficiently sophisticated to include high-altitude remote-controlled airships, to maintain satellite communications. Social life is fuelled by plenty of real ale (with an explicit admiring nod to CAMRA) and an easy attitude to sex. The book is joyful and optimistic.

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Sep 12
2009

From Mythmakers and Lawbreakers:

CrimethInc. (1995–) is an open group identity: anyone can compose a text or carry out an action and claim it for CrimethInc. In addition to organizing events, several CrimethInc. cells are known for producing books, magazines, records, and the like. Aside from allegedly non-fiction compositions such as Days of War, Nights of Love, the collective has published several works of fiction, including The Secret World of Duvbo and The Secret World of Terijian, as well as Expect Resistance, which mixes narrative and non-fiction throughout.

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Sep 12
2009

From Mythmakers and Lawbreakers:

Alex Comfort (1920–2000), the author of the best-selling The Joy of Sex, said that he would much rather be remembered for his anarchism, his pacifism, and his novels (which include On This Side of Nothing). He also wrote an essay, The Novel and Our Time, exploring the novel as an agent of liberation.

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Sep 10
2009

From Mythmakers and Lawbreakers:

The Catastraphone Orchestra (2006–) might be one of the only bands of musicians that writes fiction together. A collection of chain-smokers, mad scientists, and drug-addled minds, they write in the long-antiquated “seasonal” style of fiction as well as penning manifestos and journalistic forays into the past.

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Sep 10
2009

From Mythmakers and Lawbreakers:

Chris Carlsson (1957–), a San Francisco activist and anarchist, is probably best known for his non-fiction book Nowtopia and for being one of the founders of the bicycle protest movement Critical Mass. He was a founder and longtime editor of Processed World, a magazine for dissatisfied office workers that started in 1981. He’s also written a novel, After the Deluge, exploring an anarchist society in a post-collapse San Francisco.

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