The Revolution of Everyday Life
This week, in case you hadn't noticed, is rather big on politics. STML is disappointed, but hardly surprised, that it is not attending the Edinburgh parade itself, but hopes that many, many people are. Failing attendance, there are a couple of places in London you can, nay, should visit in order to inform yourself.
Freedom Press is the world's oldest Anarchist publisher, and maintains the excellent Freedom Bookshop at 84b Whitechapel High Street, rather inappropriately tucked away behind KFC. It is possibly the most intimidating bookshop in London however; last time I visited I was scorned by the man behind the desk for my petit-bourgeois ways. Finding myself out of cash I told him I was just going to nip out to the bank, to which he sneered: "Oh, going to buy some money at the money shop, eh?"
This didn't prevent me returning to pick up Ken Knabb's excellent Situationist Anthology (read the text online here) as well as a commentary on the work of uber-egoist Max Stirner, in Freedom Press' own edition.
Housmans, at 5 Pentonville Road, is another Radical Bookseller, and again of some vintage, sharing the building with Peace News since 1945. I wandered in yesterday with the intention of killing fifteen minutes and ended up spending an hour on my knees in the basement sifting through the Porcupine Bookcellar. While upstairs is a combined bookshop and anti-war jumble sale, downstairs is a musty heaven of secondhand glory, mostly political non-fic, but with one corner of sheer old book joy, a Matterhorn of unsorted bookstuff. I mined the seam well, and definitely impressed the radical socialist lady on the till upstairs with my choices.
Killer in Drag by the legendary Edward D. Wood Jr. tells the hard-boiled story of Glen/Glenda, a transvestite mob assassin. The Angora Press edition retains the original 95 cent cover, and there's even a review at The Complete Review. To compound my revolutionary credentials, I also purchased a copy of Different Strokes by Phil Andros, a collection of his stories from the late 50s and early 60s, including the wonderful classic, The Sergeant with the Rose Tattoo. Phil Andros, as previously mentioned, was the nom de guerre of legendary gay writer Samuel Steward, who provides a bibliographic foreword in his own name. The lovely Tom of Finland cover is unfortunately unavailable on the web, but it is at least published by Perineum Press. If you don't know why this is amusing, this is the perineum.
Oh, and Housmans has a Naked Shopping Night in July (date TBC), to celebrate the launch of Bare Britain. See you there.
Freedom Press is the world's oldest Anarchist publisher, and maintains the excellent Freedom Bookshop at 84b Whitechapel High Street, rather inappropriately tucked away behind KFC. It is possibly the most intimidating bookshop in London however; last time I visited I was scorned by the man behind the desk for my petit-bourgeois ways. Finding myself out of cash I told him I was just going to nip out to the bank, to which he sneered: "Oh, going to buy some money at the money shop, eh?"
This didn't prevent me returning to pick up Ken Knabb's excellent Situationist Anthology (read the text online here) as well as a commentary on the work of uber-egoist Max Stirner, in Freedom Press' own edition.
Housmans, at 5 Pentonville Road, is another Radical Bookseller, and again of some vintage, sharing the building with Peace News since 1945. I wandered in yesterday with the intention of killing fifteen minutes and ended up spending an hour on my knees in the basement sifting through the Porcupine Bookcellar. While upstairs is a combined bookshop and anti-war jumble sale, downstairs is a musty heaven of secondhand glory, mostly political non-fic, but with one corner of sheer old book joy, a Matterhorn of unsorted bookstuff. I mined the seam well, and definitely impressed the radical socialist lady on the till upstairs with my choices.
Killer in Drag by the legendary Edward D. Wood Jr. tells the hard-boiled story of Glen/Glenda, a transvestite mob assassin. The Angora Press edition retains the original 95 cent cover, and there's even a review at The Complete Review. To compound my revolutionary credentials, I also purchased a copy of Different Strokes by Phil Andros, a collection of his stories from the late 50s and early 60s, including the wonderful classic, The Sergeant with the Rose Tattoo. Phil Andros, as previously mentioned, was the nom de guerre of legendary gay writer Samuel Steward, who provides a bibliographic foreword in his own name. The lovely Tom of Finland cover is unfortunately unavailable on the web, but it is at least published by Perineum Press. If you don't know why this is amusing, this is the perineum.
Oh, and Housmans has a Naked Shopping Night in July (date TBC), to celebrate the launch of Bare Britain. See you there.
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