LOS ANGELES – A group of Southern California anarchists is holding a bookfair on Sunday, January 24th at Barnsdall Art Park in Hollywood from 11:00 AM to 9:00 PM. The park is located at 4800 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027. The purpose of the bookfair is to provide the Los Angeles community with access to radical literature, engage in workshops, discuss current topics, and create communities of resistance.


“Anarchism is a working-class response to capitalism,” said Diego Flores, one of the bookfair organizers. “Now that the system is failing so massively, with so many out of work and even reforms such as health care bill really being limited by big business, a lot of people are becoming interested in what anarchism has to offer.” For this reason, in addition to the author panels one might expect at a literary event, there will also be workshops regarding the student movement, anti-authoritarian parenting, indigenous resistance, health, political prisoners, and many more topics touching various aspects of life. “Workshops allow people to actually get involved with the material that is being presented,” explained Emma, a member of a writer's collective and another bookfair organizer, “and that really goes along with our vision of creating a non-oppressive society with everyone's participation.”


“Everyone is welcome at the bookfair. We all have things to learn and to teach,” she continued. Children's activities will also be provided in order to facilitate the participation of families, and food, including vegetarian and vegan options, will be available. The park is also wheelchair-accessible.


“Last year caught us off guard. We were expecting 150-200 people, and well over 500 showed up. This year is going to be even better because of the unique location. It's close to public transportation lines, it's got a gallery and a theater, and once the sun goes down, we get a beautiful view of L.A. I'm really excited about this year's bookfair!” said a bookfair organizer who preferred not to give her name. Workshops and panels will be held during the day, with musical performances scheduled for the evening.


In order to create awareness about the bookfair, and about anarchism in general, the Los Angeles Anarchist Bookfair Collective is hosting a screening of the film Libertarias, a film about the struggles of Spanish women against both dictator Franco's fascism and the sexism of their own comrades in arms. The film will be screened Thursday, January 21 at the Koreatown Immigrant Worker's Alliance Culture and Education Center, 3465 W 8th Street in Los Angeles at 7:00 PM. The screening will be followed by a discussion about the film, and although a donation will be requested at the door, no one will be turned away for lack of funds.


The following day, the collective will also host a benefit concert for the bookfair at the same location, which will feature Canadian hip-hop, folk, and punk.