Spokesman Books

Spokesman Books keenly follows local Nottingham magazine LeftLion . We read with interest Robin Lewis' interview of Lisa McKenzie, whose book Getting By: Estates, Class and Culture in Austerity Britain may be seen as a spiritual successor to Ken Coates' Poverty: The Forgotten Englishman . A research fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Science, Lisa spent her early life in the St Ann's area of Nottingham, a council estate borne out the experimental 'Radburn' urban planning design. She describes reading Coates' Poverty when she was taking a course in social work, and realising that 'that was what [she] wanted to do. From the point of view of someone who's lived through it.' Read the interview in its entirety here: http://www.leftlion.co.uk/articles.cfm/title/lisa-mckenzie-on-class-and-culture-in-st.-ann-s/id/8557  Poverty: The Forgotten Englishmen is available to purchase online from Spokesman Books here.  http://www.spo...

In his autobiography The Greatest: My Own Story , Muhammad Ali recounts how Bertrand Russell got in contact with him, and their ensuing correspondence: *** For days I was talking to people from a whole new world. People who were not even interested in sports, especially prizefighting. One in particular I will never forget: a remarkable man, seventy years older than me but with a fresh outlook which seemed fairer than that of any white man I had ever met in America. My brother Rahaman had handed me the phone, saying, ‘Operator says a Mr. Bertrand Russell is calling Mr. Muhammad Ali.’ I took it and heard the crisp accent of an Englishman: ‘Is this Muhammad Ali?’ When I said it was, he asked if I had been quoted correctly. I acknowledged that I had been, but wondered out loud, ‘Why does everyone want to know what I think about Viet Nam? I’m no politician, no leader. I’m just an athlete.’ ‘Well,’ he said, ‘this is a war more barbaric than others, and because a mystique is built up ...

Next month, Nottingham Beyond Borders and a host of collaborating groups will stage this lively programme of events for Nottingham Refugee Week .  From 17-27th June there will be talks, film screenings, music and theatre performances, food tasting evenings and many other activities held in venues all over Nottingham, in the spirit of celebrating 'the contributions made by refugees and asylum seekers to the economic, cultural and social life of the city', and also to raise awareness of the challenges faced by refugees, and the reasons which compel them to flee and/or seek asylum. We attach images of the programme below (click to enlarge).

European conference marking Statewatch's 25th anniversary STATEWATCHING EUROPE Civil liberties, the state and the European Union 10:00 - 17:00, Saturday 25 June 2016 Resource for London, 356 Holloway Road, London N7 (map) For 25 years Statewatch has been working to publish and promote investigative journalism and critical research in Europe in the fields of the state, justice and home affairs, civil liberties, accountability and openness. We invite you to join us in London on 25 June 2016 at our Conference where there will be: Workshops and discussions on the refugee crisis in the Med and in the EU; mass surveillance; the EU's crisis of legitimacy and accountability; the policing of protest and criminalisation of communities; racism, xenophobia and the far right; strategies of resistance and the defence of civil liberties.   PROGRAMME: HTML | PDF Click to Book now: http://statewatch.org/conference/ Tickets provide entry to the conference, lunch a...

Last week we spotted a BBC News feature on the conscientous objectors held at Richmond Castle during the First World War, and one of the unique ways in which they left their mark on the place: pictures and messages drawn on the walls of their cells. The article elaborates: The graffiti features pencil drawings and inscriptions, including slogans, poetry, and portraits of loved ones. A grant of £365,400 from the Heritage Lottery will be used to protect the work and allow public access. ... Kate Mavor, English Heritage's chief executive, said the graffiti was an "important record of the voices of dissent" during the war. She said it was vital to preserve "these delicate drawings" to ensure the stories were not lost. High levels of moisture and damp meant the layers of lime wash and plaster on the walls were crumbling and flaking off, she added. The full story, including excellent images of some of the graffiti, is accessible at BBC News here: http://...

James Walker reviews One Belt, One Road in this month's issue of LeftLion. For those who haven't yet found themselves a (free) copy, or for readers outside of Nottingham, his summary has been put online here: http://www.leftlion.co.uk/articles.cfm/title/book-reviews--may-2016/id/8227 One Belt, One Road ( The Spokesman , issue 130) Edited by Tony Simpson; published by Spokesman Books ISBN: 978 0 85124 8509 Price: £6  Available on our website at  http://www.spokesmanbooks.com/acatalog/Spokesman_Journal.html

A bee puts to shame many an architect in the construction of her cells. But what distinguishes the worst architect from the best of bees is this, that the architect raises his structure in imagination before he erects it in reality. At the end of every labour-process, we get a result that already existed in the imagination of the labourer at its commencement. Karl Marx Capital, vol. 1, ch. 7. I was made aware of Architect or Bee? by Mike Cooley in a meeting organised by North London Stop the War and CND. The meeting was called to discuss the forthcoming Stop Trident demo on 27 February. One of the issues raised was the effect scrapping Trident would have on employment. It was pointed out that Unite and GMB were in favour of renewing Trident as a way of securing jobs. On the GMB website , Gary Smith, GMB Scotland Acting Secretary, defends the renewal; ‘GMB Scotland will not play politics on this and will stand up for our defence workers and their communities right across ...