On Wednesday 22nd February, from 7.30-9.30pm at The Exchange, Brick Row, Stroud (GL5 1DF), Stroud Radical Reading Group will discuss “¡No Pasarán! Antifascist Dispatches from a World in Crisis”, a book of essays edited by Shane Burley. This discussion will be the second of a series looking at antifascism, both historically and in the present. You are welcome to attend this session alone, though we of course recommend reading all the books in the series and coming to all the events for the full experience!

We suggest reading the Foreword, Introduction and Afterword (pdf) if you can (which we attach as a free download below) You can buy a full e-book for $12.50 from US-based publishers AK Press. If you have bought a copy of the book/ebook, you may like to pick one further chapter to read carefully and be prepared to tell the rest of the group about at the session. Alternatively, additional freely available resources related to the book are available below. We like to ensure everyone can attendee our sessions and get something out of them even if they can’t afford to buy a copy of the book or the time to read it. We would encourage people to read/listen to as much as possible, but you are welcome to attend and listen along even if you are unable to engage with any of the below.

• Download the intro and afterword from No Pasaran!
• Read a 4,300 word excerpt (Chapter 2) from the book for free online: “Building Communities for a Fascist-Free Future“
• Read a 1,200 word excerpt from the book for free online: “Past Year of White Nationalism Has Shown Ongoing Need for Anti-Fascist Movements“
• Read a 900 word, excerpt from the book for free online: “We Must Unlearn the Lie That State Violence Is Inherently Legitimate“, part of an interview with abolitionist organizer Kelly Hayes — who is the host of Truthout’s podcast “Movement Memos”
• Listen to editor of the book Shane Burley in conversation about the book on the Last Born in the Wilderness podcast (1 hour, 7 minutes)
• Watch a 1 hour 23 minute video recording of a virtual event celebrating the release of the book. Editor Shane Burley hosts a discussion with contributors Hilary Moore (a political educator, writer, and organizer based in Kentucky, USA) and Ryan Smith (an anti-fascist Heathen organizer, teacher, and writer based in California). The video is embedded at the bottom of this page.

Our events are free to attend, though we will collect donations to cover the costs of venue hire on a donate-what-you-can-afford basis. We try to ensure the discussions are welcoming to new people, including people who have never been to a reading group before – and you don’t have to have been to university. You don’t even have to have read any of the book – you can just come along and listen to the discussion. Some free resources including a sample chapter we’ll focus our discussion on are included below though, and we’d encourage people to read/listen to as much as they can ahead of the session.

The Exchange has step-free access. We will keep windows open for ventilation, hand sanitiser is provided, and we ask people who are ill to stay away (whether they are ill with covid or something else). Attendees do not generally wear masks but we will be respectful to anyone who chooses to and other members may wear masks at request of other attendees – let us know your preferences in advance. Please contact us if you have any accessibility requirements, or other questions about how the events work.

“¡No Pasarán! is an anthology of antifascist writing that takes up the fight against white supremacy and the far-right from multiple angles. From the history of antifascism to today’s movement to identify, deplatform, and confront the right, and the ways an insurgent fascism is growing within capitalist democracies, a myriad of voices come together to shape the new face of antifascism in a moment of social and political flux.”

Contributors include: Kim Kelly, Geo Maher, Hilary A. Moore, Daryle Lamont Jenkins, Emily Gorcenski, Maia Ramnath, Alexander Reid Ross, Matthew N. Lyons, Abner Häuge, Margaret Killjoy, Michael Novick, Jeanelle K. Hope, Maxililian Alvarez, Emmi Bevensee, Frank Miroslav, Ryan Smith, Leila al-Shami, Shon Meckfessel, Patrick Strickland, Mike Bento, Mirna Wabi-Sabi, Benjamin S. Case, Joan Braune, and Margaret Rex. Editor Shane Burley is an author based in Portland, Oregon. He is the author of Why We Fight: Essays on Fascism, Resistance, and Surviving the Apocalypse (AK Press, 2021) and Fascism Today: What It Is and How to End It (AK Press, 2017). Author of the afterword David Renton is a barrister, historian, and antifascist activist. His previous books include The New Authoritarians  and Fascism: History and Theory. Author of the foreword Tal Lavin, is also author of Culture Warlords.”
– information from the publishers AK Press