Tag Archives: politics

Events

Wednesday 24th September 2025: Burn Out – The Emotional Experience of Political Defeat

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On Wednesday 24th September 2025, from 7.30-9.30pm, Stroud Radical Reading Group will host a discussion of Burnout: The Emotional Experience of Political Defeat at The Exchange, Brick Row, Stroud, GL5 1DF (free entry). Anyone is welcome. The session will be introduced by regular attendee, Helen.

An unending stream of grim news from our own country and around the world, on top of the struggles of living under capitalism and an increasingly authoritarian state can feel overwhelming. Our political ancestors have faced similar circumstances – how did organisers and activists of the past keep going? In Burnout, Hannah Proctor answers that question through historical examples, exploring “how revolutionary movements have balanced the grief of political defeat and lost hope, with the imminent needs of organising and continued resistance”.

Below in our resources section you can find a link to buy the book at a discount, and free audio/visual resources including a free excerpt from the book. There is also more information about the book and Stroud Radical Reading Group events.

Entry to the reading group session is free and everyone is welcome – you do not need to have attended previous sessions, and we do our best to make the sessions welcoming to people who have not been to reading groups or similar settings like university seminars before. The whole point is to help each other not only understand the book but relate it to our own lives and the actions we take – to read and discuss the book not only to change our minds, but to change the world.

We encourage people to read the whole book, but you are welcome to attend to listen to the discussion without reading any of it. An excerpt, podcast interview, and youtube video are available for those who do not have the time or money for the whole book.

About the book:

In the struggle for a better world, setbacks are inevitable. Defeat can feel overwhelming at times, but it has to be endured. How then do the people on the front line keep going? To answer that question, Hannah Proctor draws on historical resources to find out how revolutionaries and activists of the past kept a grip on hope.

Burnout considers despairing former Communards exiled to a penal colony in the South Pacific; exhausted Bolsheviks recuperating in sanatoria in the aftermath of the October Revolution; an ex-militant on the analyst’s couch relating dreams of ruined landscapes; Chinese peasants engaging in self-criticism sessions; a political organiser seeking advice from a spiritual healer; civil rights movement activists battling weariness; and a group of feminists padding a room with mattresses to scream about the patriarchy. Jettisoning self-help narratives and individualizing therapy talk, Proctor offers a different way forward – neither denial nor despair. Her cogent exploration of the ways militants have made sense of their own burnout demonstrates that it is possible to mourn and organise at once, and to do both without compromise.

About the author

Hannah Proctor is a historian of the human sciences interested in intersections between left-wing politics and the psy’ disciplines, Communist and anti-Communist theories of the mind, histories and theories of radical psychiatry, theories and practices of Freudo-Marxism, and emotional histories of the left.

She has written for both academic and non-academic publications on topics including rayon stockings, gender and the death drive, utopian pedagogy, Communist motherhood, wrinkles, the aesthetics of fMRI, Soviet babies, revolutionary commemoration, British antipsychiatry, mourning, Carl Jung’s influence on Jordan Peterson, depression, perfume and Ulrike Meinhof’s brain.

Resources

  • Buy Burn Out from the Yellow Lighted Bookshop – RRP £14.99, £12.74 with discount (saving £2.25). To get a 15% discount: Look at your “basket”, and enter the “couponcode” 25stroudradical. Pick up book from Nailsworth, Tetbury or Chalford shops, or get books delivered to your door for £3.50 postage. If posting books, you may wish to buy other books we are reading this year.
  • Read “Beyond Left Melancholy“, a 4,500 word excerpt from the book – approximately 30 minute read.
  • Listen to an 80 minute interview (embedded below) with host, Eleanor Penny, author Hannah Proctor and Ajay Singh Chaudhary (author of a different book – The Exhausted of the Earth: Politics in a Burning World) discussing how revolutionary movements have balanced the grief of political defeat and lost hope, with the imminent needs of organising and continued resistance.
  • Watch a 90 minute interview with the author hosted by Haymarket Books (embedded below), discussing how to maintain hope in the face of despair, with Hannah Proctor and Sarah Jaffe.
  • Explore Hannah Proctor’s website with further links to her work and reviews.

About our events

Stroud Radical Reading Group events are free to attend, though we will make a collection to cover venue hire costs – please bring some cash.

We try to create a comfortable discussion space for everyone, including people who have not been part of a reading group or been to university. We do not want the sessions to feel like school – the idea is that everyone has something to contribute, even if primarily through finding the discussion texts difficult and having questions with other attendees can attempt to answer.

To ensure marginalised people feel welcome, we encourage care and thoughtful contributions that respect people’s identities and lives. We are an LGBTQ+ inclusive and anti-racist space.

Anyone is welcome to listen to the discussion, though we encourage contributions only from those who have read at least some of the book we are discussing.

There is an opportunity for more informal discussion after the session in the Ale House pub for anyone who wants to continue their evening.

About the venue

We will meet in the Robert Owen Room at The Exchange, Brick Row, Stroud. This is the smaller of two meeting rooms at The Exchange, at the end of the covered walkway, which provides step-free access. There is a small kitchen next door – which we’ll use to provide people with water. There are two toilets, including an accessible toilet. The Exchange is a short walk (10 minutes) from Stroud Bus Station or Train Station. There is a small amount of parking at the venue, and more parking in the nearby Church St car park. The room is clean and bright. We pay for the room, so will collect donations at the end of the session – please bring a little cash if you can – approimately £3 would be great.

Get in touch
Facebook event – invite friends/receive reminders
Join the Stroud Radical Reading Facebook Group for online discussion with others who attend the discussions

Events

Wednesday 27th August 2025: Toussaint Louverture, The Story of the Only Successful Slave Revolt in History

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On Wednesday 27th August 2025, from 7.30-9.30pm, Stroud Radical Reading Group will host a discussion of Toussaint Louverture, The Story of the Only Successful Slave Revolt in History (free entry). We will meet at Redz Youth Hub, 6 Threadneedle St, GL5 1AF. See below for more information on the venue.

The session will be introduced by long-time regular attendee, Asha.

In 1791, the enslaved people of the most prized French sugar plantation colony, San Domingo, revolted against their masters. For over twelve years, against a backdrop of the French Revolution, they fought an epic black liberation struggle for control of the island.

Theirs was the first and only successful slave revolution. It was the creation of Haiti as a nation, the first independent black republic outside of Africa, and an international inspiration to the persecuted and enslaved. This month’s book is the impassioned and beautifully drawn story of the Haitian Revolution and its incredible leader: Toussaint Louverture, based on a play by C.L.R. James – whose book The Black Jacobins is highly revered, and which we discussed as a group in October 2020.

Below in our resources section you can find a link to buy the book at a discount, content notes, and free audio/visual resources including a 20 page excerpt from the book. There is also more information about the book and Stroud Radical Reading Group events.

Entry to the reading group session is free and everyone is welcome – you do not need to have attended previous sessions, and we do our best to make the sessions welcoming to people who have not been to reading groups or similar settings like university seminars before.

We encourage people to read the whole book, but you are welcome to attend to listen to the discussion without reading any of it. An excerpt, podcast interview, and youtube video are available for those who do not have the time or money for the whole book.

Content notes:

Discussions of slavery, non-graphic portrayals of scars from beatings, period depictions of racism and classism, depictions of slave ships and drowning, non-graphic portrayal of armed conflict.

About the book:

The end of slavery started in what was then San Domingo. In 1791, the enslaved people of the most prized French sugar plantation colony revolted against their masters. For over twelve years, against a backdrop of the French Revolution, they fought an epic black liberation struggle for control of the island.

Theirs was the first and only successful slave revolution. It was the creation of Haiti as a nation, the first independent black republic outside of Africa, and an international inspiration to the persecuted and enslaved. This is the impassioned and beautifully drawn story of the Haitian Revolution and its incredible leader: Toussaint Louverture.

Further background

The text of this graphic novel is a play by C. L. R. James that opened in London in 1936 with Paul Robeson in the title role. For the first time, black actors appeared on the British stage in a work by a black playwright. The script had been lost for almost seventy years when a draft copy was discovered among James’s archives.

Toussaint Louverture is an indispensable companion work to The Black Jacobins (1938), James’s classic account of Haiti’s revolutionary struggle for liberation.

The extraordinary drama has been reimagined by artists Nic Watts and Sakina Karimjee.

Nic Watts is a freelance illustrator who has illustrated a range of works including newspapers, booklets and comics. This is his first graphic novel.

Sakina Karimjee is a theatre designer and draughtsperson. She co-produced the book with Watts.

Resources

About our events

Stroud Radical Reading Group events are free to attend, though we will make a collection to cover venue hire costs – please bring some cash.

We try to create a comfortable discussion space for everyone, including people who have not been part of a reading group or been to university. We do not want the sessions to feel like school – the idea is that everyone has something to contribute, even if primarily through finding the discussion texts difficult and having questions with other attendees can attempt to answer.

To ensure marginalised people feel welcome, we encourage care and thoughtful contributions that respect people’s identities and lives. We are an LGBTQ+ inclusive and anti-racist space.

Anyone is welcome to listen to the discussion, though we encourage contributions only from those who have read at least some of the book we are discussing.

There is an opportunity for more informal discussion after the session in the Ale House pub for anyone who wants to continue their evening.

About the venue

The venue for this session is Redz Youth Hub, a hub for organising, creativity, and community building. It’s a free space for young people to host their own events, workshops, and meetups. They’ve been hosting sessions by Mutiny: Stroud’s Youth Assembly and The RYSE – the Radical Youth Space for Educations – see their schedule for the rest of the year here, including sessions on the Peace Movement, Stroud Water riots, and decolonial action.

Redz is in central Stroud, close to the train station and bus station, with nearby stands to lock bikes, and parking for cars nearby at Fawkes Place or Church St car park. It is one street over from John St – for those who have joined recent sessions at Creative Sustainability. Please get in touch if you’d like to get more of an idea of what the sessions are like or if you have any accessibility needs.

Get in touch
Facebook event – invite friends/receive reminders
Join the Stroud Radical Reading Facebook Group for online discussion with others who attend the discussions
Events

Wednesday 23rd July 2025: Syria Speaks

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On Wednesday 23rd July 2025, from 7.30-9.30pm, Stroud Radical Reading Group will host a discussion of Syria Speaks Art and Culture from the Frontline (free entry). We will meet at Coco Caravan (a short distance from the town centre train or bus station, with a limited amount of parking available nearby at Fawkes Place). Coco Caravan are hosting an exhibition of work by Cammy Leon, “Hope & Imagining – Syria’s past and future”, which will run from 10th July to 9th August. Before the reading group session, there will be an event at the exhibition from 5.30-7pm, for people to gather, explore the artwork, buy hot chocolate and hopefully poetry from a Syrian living locally (entry with a donation to the White Helmets).

Syria Speaks is not a conventional book—it’s a kaleidoscopic collection of art, stories, essays, poems, cartoons, photography, and graffiti that documents the Syrian people’s creative resistance during the early years of the revolution that began in 2011 (written in 2012 and 2013). Compiled by Syrian and international editors, it gives voice to those who dared to challenge repression with words, images, and dreams.

The book is diverse in medium and voice—from tragic personal narratives to bold graphic art, from lyrical poetry to bitter satire—and it is united by a deep commitment to freedom of expression and the courage to imagine something beyond dictatorship and violence.

Below in our resources section you can find a link to buy the book at a discount, content notes, free audio/visual resources, and a recently published short article about the current situation in Syria. There is also more information about the book and its editors.

Entry to the reading group session is free and everyone is welcome – you do not need to have attended previous sessions, and we do our best to make the sessions welcoming to people who have not been to reading groups or similar settings like university seminars before.

We encourage people to read the whole book, but you are welcome to attend to listen to the discussion without reading any of it. We have collated some short sections, audio-visual material and an article for those who do not have the time or money for the whole book (these are available as previews on Google Books):

  • Introduction and Hama ’82 (pages vii-1)
  • Between the cultures of sectarianism & citizenship by Hassan Abbas (pages 48-59)
  • The Art of Persuasion by Anonymous Artists Collective (pages 66-77)

This event follows our event on Burning Country in June last year, and the fall of the Assad regime since.

Content notes:

The book deals with repression, war and genocide – involving specifically violence, murder, death, torture, police brutality, rape and sexual violence, injury, grief, death of parents, blood and gore.

About the book:

In Syria, culture became the critical line of defence against tyranny. Villagers have joined the cultural frontline alongside urban intellectuals, artists, writers and filmmakers and to create art and literature that challenge official narratives. With contributions by over fifty artists and writers, both established and emerging, Syria Speaks explores the explosion of creativity and free expression by the Syrian people.

They have become their own publishers on the Internet and formed anonymous artists collectives which are actively working in their country’s war zones. The art and writing featured in this book, including literature, poems and songs as well as cartoons, political posters and photographs, document and interpret the momentous changes that have shifted the frame of reality so drastically in Syria.

About the editors:

Malu Halasa is a London-based writer, journalist, and editor with a focus on Palestine, Iran, and Syria. She is Literary Editor at The Markaz Review, and was the curator of Art of the Palestinian Poster at the P21 Gallery, as part the Shubbak: A Window on Contemporary Arab Culture Festival, from 23 May to 14 June 2025.

Zaher Omareen is a Syrian writer and researcher based in London. He has worked on independent cultural initiatives in Syria and Europe, and co-curated exhibitions on the art of the Syrian uprising. He is currently working on a collection of short stories drawn from the collective memories of the 1982 Hama massacre.

Nawara Mahfoud is a Syrian journalist and documentary producer who has worked for the New York Times. She blogs for the New Yorker, among other publications.

About the Exhibition 

A bold collection of four digital art prints centres the courage and defiance of the Syrian revolution. Through striking visual storytelling, two of the series honours key figures who embodied the spirit of resistance: Mazen Hamada, Razan Zaitouneh, Samira Khalil, and May Skaf—each a symbol of unwavering dignity in the face of repression.

Two of the works evoke collective liberation: one captures the moment Aleppo was liberated, Syrian and Palestinian flags raised in solidarity; the other shows a quiet revolution—people cycling freely through Damascus, reclaiming joy where it was once forbidden by the brutal Assad regime. This is a tribute to memory, movement, humanity and a future that refuses to die.

The exhibition is a fundraiser for the White Helmets. There will be an auction for the artworks, and donations collected on entry to the exhibition event and during the exhibition.

Resources

  • Buy Syria Speaks from the Yellow Lighted Bookshop – RRP £14.99, £12.74 with discount (saving £2.25). To get a 15% discount: Look at your “basket”, and enter the “couponcode” 25stroudradical. Pick up book from Nailsworth, Tetbury or Chalford shops, or get books delivered to your door for £3.50 postage. If posting books, you may wish to buy other books we are reading this year
  • This short article gives a vivid snapshot of early post-Assad Syria—where grassroots activists of all ages are reclaiming political space, pushing back against HTS’s religious conservatism, and building the beginnings of a pluralistic, left alternative rooted in social and economic justice.
  • Listen to this 6 month old podcast episode dedicated to Omar Aziz, Razan Zeituneh and Alan Kurdi “Long Live the Syrian Revolution” (30 minutes, Politically Depressed podcast, embedded below).
  • 8 month old podcast “Roundtable on Syria” (90 minutes, The Fire These Times podcast). “For episode 178, From the Periphery collective members Leila Al-Shami, Elia Ayoub, Karena Avedissian, and Ayman Makarem gathered together for a roundtable to discuss the latest developments in Syria and to provide a historical and political background to help understand the current moment.”
  • Cartoon by Anarchist activist Omar Aziz, “Revolution in Every Country Comic Series: Episode 1 – Syria: Erasing an Inconvenient Revolution“
  • Video recording of panel discussion from the “Discover Syria in Stroud” event held on Saturday 11th January 2025, marking the fall of the Assad regime. After a screening of For Sama, Emma from CSSD and Stroud Against Racism hosted a panel discussion, featuring Leila Al-Shami, British-Syrian activist and writer. She is co-author of ‘Burning Country: Syrians in Revolution and War’ and is co-founder of From The Periphery media collective; Robin Yassin-Kassab, a regular media commentator on Syria and the Middle East. He is the author of the novel The Road from Damascus (Penguin, 2009), contributor to Syria Speaks (Saqi, 2014), and – with Leila Al-Shami – the co-author of ‘Burning Country: Syrians in Revolution and War’; Rami Emad, a Syrian Refugee living locally (embedded below)

About our events

Stroud Radical Reading Group events are free to attend, though we will make a collection to cover venue hire costs – please bring some cash.

We try to create a comfortable discussion space for everyone, including people who have not been part of a reading group or been to university. We do not want the sessions to feel like school – the idea is that everyone has something to contribute, even if primarily through finding the discussion texts difficult and having questions with other attendees can attempt to answer.

To ensure marginalised people feel welcome, we encourage care and thoughtful contributions that respect people’s identities and lives. We are an LGBTQ+ inclusive and anti-racist space.

Anyone is welcome to listen to the discussion, though we encourage contributions only from those who have read at least some of the book we are discussing.

There is an opportunity for more informal discussion after the session in the Ale House pub for anyone who wants to continue their evening.

About the venue

We will meet at the Coco Caravan Cacao House (2 Bedford St, GL5 1AY). This is a venue connected to a chocolate studio which brings together people to share different cacao knowledges, specially selected chocolate varieties, and experience chocolate as a plant food of immense cultural, historical, and spiritual value.

This is close to the train station and not far from the bus station. There are stands to lock bikes to on the High St nearby, and parking for cars nearby at Fawkes Place or Church St car park. There are no toilets at the venue. There step free access the building. The room is well lit. Please get in touch if you’d like to get more of an idea of what the sessions are like or if you have any accessibility needs.

Get in touch
Facebook event – invite friends/receive reminders
Join the Stroud Radical Reading Facebook Group for online discussion with others who attend the discussions
Events

Wednesday 28th May 2025 – Radicalism and Resistance in Palestine

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On Wednesday 28th May 2025, from 7.30-9.30pm, Stroud Radical Reading Group will host a discussion of two books looking at Radicalism and Resistance in Palestine. We suggest people pick one or other of the books to read in full, or read excerpts from both – see below for links to buy the books at a discount from the local Yellow Lighted Bookshop and a variety of free text, audio, and visual resources relevant to the books.

We’re reading books about Palestine in May, because of the ongoing genocide, occupation and apartheid, but also specifically because May is the month in which Palestinians mark Nakba day – held annually on 15th May. The Nakba, which translates as ‘the catastrophe’, is the term Palestinians use to describe the ethnic cleansing and expulsion of most of the Indigenous people of Palestine through displacement and dispossession specifically of the 1948 Palestine War – and the ongoing suppression of their culture, identity, political rights, and national aspirations by Israel. This year will be the 77th anniversary of the Nakba, and various organisations are calling for action on/around the date, with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement calling for mass global mobilizations and civil disobedience on 15 May and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign organising a national demonstration in London on 17th May, for example.

Our session will take place after that date, but look at the context – a long history of various forms of resistance – and the calls to act ourselves, lessons, and inspiration we can take from these.

We will meet at Creative Sustainability’s shopfront space at 10 John St, GL5 2HA (a short distance from the town centre train or bus station, with parking available nearby at Church St).

Entry is free and everyone is welcome – you do not need to have attended previous sessions, and we do our best to make the sessions welcoming to people who have not been to reading groups or similar settings like university seminars before.

More information about the books, venue and how sessions work is below.

About the books:

Popular Resistance in Palestine, A History of Hope and Empowerment, Mazin B. Qumsiyeh: “Armed resistance, suicide bombings, and rocket attacks populate the Western media’s depiction of Palestinian resistance. Synthesising data from hundreds of original sources, Dr Mazin Qumsiyeh provides the most comprehensive study of the always creative, often peaceful, civil resistance in Palestine. Successes, failures, missed opportunities and challenges are chronicled through hundreds of stories from over 100 years of Palestinian resistance.”

“The book critically and comparatively surveys uprisings under Ottoman rule, against the Balfour Declaration and the Oslo Accords, all the way up to the Boycotts, Divestments and Sanctions movement. The compelling human stories told in this book will inspire people of all faiths and political backgrounds to chart a better and more informed direction for a future of peace with justice.”

Professor Qumsiyeh is founder and director of the Palestine Museum of Natural History (PMNH) and the Palestine Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainability (PIBS) at Bethlehem University where he teaches.

Interviews with Radical Palestinian Women: the interviews compiled by Shoal Collective cover “their struggles on all fronts – against colonialism, white supremacy, conservatism, patriarchy, state control – and occupation.”

“The idea for this book came out of a concern that solidarity movements have a tendency only to engage with Palestinians about their fight against the Israeli occupation. Sometimes this can be a barrier to seeing them as comrades in our intersecting struggles.”

“10 radical Palestinian women spoke to the authors between 2018-2021. Listening to their voices will help people outside of Palestine better understand them as allies in our global struggles for freedom.”

Shoal is a radical research and writers’ collective which produces news articles, investigative research, opinion, analysis and theoretical writing in support of social movements that aim to bring about social change.

Buy the books

When looking at your “basket” enter the “couponcode” 25stroudradical for a 15% discount. Pick up book from Nailsworth, Tetbury or Chalford shops, or get books delivered to your door for £3.50 postage. If posting books, you may wish to buy other books we are reading this year

Free Resources

About our events and the venue

Stroud Radical Reading Group events are free to attend, though we will make a collection to cover venue hire costs – please bring some cash.

We try to create a comfortable discussion space for everyone, including people who have not been part of a reading group or been to university. We do not want the sessions to feel like school – the idea is that everyone has something to contribute, even if primarily through finding the discussion texts difficult and having questions with other attendees can attempt to answer.

To ensure marginalised people feel welcome, we encourage care and thoughtful contributions that respect people’s identities and lives. We are an LGBTQ+ inclusive and anti-racist space.

Anyone is welcome to listen to the discussion, though we encourage contributions only from those who have read at least some of the book we are discussing.

There is an opportunity for more informal discussion after the session in the Ale House pub for anyone who wants to continue their evening.

About the venue

We will meet at the Creative Sustainability shopfront space at 10 John St, GL5 2HA (round the corner from Iceland and next to the Ale House pub). This is close to the train station and not far from the bus station. There are stands to lock bikes to outside, and parking for cars nearby at Church St car park. There are no toilets at the venue. There is a small step to access the building, which is then step free). The room is well lit. Please get in touch if you’d like to get more of an idea of what the sessions are like or if you have any accessibility needs.

Get in touch
Facebook event – invite friends/receive reminders
Join the Stroud Radical Reading Facebook Group for online discussion with others who attend the discussions
Events

Wednesday 26th March 2025- Revolutionary and Enemy Feminisms

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On Wednesday 26th March 2025, from 7.30-9.30pm, Stroud Radical Reading Group will host a discussion of two books looking at feminisms. The discussion will follow International Women’s Day, which is held annually on the 8th March. We suggest people pick one or other of the books to read in full, or read excerpts from both – see below for links to buy the books at a discount from the local Yellow Lighted Bookshop and a variety of free text, audio, and visual resources relevant to the books.

  • Revolutionary Feminisms: Conversations on Collective Action and Radical Thought, Edited by Brenna Bhandar and Rafeef Ziadah
  • Enemy Feminisms: TERFs, Policewomen, and Girlbosses Against Liberation, by Sophie Lewis

We will meet at Creative Sustainability’s shopfront space at 10 John St, GL5 2HA (a short distance from the town centre train or bus station, with parking available nearby at Church St).

Entry is free and everyone is welcome – you do not need to have attended previous sessions, and we do our best to make the sessions welcoming to people who have not been to reading groups or similar settings like university seminars before.

More information about the books, venue and how sessions work is below.

About the books:

Revolutionary Feminisms – “Black, anti-colonial, anti-racist feminist thought is often sidelined in mainstream discourses that transform feminism into simplistic calculations of how many women are in positions of power.

This book sets the record straight. Through interviews with key scholars, including Angela Y. Davis and Silvia Federici, [Editors of Revolutionary Feminisms, Brenna] Bhandar and [Rafeef] Ziadah present a serious and thorough discussion of race, class, gender, and sexuality not merely as intersections to be noted or additives to be mixed in, but as co-constitutive factors that must be reckoned with if we are to build effective coalitions.”

Enemy Feminisms – “In a time of rising fascism, ceaseless attacks on reproductive justice, and violent transphobia, we need to reckon with what Western feminism has wrought if we have any hope of building the feminist world we need. Sophie Lewis offers an unflinching tour of enemy feminisms, from 19th century imperial feminists and police officers to 20th century KKK feminists and pornophobes to today’s anti-abortion and TERF feminists.

Enemy feminisms exist. Feminism is not an inherent political good. Only when we acknowledge that can we finally reckon with the ways these feminisms have pushed us toward counterproductive and even violent ends. And only then can we finally engage in feminist strategizing that is truly antifascist.

At once a left transfeminist battlecry against cisness, a decolonial takedown of nationalist womanhoods, and a sex-radical retort to femmephobia in all its guises, Enemy Feminisms is above all a fierce, brilliant love letter to feminism.”

Buy the books

When looking at your “basket” enter the “couponcode” 25stroudradical for a 15% discount. Pick up book from Nailsworth, Tetbury or Chalford shops, or get books delivered to your door for £3.50 postage. If posting books, you may wish to buy other books we are reading this year.

Free Resources

Text Resources

  1. TERF Island – There Have Always Been Enemies Inside the Feminist Camp | lux-magazine.com [5,000 words]
  2. How the Girlboss Lost: Sophie Lewis on the Rise and Fall of a Feminist Moment – Leaning Into the Death of Lean-In Feminism and Its Many Resurrections in Our Conflicted Zeitgeist | lithub.com [3,150 words]
  3. Lipstick on the Pigs​ | Kamala Harris and the Lineage of the Female Cop | thedriftmag.com [4,600 words]
EnemyFeminismsExcerptsDownload

Audio/visual resources

About our events and the venue

Stroud Radical Reading Group events are free to attend, though we will make a collection to cover venue hire costs – please bring some cash. We try to create a comfortable discussion space for everyone, including people who have not been part of a reading group or been to university. Anyone is welcome to listen to the discussion, though we encourage contributions only from those who have read at least some of the book we are discussing. There is an opportunity for more informal discussion after the session in the Ale House pub for anyone who wants to continue their evening.

About the venue

We will meet at the Creative Sustainability shopfront space at 10 John St, GL5 2HA (round the corner from Iceland and next to the Ale House pub). This is close to the train station and not far from the bus station. There are stands to lock bikes to outside, and parking for cars nearby at Church St car park. There are no toilets at the venue. There is a small step to access the building, which is then step free). The room is well lit. Please get in touch if you’d like to get more of an idea of what the sessions are like or if you have any accessibility needs.

Get in touch
Facebook event – invite friends/receive reminders
Join the Stroud Radical Reading Facebook Group for online discussion with others who attend the discussions

Events

Wednesday 19th February 2025- Safety Through Solidarity: A Radical Guide to Fighting Antisemitism

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On Wednesday 19th February 2025, from 7.30-9.30pm, Stroud Radical Reading Group will host a discussion of “Safety Through Solidarity: A Radical Guide to Fighting Antisemitism” by Shane Burley and Ben Lorber. The event will be hosted jointly by Stroud Radical Reading Group and Na’amod Gloucestershire. Na’amod is “a movement of Jews in the UK seeking to end our community’s support for Israel’s occupation and apartheid, and to mobilise it in the struggle for freedom, equality and justice for all Palestinians and Israelis”, and a Gloucestershire branch was formed in 2024.

Entry is free and everyone is welcome.

PLEASE NOTE DIFFERENT VENUE FOR THIS EVENT: We will meet at The Exchange on Brick Row, GL5 1DF (a short walk from the town centre train or bus station, with parking available nearby at Church St).

More information about the book, venue and how sessions work is below – together with a link to buy the book at a discount and a variety of free text, audio, and visual resources relevant to the book/discussion.

About the book:

“From online trolling of Jews by the ‘alt-right’ to synagogue shootings by white nationalists to the spread of QAnon and George Soros conspiracy theories, antisemitism is a fixture of U.S. politics today. Its rise is part and parcel of growing exclusionary nationalist movements – putting multiracial democracy itself at risk. At the same time, conversations about antisemitism are more polarized than ever.

How is antisemitism connected to anti-Blackness, xenophobia, anti-LGBTQ bigotry, and other forms of oppression? How do we build the coalitions and movements we need to fight it all together? Why is it important to distinguish between legitimate criticism of Israel’s oppression of Palestinians and antisemitism?

Using personal stories, historical deep-dives, front-line reporting, and interviews with leading change-makers, Lorber and Burley help the reader understand how antisemitism works, what’s at stake in contemporary debates, and how we can build true safety in solidarity.”

This event follows the annual Holocaust Memorial Day, this year marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi concentration camp complex (and the 30th anniversary of the genocide in Bosnia). In Stroud, Community Solidarity Stroud District hosted a local event on Sunday 26th January at the Lansdown Hall from 2-3pm.

Our 2025 event follows discussions of books linked to Holocaust Memorial Day in the past – Primo Levi’s The Drowned and The Saved, Revolutionary Yiddishland, and We Fight Fascists. Links to those previous events are provided for interest only – you do not have been to any of our previous events to come along to this one.

Resources

About our events and the venue

Stroud Radical Reading Group events are free to attend, though we will make a collection to cover venue hire costs – please bring some cash. We try to create a comfortable discussion space for everyone, including people who have not been part of a reading group or been to university. Anyone is welcome to listen to the discussion, though we encourage contributions only from those who have read at least some of the book we are discussing.

We will meet at The Exchange on Brick Row in Stroud. This is near the centre of town, a short walk from Stroud Railway Station or the Merrywalks Bus Station. There are stands to lock bikes to outside, and parking for cars nearby at Church St car park. There is sloped access to the building and to an accessible toilet. The room is well lit and warm. Please get in touch if you’d like to get more of an idea of what the sessions are like or if you have any accessibility needs.

Get in touch
Facebook event – invite friends/receive reminders
Join the Stroud Radical Reading Facebook Group for online discussion with others who attend the discussions
Events

January 15th 2025- The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah

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On January 15th November 2025, from 7.30-9.30pm, Stroud Radical Reading Group will host a discussion of The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah. Entry is free and everyone is welcome. We will meet at 10 John St, GL5 2AH.

This event has been rescheduled from December – when it was cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances – many apologies. It was originally planned to mark the one year anniversary of Benjamin Zephaniah’s death – on the 7th December 2023.

On his own website, this is how the book is described: “Benjamin Zephaniah is old. So he decided to write his autobiography. It documents his life from the sound systems of Birmingham to the world stage.”

In the early 1980s when punks and Rastas were on the streets protesting about unemployment, homelessness and the National Front, Benjamin’s poetry could be heard at demonstrations, outside police stations and on the dance floor. His mission was to take poetry everywhere, and to popularise it by reaching people who didn’t read books. His poetry was political, musical, radical and relevant.

The Lifes and Rhymes of is the stunning autobiography of the poet, writer, lyricist and activist, Benjamin Zephaniah.

This event follows our discussion of “Speak Out!” – an anthology of work by the Brixton Black Women’s Group in October, and Angela Davis’ autobiography – but you are welcome to attend this event alone, and do not have been to any of our previous events to come along to this one.

Resources

About our events and the venue

Stroud Radical Reading Group events are free to attend, though we will make a collection to cover costs – please bring some cash. We try to create a comfortable discussion space for everyone, including people who have not been part of a reading group or been to university. Anyone is welcome to listen to the discussion, though we encourage contributions only from those who have read at least some of the book we are discussing.

We will meet at 10 John St, GL5 2AH. This is near the centre of town, a short walk from Stroud Railway Station and a slightly longer walk from the Merrywalks Bus Station. There are stands to lock bikes to outside, and parking for cars nearby in either Brunel Mall, Fawkes Place, or Church St car park. There is a low step to enter the building, which is flat. There are no toilet facilities. Please get in touch if you’d like to get more of an idea of what the sessions are like or if you have any accessibility needs.

Events

November 27th 2024 – An Autobiography by Angela Davis

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On Wednesday 27th November 2024, from 7.30-9.30pm, Stroud Radical Reading Group will host a discussion of An Autobiography by Angela Davis. Entry is free and everyone is welcome. We will meet at 10 John St, GL5 2AH.

The book is a powerful and commanding account of the life of trailblazing political activist Angela Davis, detailing her journey from a childhood on Dynamite Hill in Birmingham, Alabama to one of the most significant political trials of the century. From her political activity in a New York high school to her work with the U.S. Communist Party, the Black Panther Party, and the Soledad Brothers; and from the faculty of the Philosophy Department at UCLA to the FBI’s list of the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives. Told with warmth, brilliance, humour and conviction, this autobiography is a classic account of a life in struggle with echoes in our own time.

Find links to buy the book and free resources related to it below, as well as information about the venue for our events and our group. If you do not have time to read the full book, we recommend focusing on Part 4 – Flames. Download part 4 here (this is still a big section, over 100 pages). We welcome contributions to the discussion from anyone who has engaged with any of the resources – even if they haven’t finished Part 4 or the book, and anyone to join us to listen in even if they have not been able to engage with any of the resources.

We’ll be following this event with a discussion on autobiography by Benjamin Zephaniah in December, and it follows our discussion of “Speak Out!” – an anthology of work by the Brixton Black Women’s Group in October – but you are welcome to attend this event alone, and do not have been to any of our previous events to come along to this one.

Resources

AngelaDavisAutobiography-4FlamesDownload

About our events and the venue

Stroud Radical Reading Group events are free to attend, though we will make a collection to cover costs – please bring some cash. We try to create a comfortable discussion space for everyone, including people who have not been part of a reading group or been to university. Anyone is welcome to listen to the discussion, though we encourage contributions only from those who have read at least some of the book we are discussing.

We will meet at 10 John St, GL5 2AH. This is near the centre of town, a short walk from Stroud Railway Station and a slightly longer walk from the Merrywalks Bus Station. There are stands to lock bikes to outside, and parking for cars nearby in either Brunel Mall, Fawkes Place, or Church St car park. There is a low step to enter the building, which is flat. There are no toilet facilities. Please get in touch if you’d like to get more of an idea of what the sessions are like or if you have any accessibility needs.