between 6th & 7th Ave. -- 212-691-3345
Open 12 noon - 7 pm every day
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April 13, Tuesday, 7pm
Discussion with Carl Dix on plans for Revolutionary May Day, May 1.
"May 1 is the revolutionary holiday. May 1 is the day when people come together, around this tortured planet, and declare their determination to end exploitation and all forms of oppression.... Imagine bands of people, determined and with confidence, marching through the streets and getting out this message, and drawing in others as they go. Imagine drum corps of youth giving a vision of the discipline demanded by our struggle, and the pride, energy and joy that must surge through it..." -- from Revolution newspaper. Read the whole thing here.
April 16, Friday, 7pm
Open-Mic "Pieces for Revolution," produced by Pricetags Art with Revolution Books.
An open-mic like no other. Every 3rd Friday. Come with your most powerful work and be ready to talk about it.
April 18, Sunday, 3pm
An afternoon with poet and playwright reg e. gaines.
reg e. gaines wrote the book and lyrics for the Tony-award winning musical “Bring in 'da Noise/Bring in 'da Funk.” He collaborated again with tapper Savion Glover in a John Coltrane-inspired improvisation session, “If Trane Wuz Here.” He has appeared on MTV “Spoken Word Unplugged,” Def Jam Poetry Slam, he is a Grand Slam Champ, and his spoken word CDs include Please Don't Take My Air Jordans.
April 23, Friday, 7pm
Screening: BLAST! Talkback with film’s director Paul Devlin.
Filmmaker Paul Devlin follows the story of his brother, Mark Devlin Ph.D, as he leads a tenacious team of scientists hoping to figure out how all the galaxies formed by launching a revolutionary new telescope under a NASA high-altitude balloon. Their adventure takes them from Arctic Sweden to Inuit polar bear country in Canada, where catastrophic failure forces the team to try all over again on the desolate ice in Antarctica. They seek to answer humankind's most basic question, How did we get here? Check out Mark Devlin on the Colbert Report, August 13, 2009
Paul Devlin is a director, producer, and editor-- and a five-time Emmy winner for his work on NBC's Olympics and CBS's Tour de France. Devlin's films include "Power Trip," which screened in 60 countries, theatrically across the United States and on PBS's Independent Lens, was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award and has won 10 film festival awards. Paul also made the award-winning film "SlamNation," which follows the fierce competition at the National Poetry Slam and helped popularize the dynamic genre with its release in theaters and on HBO/Cinemax and Encore/Starz.
May 12, Wednesday, 7pm
"The War Comes Home"
A Reading and Discussion with award-winning writers
Helen Benedict and Nora Eisenberg
Helen Benedict:
"The Lonely Soldier: The Private War of Women Serving in Iraq"
"It is hard to determine what is most disturbing about this book--the devious and immoral tactics used by leaders and recruiters to get women to join the military, the terrible poverty and personal violence women were escaping that lead them to be vulnerable to such manipulation, the raping and harassing of women soldiers by their superiors and comrades once they got to Iraq, or the untreated homelessness, illnesses and madness that have haunted women since they came home."
-- Eve Ensler, playwright, The Vagina Monologues
"Once again, Helen Benedict reports what others sweep under the rug, and reveals a pattern where others see random events. The Lonely Soldier will shock you and enrage you and bring you to tears."
-- Katha Pollitt, contributor, The Nation
Nora Eisenberg:
"When You Come Home" -- a novel about the unending Gulf War
"In 1991, troops sent to Iraq for the first Gulf War returned home with a litany of physical, neurological, and psychological symptoms that collectively became known as Gulf War syndrome. Eisenberg bravely sheds light on the resultant devastation suffered by one small group of friends and their families..."
-- Booklist
"Nora Eisenberg uses her estimable talent to explore the human cost of modern war. And thanks to that talent, her book is not only timely but timeless."
--- Robert Olen Butler
May 14, Friday, 7pm
Screening: The Glass House
Talkback with the director Hamid Rahmanian and producer Melissa Hibbard
The Glass House follows four teenage girls striving to pull themselves out of the margins by attending a one-of-a-kind rehabilitation center in uptown Tehran. Forget about the Iran that you've seen before. With a virtually invisible camera, the girls of The Glass House take us on a never-before-seen tour of the underclass of Iran with their brave and defiant stories: Samira struggles to overcome forced drug addiction; Mitra harnesses abandonment into her creative writing; Sussan teeters on a dangerous ledge after years of sexual abuse; and Nazila burgeons out of her hatred with her blazing rap music.
This groundbreaking documentary reflects a side of Iran few have access to or paid attention to: a society lost to its traditions with nothing meaningful to replace them and a group of courageous women working to instill a sense of empowerment and hope into the minds and lives of otherwise discarded teenage girls.
"Superb cinema verité style. It deftly portrays a spirit of hopefulness."
-- Variety
More info at: http://www.prometheuscinema.com/theglasshouse-purchase.html
See Trailer: http://www.persianesquemagazine.com/2010/03/22/documentary-film-the-glass-house-by-hamid-rahmanian/
Notes from recent events |
Nearly 50 people came out to Revolution Books on Friday night, February 12, to see the NYC premiere of a new documentary, "American Faust: From Condi to Neo-Condi." The film, a well-made portrait of Condoleezza Rice, revealed the complex implications behind her rise as a major operative in the world's leading torture state under George W. Bush. It was a chilling depiction of people who will stop at nothing to defend U.S. imperial power. The film was written and directed by Sebastian Doggart who was on hand for a lively talkback after the film. The screening was part of a new series at Revolution Books "2-4 Friday Films" -- screenings of films that matter every 2nd and 4th Friday, with talkbacks by the director.
Photo credit: Bud Korotzer
On January 28 a discussion of "The Guantanamo Lawyers"
Mark Denbeaux, author of a new book, "The Guantanamo Lawyers: Inside a Prison Outside the Law," a book of detainees' stories told by their lawyers, and Yvonne R. Bradley, the lawyer appointed in 2005 as military defense counsel for a British prisoner in the military commissions at Guantanamo. Hear a short excerpt as broadcast on WBAI. Read a report in Next Left Notes of the discussion.
Held on January 8, Friday
"After 'Change You Can Believe In,' Wally Shawn reads from his Essays and discusses human nature with a communist."
On Friday night 285 people packed into Friends Meeting House for an evening entitled "After 'Change You Can Believe In,' Wally Shawn reads from his Essays and discusses human nature with a communist."
After reading his "The Quest for Superiority," playwright and actor Wally Shawn sat down for a probing conversation with Andy Zee, spokesperson for Revolution Books. A spirited question and answer session followed. Shawn took part in the evening in order to help save Revolution Books, and the event raised several thousand dollars towards the store's $100,000 Fund Drive. The audience included people in theater, publishing, film, and academia, as well as activists and students, and their enthusiasm for the engagement and for Revolution Books itself was evident through the evening. Look to Revolution Books website and Revolution newspaper for future coverage.
Now On Line! Hear "After 'Change You Can Believe In,' Wally Shawn reads from his Essays and discusses human nature with a communist." |
There was a full house at the Benefit for Revolution Books and a Tribute to Edna St. Vincent Millay organized by the poet Sparrow this past Sunday. A good time had by all. Poets included Steve Dalachinsky, Esther Smith, Marshall Reese, Mike Topp, Yuko Otomo, Bob Heman, Georgia Luna, Mickey Z., Sparrow , and Postcard Poets from Purgatory Pie Press. Also featured: the band FOAMOLA, pictured below.
Re-recorded for internet viewing
"The Elephant in the Room: Can Anything Short of Revolution Solve the Environmental Crisis?"
The December 15 talk by Raymond Lotta on the "climate threat, Copenhagen , and why capitalism is utterly incompatible with sustainable development" is available.
Click here to view.
On Saturday night, Nov 14, a packed house watched "William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe" on its opening evening. Many in the audience had bought $20 tickets as a benefit to support Revolution Books' $100,000 Fund Drive. The filmmakers, Emily and Sarah Kunstler, their older sister Karen, plus Joey Johnson, spoke to audience after the screening. PEOPLE- go see this film, THIS WEEK, it's extraordinary, and audience numbers the first week of a documentary determines its fate in the theaters. It's at Cinema Village, 22 E. 12th Street. http://www.disturbingtheuniverse.com.
Jon Jeter at Revolution Books heard on WBAI radio.
On Wednesday night, Nov 11, former Washington Post Bureau chief for Southern Africa and South America, Jon Jeter, gave us fascinating presentation at Revolution Books on his book "Flat Broke in the Free Market: How Globalization Fleeced Working People." WBAI reporter Fred Ngyuen was there aired this report on the WBAI Evening News on Sunday, November 15. Listen to it at http://archive.wbai.org/ Go to Sunday, scroll down to 6pm.
Or go to:
http://www.radio4all.net/files/siddharta5@yahoo.com/450-1-brokeinthefreemarket.mp3
On November 4, Andy Worthington, author of The Guantanamo Files: The Stories of the 774 Detainees in America's Illegal Prison, spoke on the continuing imprisonment of hundreds in the "law free zone" of Guantanamo.
On October 9, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Chris Hedges launched his new book Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle at Revolution Books.
It was filmed for broadcast by C-Span's Book TV, as 80 people packed into the store, and another 35 listened to sound broadcast out onto 26th Street.
Introduced by Andy Zee from Revolution Books, Hedges spoke for an hour and answered questions for another, while many more waited to query him, bought books, and engaged in a discussion crackling with the promise of resistance and change in the face of the Empire.
Every Saturday
Come join the store every Saturday at one of our outdoor tables.
We talk with 100s of people about the store, sell Revolution newspaper, works by Bob Avakian, and the best collection of progressive and radical used books in the city. This is some meaningful revolutionary work -- come by and see what it's about.
Do you have good, used books? Donate them to Revolution Books. We know there's a treasure house of books out there on people's bookshelves and closets--the hidden histories of the Soviet and Chinese revolutions, memoirs from the 60s Black liberation and women's movements, out-of-print chronicles of struggles in Africa, Latin America, Asia... art books, novels, poetry... Bring them to Revolution Books and we will get them back in circulation to the people who yearn for a different future. And you will help keep this revolutionary bookstore open.
Calling for volunteers... dreamers, designers, revolutionaries,
poets, students, philosophers...
Call 212-691-3345 or email revbooksnyc@yahoo.com
Read Online: Revolution newspaper and |
April 15, Thursday, 7:30pm
A special benefit evening to save Revolution Books
NGŨGĨ WA THIONG'O
In a rare New York City appearance, the world-renowned author from Kenya will read and talk about his new book Dreams in a Time of War: A Childhood Memoir
On February 23, Sunsara Taylor launched her national tour "From the Burkha to the Thong, Everything Must, And Can, Change--WE NEED TOTAL REVOLUTION!" Click here for an excerpt from her talk.
photo: Bud Korotzer
Click here to join and to donate.
Much appreciation to the many people who contributed to Revolution Books' $100,000 Fund Drive. The drive officially ended on February 4, but donations are continuing to come in, and we encourage everyone who reads this and values this unique bookstore to become a Friend of Revolution Books and sustain the store or make a one-time contribution.
We will get back to everyone very soon with the financial results of the Fund Drive, all that has been learned from doing it, and our plans to go forward.
A letter from Andy Zee, Spokesperson for Revolution Books:
Revolution Books is needed now more than ever, yet its future in peril. Hunger faces over a billion people daily. War continues to rage in the middle east, with little opposition. Black and Latino youth in the U.S. are incarcerated by the hundreds of thousands. The ecological future of the planet is in dire jeopardy.
Yet, there isn't an atmosphere and culture of defiance, resistance, and revolution. Critical thinking and radical discourse are suffocated.
Revolution Books has been stepping up to puncture and change this - emerging over the past year as a growing center of revolutionary ferment. ...continue
Revolution Books is not about learning to survive on increasingly shrinking ground, accepting the status quo and holding on for dear life, a relic of a bygone age.
Revolution Books is part of contributing to a new spirit and atmosphere of critical engagement, putting revolution back into larger societal conversation.
New Installation at Revolution Books:
"who gets to speak?" by Ann Messner
"REVOLUTION:
Why It's Necessary, Why It's Possible, What It's All About"
now online!
In 2003 Bob Avakian delivered this historic talk in the United States. This is a wide-ranging revolutionary journey. It breaks down the very nature of the society we live in and how humanity has come to a time where a radically different society is possible. He lays it all out in a nine-hour speech-and then goes into three hours of question-and-answer dialogue with the audiences. It's all there-full of heart and soul, humor and seriousness. ...continued
There was a packed house for Dr. Susan Wicklund and Sunsara Taylor on Monday, Aug 3. Over 120 people came out to hear an evening discussion on "Abortion, Morality and the Liberation of Women" sponsored by Revolution Books at the LGBT Center.
Abortion, Morality and the Liberation of Women with Dr. Susan Wicklund, author of This Common Secret: My Journey as an Abortion Doctor and Sunsara Taylor, writer for Revolution newspaper, is now available on YouTube. This video is divided into 15 short sections: presentations followed by questions and answers. Watch this clip to get a taste, then follow the links to watch the whole film!
photos: Bud Korotzer
Abortion, Morality and the Liberation of Women is also available on DVD, specially designed for use in classrooms and by school groups. Order a copy (or several) online today!
Now on Sale -
GAZA: A CALL TO ACT
DVD from the January 13, 2009
Emergency Town Hall Meeting: "Stop The Israeli Massacre in Gaza.
Condemn the U.S. Role in this War Crime."
$20 including postage - 2 DVD set
The speakers included Abdeen Jabara, past-president of the American-Arab Anti Discrimination Committee; author Chris Hedges; former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney; Alan Goodman, writer for Revolution newspaper ; Adam Shapiro, human rights activist and co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement ; Center for Constitutional Rights Vice President Peter Weiss; actor Vanessa Redgrave; and Najla Said, actor and daughter of Edward Said.
This year is the Darwin Bi-Centennial at Revolution Books!
SALE for DARWIN BI-CENTENNIAL...
10% off when you buy these 2 books together:
Ardea Skybreak, "The Science of Evolution and the Myth of Creation: Knowing What's Real and Why It Matters" and Bob Avakian's "Away With All Gods: Unchaining the Mind and Radically Changing the World"
Local Stop | Flower District
Midtown's Lush Passage
June 25, 2009
1 P.M. You've saved on flowers and plants, but you've still spent money. Time to assuage that capitalist guilt. Check out Revolution Books, 146 West 26th Street, (212) 691-3345, for your pick of Communist fare and other left-wing literature. Politically pointed gifts are for sale, too, like the empty $1 Obamalade bottles, which warn they might cause "massive loss of life in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine and Pakistan." A clerk said, "A lot of people got taken with Obama, but it's just the same Bush program rebranded."
Check out the article on Revolution Books ("Book Marx") New York Press.
This revolutionary communist bookstore invites you to VOLUNTEER.
This store fulfills great needs in society right now, and YOU are needed here-- with whatever skills and interests you have. Web design, graphic design, Facebook, events-planning, fundraising, promotions and media, BOOKS, ideas, a burning desire to radically changing the world.
Don't Drink the Obama-lade!
INGREDIENTS: massacres in Gaza, Rick Warren, escalation of the Afghanistan war, Hillary Clinton, bailout of big business, Rahm Emanuel, blaming Black people for problems the system inflicts on them, "coming together" with those who hate gay people, Robert Gates, whitewashing torture by the Bush regime, and the Patriot Act.
SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING: Obamalade causes massive loss of life in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Pakistan and many other countries; continued attacks on Black people, women, immigrants, gays & lesbians; political cowardice that is dangerous to the health of humanity. If, after drinking Obamalade, you find yourself accepting the crimes of this system -- you should immediately take 2 doses of reality and report to the nearest movement of resistance against these crimes.
Revolution Books in Berkeley featured on MTV's
"Change It or Loose It"
To watch the video entitled:
Revolution: The Real Change
Check out story about Revolution Books in the NY Observer October 7, 2008
"Where Being in the Red Now Rules!
Leftist Revolution Books relishes Wall Street crisis from fresh Chelsea space"
Revolution Books-- a place to engage, and radically change, the whole world. Volunteers welcome-- to order books, work with customers, do front window displays, produce events, do graphic design, web... The most interesting and interested people come through the doors of Revolution Books every day. Come meet them. Spend a couple hours a couple days a week... become a Revolution Books volunteer. Revolution Books is all-volunteer & not-for-profit. Call or email the store, or just come in.
...Revolution Books
Click below to make a contribution.
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT REVOLUTION BOOKS:
"Revolution Books is that rare item, a bookstore with meaning, a bookstore with warmth, where you can learn and browse and find the sort of books that tamer shops never carry."
-- ALEXIS GREENE, co-editor, "Front Lines: Political Plays by American Women"
"I have never been in a place quite like Revolution Books. It is the repository of a wide range of progressive and radical literature. Anytime I have gone there looking for a left wing book, no matter how obscure, I have found it. Even more importantly I always find something illuminating that I had never heard of before. At a time when so much commerce takes place on computers, it is particularly important to have a few physical places where minds and people can meet and learn. For committed lefties such as myself, Revolution Books is uniquely valuable."
-- DANNY GOLDBERG, president Gold Village Entertainment, author "Bumping Into Geniuses: My Life Inside the Rock and Roll Business"
For those who wish to read the dissenting view, the uncensored analysis, the truth about their country and the world, the existence and viability of Revolution Books is absolutely essential."
-- PROF. JOHN GERASSI, Political Science, Queens College and Graduate Center
"There is an African proverb that asserts, 'When a griot dies, it is like a library has been destroyed.' Revolution Books is like a thousand griots-- and to lose it would be to witness the disappearance of a village of libraries. In my political development, it has been an indispensable tool and companion."
-- HERB BOYD, journalist (Amsterdam News, Essence), author (Baldwin's Harlem: A Biography)
“Revolution Books is one of my favorite bookstores in New York City. Whether you're a revolutionary or simply a reader who believes books really matter for the health of a community, you need to know about this store -- one of the last great independents in Manhattan, a brilliant, exciting, and wonderfully eccentric collection of books old and new, forgotten and front-page, radical and revelatory…a vital institution.”
-- JEFF SHARLET, contributor, Rolling Stone and Harpers, author “The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power”
"In traveling around the country for readings at bookstores, it has become evident that Revolution Books presents a whole different level of engagement. I have learned much from the audiences here… "
--DR. SUE WICKLUND, This Common Secret: My Journey As an Abortion Doctor
“The Rev has New York’s biggest and most outstanding radical collection of books, leaflets and journals. You’ll find bookshelves devoted to Lenin, Mao and Marx, many books in espanol, as well as cute red-star earrings.”
-- LONELY PLANET travel guide for NYC