Posts

Book Production as an act of Political Resistance

Can book production be an act of political resistance? Can the design and material of any book be used to strengthen any story of resistance? Can the aesthetics of a book magnify the content and substance of text and images? In April this year, we at LeftWord Books, published our first visual book. Edited by Johanna Wallin, ‘Rehearsing Freedom’ is a record of the first ten years of the work of The Freedom Theatre (TFT) in Jenin, Palestine. The Freedom Theatre was created in a refugee camp i[...]

The Venezuelan Dilemma: Progressives and the “Plague on both your Houses” Position

In recent weeks, a number of Venezuelan specialists on the left side of the political spectrum have published and posted pieces that place them in an anti-Chavista, “ni-ni” position that consists of “a plague on both your houses” with regard to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and the Venezuelan opposition. I consider myself a ‘critical Chavista.' It’s not an easy position to be in, particularly because the last thing I would want to do is to act in any way that would favor the r[...]

Red Sun in a Blue Sky

Subhashini Ali delivered this speech at EMS Smrithi, Thrissur in June 2017:   25 years of neo-liberalism have seen the greatest concentrations of wealth and exponentially growing disparity.  They have also seen not only growing unemployment but lowering of standards of living of the middle class and working class people.  This is the natural result of the wage cuts and loss of jobs with guaranteed benefits. It has often been said that the market is not kind and it is unkindest to the poores[...]

Historian Biswamoy Pati passes away

We, at LeftWord Books, are very sad about the sudden death of our friend and comrade Biswamoy Pati. Pati taught history at Delhi University, where he is widely regarded as a generous teacher and colleague. His scholarly work was wide-ranging, from immensely important closely researched work on the history of his native Odisha to his ground-breaking edited books on colonial medicine, Tilak and the 1857 rebellion. His first book - Resisting Domination: Peasants, Tribals and the National Movement i[...]

Letter to the Book Club Members

  Dear Book Club member, Greetings from LeftWord! Over the years, you've been our staunchest supporter. You've responded to our books with comments and feedback. You've promoted our books on social media, in educational institutions and libraries, and through word of mouth. You've also been a source of tremendous financial support for us, by buying directly from us, rather than through a bookseller. For all this, and more, we are truly grateful.   Many of you have expressed a desire for t[...]