Becoming Anarchist: The Function of Anarchist Literature

26 Pages·2011·0.33 MB·English

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AnarchistDevelopmentsinCulturalStudies
Art&Anarchy
2011.2
Becoming Anarchist: The Function
of Anarchist Literature
Sandra Jeppesen
*
Abstract
Mappingtypesofanarchistliterature,itsmodesofproductionand
typicaltropesandthemes,thispaperarguesthatthereisaconsistency
invaluesproducedthroughmodesofproductionandbothcontent
andforminanarchistliterature.Furthermoretherearetwofunctions
ofanarchisttexts:interventionistrepresentations,inwhichanarchists
interruptthedominantimagemachinery,andculturalprefiguration
wherebyanarchistvaluesareengagedwithinthetext,prefiguring
thesocietywearebuildingthroughouractions.Anarchistliterature
therebybothreflectsandproducesamodelfortheprojectofbecoming-
anarchist,aliteraryexpressionofthealways-incompletepermanent
anarchistrevolution.
MyfriendCocoandIwererecentlytalkingaboutwhywemake
art. Cocowasreallyinterestedincreatingimagesofourselvesthat
couldinsomewayinterruptadvertising,TV,Hollywoodandother
celebrityimages—interventionistrepresentationsagainstthecul-
turemachine. Also,Cocosaid,itisimportanttotellstoriesthatother
peoplelike,anditisverysatisfyingwhenpeoplecomeuptoyouand
say,hey,thathappenedtometoo,orthat’showIfelttoo. I’vebeen
awriterforalongtimenow,andIfeelthatanarchistsoftendonot
valueourownwriting,orwehideourbookishness,becauseweare
unsureoftheroleortheimportanceofliteratureinanarchistsocial
SandraJeppesenisAssistantProfessorofMediaStudiesandEnglishLiteraturein
*
theInterdisciplinaryStudiesDepartment,LakeheadUniversity,Orillia,Canada.She
hasbeenazine-maker, activistandwriterformanyyears. Heracademicwork
onalternativemediaanddirect-actionactivismhasappearedinjournalssuchas
Sexualities,andtheCanadianJournalofCommunication,andshehascontributed
chaptersonanarchisttheorytoPost-Anarchism:AReader(2011),NewPerspectiveson
Anarchism(2010),andConstituentImagination(2007).
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movements. AsMargaretKilljoywritesinher“Conclusion”toMyth-
makers&Lawbreakers(2009),“Ithinkthatperhapsweanarchists,
inourdesirefordirectaction,overlookthebeautyandsubtletyof
the symbolic” (p. 185). But is it just beauty and subtlety that we
are after when we write or read? What types of publications do
anarchistsliketoproduce? Whataresomeofthealternativeliterary
value-basedstructuresthatwehavecreatedtopublishanddistribute
anarchistliterature? Whenwedowrite, whataresomeofthere-
curringthemes,images,tropesandfigures? Thispaperwillexplore
thesequestionsinordertoinvestigatethefunctionandrelevanceof
anarchistliterature,arguingthattherelationshipbetweenanarchist
lifestylesanddirectactions,asrepresentedinanarchistliterature,is
crucialtounderstandingboththeconcernsofanarchistpoliticsand
thefunctionofanarchistliteratureindisseminatingtheseconcerns.
1 TypesofPublications
Itwillcomeasnosurprisetoanyonethatbothfictionandnon-
fictionanarchisttextsarepublishedinarangeofformatsandbya
varietyofpublishersbeyond(andsometimesincluding)themain-
stream. Certainlyanarchistspublishbookswithanarchistpublishers,
suchasBlackRoseBooksinMontreal,FreedomPressintheUK,or
AKPressandPMPressinCalifornia. Typicallyanarchistpresses
publishnon-fictionbooks,includingeverythingfrompoliticalanaly-
sis to autobiographies to vegan cookbooks. Anarchist publishers
sometimeshesitatetopublishfictionorpoetry,buttherearesome
exceptions. PM Press, for example, has recently come out with a
stellarlineofradicalfiction;CrimethInc. publishesbooksofpoetry;
Autonomediaalsopublishesfiction,ifinfrequently. Anarchistfiction
andpoetrywritersalsopublishbookswithconservativepressesat
times. AsanarchistcomicartistAlanMooreargues,thesecapitalist
publishers“arepreparedtoforgiveyouanythingifyou’remaking
enoughmoneyforthem”(Killjoy,2009,p.53). Theironyofcapitalists
publishinganti-capitalisttractsisnotlostonMoore. Ontheother
hand,somemoreDIY-orientedanarchistsmaintainconsistencybe-
tweenthemeansandtheendsbyself-publishingbookscollectively
or individually. Contemporary examples include the CrimethInc.
ex-workers’ collective (Killjoy, 2009, p. 58–69) and Toronto’s Jim
Munroeatnomediakings.org(p.150–65);historicalexamplesinclude
DianediPrimawho,inthe1960sand70sself-publishedimportant
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booksbyBlacklesbianfeministAudreLordeandrevolutionaryBlack
BeatpoetLeRoiJones/AmiriBaraka(GianniniQuinn,2003p.185–6),
aswellasajournalcalledTheFloatingBear(1961–69). Currently
thereappearstobeatrendtowardpublishingautobiographiesby
radicalwomen,includingAssataShakur(1987),RoxanneDunbar-
Ortiz(2001),AnnHansen(2001),DianediPrima(2001),andDiana
Block(2009),tonamejustafew.
Beyondbooks,thereisalong-standinganarchisttendencytopub-
lish magazines (from Emma Goldman’s landmark journal Mother
Earth [1907–1915] to the more contemporary Green Anarchy and
CrimethInc.’sRollingThunder)andzines(ofwhichtherearefartoo
manytolist—forasampling,seezinelibrary.info/english/anarchism;
thereisnowatrendtoanthologizezinesintobookssuchasCrime-
thInc’s off the map, and PM Press’s Burn Collector, both personal
narrativezines). Morerecentlyacademicjournals(AnarchistStudies,
Perspectives,andthisone),comix(WWIIIIllustratedmagazine,and
artists Seth Tobocman, Fly, Coco Riot, Alan Moore, Erik Drooker,
etc.),comicjournalism,andDIYvideos(e.g. MadeinSecretbythe
EastVanPornCollective,aDIYvideoaboutmakingDIYpornvideos)
havejoinedthefray. Whatthesetypesofpublicationsallhavein
commonisthattheytendtoespouseanarchistpoliticsinoneway
oranother,whetherinfictionornon-fiction. Theyalsosometimes
shareacommitmenttoalternativesnotjustincontent,butalsoin
theprocessofhowtextsarecreatedanddistributed. Althoughmany
studiesofalternativemediastartwithapresumptionthatthemost
importantaspectis‘alternative’content,Iwouldsuggestthisisnot
the case in anarchist texts. For anarchists, the means and modes
ofproductionshouldideallybeconsistentwiththeformandcon-
tentofthetextsproduced,thoughthisisnotalwaysthecase. An
examinationofthesemodesofproductionwillhelpcontextualize
thesubsequentanalysisoftheconcernsaddressedwithinanarchist
texts.
2 ModesofPublicationandDistribution
There are several important features in anarchist textual publi-
cationanddistributionthatsetthesemodesofculturalproduction
apartfromthemainstream. ThefirstisaDIYorDoItYourselfethic
(McKay,1998)whichhasarangeofprinciplesfromanti-profession-
alismtoself-determination; from,asCrimethInc. putsit,adesire
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to“fuckcapitalism”(Killjoy,2009,p.66)tonotwantingtogiveup
creativecontrol. DIYisthenextsteptotakeafternotinghowbadly
somethingisbeingorganizedandrun,suchasaparty,apunkscene,
orapublisher. Ratherthancomplainendlessly,peoplewithaDIY
ethictakeactionanddothingsthemselves. Recentlythishasbeen
revisedto‘DoItOurselves’,toemphasizethecollectivenatureof
theseundertakings,whichisconsistentwithsocialanarchism,rather
thancapitalistindividualism. “Aclearcorrespondencedoesexistbe-
tweenDiYcultureandothergeneralanarchistthemes. MostDiY
groupsareavowedlyanti-authoritarian,andtheystresstheanarchi-
calvalueofleaderless,anti-hierarchicalorganizations”(Blackstone,
2005,p.814).
ThisleadstothesecondimportantfeatureofDIY,whichiscollec-
tiveprocess. Notallanarchistswriteorpublishcollectively,butthe
collectiveoraffinitygroupisnonethelessanimportantspaceforthe
productionanddistributionofanarchistliterature. Someonegoing
bythename‘ProfessorCalamity’explainstheprocessthisway:
Ionlywriteusingacollectiveapproach. Thistakesmanyforms,
dependingontheindividualsIamworkingwith. Iwritenon-
fictionwiththeCuriousGeorgeBrigadeandwedoitbyarguing
abouteverylineandhavinglongdiscussionsabouteverytopic
beforewestarthittingthekeyboard. WhenIwritefiction,we
usuallytalkfirstabouttheideasandcharacters. Weverbally
hashoutthestoryandthenhuddlearoundthecomputerand
taketurnstyping. (qtd.inKilljoy,2009,p.73)
Collectiveprocess,asweseehere,canincorporatepracticessuch
astaskrotation,consensusdecision-making,resource-sharingand
skill-sharing. Inthisinstance,peopleengagecollectivelyinartistic
production using consensus decision-making, and rotate the task
ofcreativeproduction,sharingtheresourceofthesinglecomputer.
Thiscollectiveapproachputsintopracticeprefigurativeanarchist
horizontalgrass-rootsvalue-basedpractices(Atton,2002;Downing,
2001). Prefigurativepoliticsisunderstoodtomeanthatwearecreat-
ingtheworldwewanttoliveinbythewayweorganizeourlives
today. Thereforeinuniqueandinterestingways,anarchistcollective
writingchallengescommonlyheldconceptionsofthelonegeniusau-
thor,orthefunctionoftheauthorthatdetermineshowweinterpret
theworkorworks(Foucault,1970). Acollectiveauthorcanproduce
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interestingresultsinthetextitself,leadingtoamorecollectivepro-
tagonist,suchasinthefilmTheBattleofAlgiers(1966),wherethe
protagonististhebroad-basedAlgerianliberationmovement. Ina
moreexplicitlyanarchistfilm,thedocumentaryBreakingtheSpell
(1999),weseeacollectiveprotagonistproducedthroughaseriesof
interviewswithprotestersandorganizersofthe1999SeattleWTO
shutdownincollaborationwiththe“EugeneAnarchists”namedin
thesubtitle. Thoughnarratedbythe‘girl’ofthetitle,thenovelA
GirlAmongtheAnarchists(1903)wasproducedcollaborativelyby
theRosettisisters,anditsprotagonistisactually‘theanarchists’also
namedinthetitle. Thenarrativecorpse—inwhichonepersonstarts
anarrativeandasecondpersoncontinuesit,andthenathird,until
itisdeemedcomplete—isanotherexampleofacollectiveprocess
thatcanproducedifferentkindsoftexts,andthatcanarticulatea
multiplicityofvoicesthroughadiversityofartisticstyles.
AthirdfeatureofanarchistliteratureorDIYproductionisthat
specific textual production collectives may intentionally be orga-
nizedaroundmarginalizedidentitiesorgroups. Forexample, the
zineOurCulture,OurResistance(2004)waswrittenandpublished
byaloose-knitAnarchistPeopleofColour(APOC)collective. Other
texts may be published by anarchafeminist collectives (e.g. Quiet
Rumors(2002)bytheDarkStarCollective)oranarchaqueercollec-
tives(e.g. theQueerewindzine(2003)orCréepardesQueersmade
this[2010]byQTeam). Sometimestextsareproducedbygroupsor
collectives like the Montreal radical queer affinity group, QTeam,
whosemaintaskisnottextualproductionbutpoliticalorganizing;
othertimesthecollectiveexistssolelyforthepurposeofproducing
texts,suchasCrimethInc.,PMPress,andotheranarchistpublishers.
Oftentextualproductionisconnected toanarchistorganizing, so
thatpeoplewhoareinvolvedinproducingtextsarealsoinvolvedin
grassrootsactivism,protests,andotheractivitieswithrevolutionary
aims. Theimportanceofidentity-basedtextualproductionisthat
itprovidesspaceforthearticulationofvoicesthataretypicallysi-
lencedinmainstreamandsometimesalsoinanarchistspacesand
discourses, thereby challenging the perception that the state and
capitalismarethetwomostimportantoppressionsthatanarchists
critiqueandresist. Instead,textsproducedfromanidentity-based
perspectivedemonstratehowthesetwooppressionsareconnected
toracism,sexism,ableism,colonialismandheteronormativity,ad-
heringtothebroadlyacceptedanarchistprinciplethateachperson’s
liberationdependsontheliberationofallothers.
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Fourthly,anarchiststendtoapplyanti-copyright,orcopyleft,to
theirtexts. EllieClementandCharlesOppenheim(2002)arguethat
althoughcopyrightiswidelyunderstoodtobelongtoandbenefit
theproducerofanartisticwork,copyrightlawintheUKoriginated
toprotectpublishersratherthanauthors(p.44). Thedebateamong
anarchists revolves around the question: Is intellectual property
theft in the same way that material property is theft? Many an-
archistsbelievethatknowledgeshouldbesharedwiththosewho
canbestbenefitfromit,basedontheconceptof‘usufruct’rather
than possession or ownership of ideas. “Usufruct is the freedom
ofindividualsinacommunitytoappropriateresourcesmerelyby
virtueofthefactthattheyareusingthem. Suchresourcesbelong
totheuseraslongastheyarebeingused”(Clement&Oppenheim,
2002, p. 42). Texts are of course different than land or factories.
Thereisadistinctionbetweenland-basedproperty,whichexistsin
onelocationandisfinite,andintellectualproperty,whichconsists
ofinformation,knowledgeandideasthatcanbereplicatedacross
spaceandtimealmostinfinitely(Clement&Oppenheim,2002,p.44).
Furthermore,withtheadventoftheinternet,copyleftandanti-copy-
right, which were popular in the 1990s, have transmogrified into
the legal protections offered by creative commons licenses under
fourbasicpremises: attribution,share-alike,non-commercial,and
noderivatives(CreativeCommons). Thepracticeof“distributiveuse”
(Clement&Oppenheim,2002,p.48)hasalsobecomeimportantto
anarchists—apublishingmodethatisbothanti-copyrightandopen
distributionoropensource,makinguseofthegrowingcybercom-
mons. Anarchists,howevercriticalofintellectualpropertylawsthey
maybe,donotliketofullygiveuptheirrightsofownershiptojust
anyone,asClement&Oppenheim(2002)foundintheirinterviews
witharangeofpublishersintheUK:
Manyoftheanti-copyrightstatementsincludestatementsre-
gardingthosewhoarepermittedtocopy,typicallyincluding
areferencetotheirstatuswithinthecapitalistsociety. Forex-
ample,a‘non-hierarchicalrevolutionarygroup’isallowedto
copyfreely,but‘governmentsandcorporations’or‘journalists
andrichbastards’areexcluded. Anarchistpublishersarefar
lesswillingtoallowtheirmaterialtobedisseminatedbythe
mainstream capitalist media than by the media within their
alternativepublicrealm. However,iftheyweretowriteanovel
orcreateamagnumopuswhichinvolvedtheinputofsignificant
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energies,orasonepublisherputit,‘realwork’,thensomecopy-
right, control or recognition for the work was desired. Very
fewofthosewhocreatedworkswhichweremorepermanent
andofsignificantlastingvaluewerehappytorelinquishtheir
rightsoverit. (p.61)
Thusanarchistsliketoprotecttheirownintellectualproperty,not
necessarilysothattheythemselvescanmakemoneyfromtheircre-
ativework—althoughitseemssomeformofrecognitionisdesired
—butsothatotherswhodidnotdotheworkmaynotprofitfromit,
extendingananti-capitalistprinciplebeyondtheselftothetext.
Anti-copyrightisbasedonsharinginformationfreely,andisthere-
forecloselyconnectedtothefifthimportantmodeofdistribution,
whichistheinfoshop. Infoshopsor“streetlibraries”(Dodge,1998,
p.62)areakindof“collectivelyrunlibrarythatarchivesalternative-
presspublications”(Dodge,1998,p.62)providingothercommunity
resourcessuchasfreephotocopying,workshops,andskill-shares.
Infoshops“oftenserveasvenuesforconcerts,videoscreenings,and
politicaldiscussions,besidesprovidingaspaceforlike-mindedor-
ganizationstoholdmeetings”(Dodge,1998, p.62). Infoshopsare
thus, Dodge argues, similar to libraries in providing information
suchasbooksforpeopletoperusefreeofcharge,butclearlythey
aresomuchmore,astheyalsogiveoutagreatdealofinformation
intheformofpamphletsandzinesforfree,providingmuchmore
currentandperhapsmoreradicalinformationthatisnotavailablein
libraries. Theyalsoserveasradicalgatheringspaceswhereknowl-
edge can be shared in other ways: through informal discussions,
collectivemeetings,andskill-sharing. ForDodge,“infoshopsshare
a common devotion to seat-of-the-pants information democracy”
(1998,p.64),challengingintellectualpropertyrightsbyproviding
knowledgetoanyandallcomers. Infoshopsthereforeareconsis-
tentwiththevalue-practiceofhorizontaldirectdemocracyusedin
anarchistorganizing.
Simultaneouslyengagedwithandinoppositiontocapitalism,like
infoshops,anarchist‘distros’arethesixthelementintheproduction
anddistributionofanarchisttexts. Distroshavegrownoutofthe
‘merch’tablemodelofthepunkscene,wherepeopledistributepunk
records,CDs,T-shirts,pamphlets,zinesandotheritemsatatable
set up at the back of a punk show. A book distro is similar to a
bookstorebutwithoutthestore. ExamplesincludeKersplebedebin
Montreal,andthenow-defunctBlackCatgreenanarchistdistroon
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thewestcoastofCanada,amongothers. Booksandotheritemsare
warehoused,ofteninaperson’sbasementorapartment,tobehauled
out for punk shows, political talks, film screenings, mass protest
convergencespaces,orbookfairs. Distrosmayhaveanon-linestore
aswell. Theyareusuallyrunbypeoplewhoareinterestedincutting
out the capitalist distributor between the book publisher and the
book reader. This distribution process includes two steps. First,
books go from the publisher to the distributor (such as Disticorp,
whichboughtoutmostoftheindependentdistributorsinCanada
afewyearsback),andsecond,theygofromthedistributortothe
bookstore. Both the distributor and the bookstores take a cut of
theprofits,leavingverylittlefortheauthororpublisher. Anarchist
distroscutoutthebookstoreandreducethedistributor’smark-up,
andcanthusreducepricesontexts. Theycanalsoputfundsraised
throughbooksalesintoproducingothertextsthattheymightgive
away. Somepublishers,suchasCrimethInc. andAKPress,serveas
publishersofcertainbooksandadditionallyasdistributorsofbooks
producedbyotherpresses.
Anarchistdistrosloveanarchistbookfairs,theseventhelementin
anarchistliteratureproductionanddistribution. Anarchistbookfairs
havebecomeamainstayinmanycitiesinEurope,NorthAmerica
andbeyondoverthepastfifteenyearsorso. ThebilingualMontreal
AnarchistBookfair/SalonduLivreAnarchisteisinitstwelfthyearthis
year;SanFrancisco,NYCandLondon,UKalsohaveverysuccessful,
well-establishedannualbookfairs. SmallertownssuchasVictoria,
BChavestartedtoholdthemaswell. Anarchistbookfairsarenotjust
spacesforsellingbooks. Theyalmostalwaysintegrateafestivalof
anarchythatincludeseverythingfromanarchisttheatreandpoetry
events,topunkandhiphopshows;fromworkshopsandwalking
tourstoanarchistsoccerandchild-carespaces. Thereareoftenskill-
shares,andout-of-townersarebilleted. Peopletravelgreatdistances
toattendbookfairs(andnotalwaysbythemostlegalmeanseither,
often preferring freight-hopping, hitch-hiking, ride sharing, and
scammingbustickets).
Thisleadstothelastbutnotleastelement: illegalities. Anarchists
tendnottofollowthelaw. Iftheyfindarule,chancesaretheywill
wanttobreakit. Thisgoesforanarchistliteratureproductiontoo.
Massphotocopyscammingisafavouritemodeoftextualproduc-
tion,asdescribedbyAlBurianinBurnCollector(2010),inwhichhe
gets a job on the midnight shift at Kinkos and photocopies boxes
fullofhiszinesunderthecounter. Manyothershavebeenknown
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to copy zines for free at various workplaces. Pirating of texts is
another way that anarchist literature is reproduced, as is evident
inmanyofthecopyleftoranti-copyrightstatementsusedbyanar-
chistbookandzineproducers. OneproducercallsitselfPiratePress
tomaketheirtransgressionsexplicit. Clearlythisisconnectedto
thechallengesdiscussedabovetointellectualpropertyrights,but
textual production challenges other forms of property rights, too.
Here the challenge is explicitly to the ownership of the means of
culturalproduction. Writersandartistsalsoengageincreativepub-
licspaceredecoration,includingthingslikeguerrillapoetryputup
withspraypaintorchalk, culturejammingofbillboards, guerrilla
art strikes where public walls are reclaimed with community art,
andthelike. Theseactionscombineartisticexpressionwithdirect
action protest, using processes that are more directly democratic,
interventionistandparticipatorythanmainstream,andevensome
alternativeorindependentpressproduction.
Throughthesevariouspractices,anarchisttextualproductionbe-
comes in itself a form of direct democracy through collective, de-
centralized,horizontalprocessesthatattempttocutoutcapitalist
hierarchiesandprofits. Itisalsoamodeofdirectactionthatcon-
stitutesanattackoncapitalismandotherformsofoppressionand
exploitationinitsmodesofproductionanddistribution,andinits
challengestointellectualpropertyrightsandinformationcontrol.
If this is how we produce literature, what are the concerns of
anarchist texts? Is the content somehow related to or consistent
withthemodesofproduction? Iwouldsuggestthattheprefigurative
politics engaged in producing and disseminating texts are also at
workinthecontentproduced.
3 TypicalTropes,Figures,ImagesandThemes
Asfarbackasthemid-1800s, thevagabond, thetrampandthe
hobo were common images in anarchist literature and art. John
Hutton (1990) explores the “anarchist icon of the tramp, a figure
conceivedsimultaneouslyasnonconformistheroandprototypical
social victim” (p. 296), examining the role of this iconography in
anarchistliteratureaswellasneo-impressionistart. Hefindsthat
“The vagabond was seen as proof that one could reject bourgeois
society and its constraints more or less at will, evading the rules
andrestrictionsimposedbythedominantsocialandpoliticalorder”
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(p.298). Asanoutlawfigure,sometimesbychoicebutmoreoften
bycircumstance,“thevagabondwasoftengroupedwithotherso-
cial outcasts as the real enemy of bourgeois society: an essay in
theanarchistpaperLeLibertaireassertedflatlythat‘Thosewithout
trade,thejobless,trimardeurs,bums,prostitutes,declasses,arethe
revolutionariesoftomorrow’”(Hutton,1990,p.299).
Certainlythisfigurere-appearsinthe1960sinnovelssuchasOn
theRoad(1957)byJackKerouac,andmuchlaterinDianediPrima’s
memoirofherroleintheBeatGeneration,Recollectionsofmylifeas
awoman(2001). Thememoirdescribesherlifeasasexuallyactive
woman with multiple male and female partners, having children
withseveralofthem,travellingbackandforthacrossAmerica,read-
ing, writing, publishing and performing poetry. These two texts
—thefirstafictionalizedaccountofarealgroupofradicalpoets,
writersandartists,andthesecondanon-fictionaccountofdifferent
fragments of the same loose-knit group — also capture a kind of
generalizedprotagonist,whichistheBeatGenerationitself. Forthis
group,valuessuchastravelforthepurposeofself-discovery,living
inthemoment,rejectingtheconstraintsofnormative,consumerist
America,andradicallytransformingtheprocess,contextandlegiti-
mationofcreativewriting(forexample,WilliamBurroughs’cut-ups,
Kerouac’skickwriting,diPrima’sandAmiriBaraka’srevolutionary
poetry,theself-productionofradicalpoeticpaperssuchasTheFloat-
ingBear,thenarrativecorpse,etc.) werekey. Thenomadicfigureis
centralinmuchofthiswriting—thepersonwhointentionallyup-
rootsthemselves,feelingnoallegiancetoaparticulargeographical
space,state,orhometown,butratherlivingandfomentingrevolu-
tionarythoughtandletters,inprintandthroughperformancepoetry,
wherevertheymightfindthemselves. Theroadisalsokey. Being
ontheroadisacrucialpartofactuallybeingintheworld. Thesur-
passedboundariesoftownsparallelthetransgressedboundariesof
literaryconvention.
Morerecently,tropesofthenomadandtheroadhaveappeared
inseveralCrimethInc. books—includingoffthemap(2003),Days
of War, Nights of Love (2000) and Evasion (2002) — as well as the
aforementionedzinecompilation,BurnCollector,amongmanyoth-
ers. AfewyearsbackafriendandIproducedazinecalledScabies
GuidetoNewYork(1997),asatireofmainstreamtravelguidesthat
is a kind of punk-poverty street guide for people travelling from
CanadatoNewYorkCity,includinginstructionsonhowtodissem-
ble normalcyin orderto cross the border. John Hutton notes the
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