Had a wonderful time talking with you all last time, especially our meta-discussion on how we use the group. Feel like we came away with some concrete ideas for how we can make sure the group feels welcoming and encouraging to newcomers and those of us who are less garrulous. We’ll no doubt continue that discussion periodically in the future.

Next week we’re going to begin checking out Laura Riding’s book Anarchism is Not Enough, starting with the introduction “Creating Criticism”. It looks to be well-worth taking a look at, so join us!

Here I will make note of two suggestions we’ve had for forthcoming readings: Antonin Artaud’s Heliogabalus, or The Crowned Anarchist and the anonymous piece “Revolution of Fungal LIfe” from Black Seed 7 (at least I think this was the piece from that issue you said you enjoyed, K).

Finally, some of you said you were interested in checking out a podcast a handful of folks from this group started a while back. We’ve got two more episodes in the can alongside an interview with Jason McQuinn on his Critical Self-Theory, all of which I am finally finishing the editing on and will appear soon. In the meantime, enjoy the one episode we have posted currently and let us know what you think.

Best wishes in the new year, friends (at least to those abiding by the Gregorian calendar). Next week, we’re going to spend our first 90 min or so discussing two pieces which appeared in Killing King Abacus: “The Persistent Refusal of Paradise” by Penelope Nin and “Freedom” by Albert Libertad. Cory has recorded both of these for her podcast Immediatism. Thanks Cory! The remaining time will go towards a meta-conversation about the reading group itself and how we use our time. Periodically this group has found it worthwhile to take a step back and examine the dynamics of our discussions, so that we can all more intentionally get what we want out of each meeting. So please give some thought to the things you like and don’t like, as well as any ideas you have for experimenting with the forms our circle takes, and don’t be hesitant to share them!

Wishing you all a 2021 filled with much playful mayhem!

Apologies for the lack of a post this past week; I was traveling and forgot to update!

For our final reading of the year, next week we’ll take a look at Alfredo M. Bonanno’s “The Anarchist Tension”. If you don’t feel like reading this essay, you can check out a recording of it Cory did recently for her podcast Immediatism. Thanks Cory!

This piece is also being read/discussed in the Constructing Anarchisms project being carried out by Shawn Wilbur, which we mentioned some weeks back when we read Voline. Visit Libertarian Labyrinth if you want to see more from that!

Until next time, best wishes in all your holiday/anti-holiday revelry!

Next week, we’ll read some more Bataille. Specifically, we’ll take a look at “The Sacred Conspiracy”, “The Pineal Eye”, and “The Absence of Myth”. The first two pieces can be found in the well-known collection of early Bataille, Visions of Excess, and the last one in a volume of the same title, The Absence of Myth. GB always seems to foment exuberant conversations whenever we read him; hope you’ll join us!

Next week will be our second to last reading of Gestalt Therapy (link to the text posted a few weeks back if anyone still needs it). We’ll read Chapters XIII and XIV, which leaves only one chapter remaining in this wonderful book!

In two weeks (12/14) we’re going to look at some more Bataille. The Sacred Conspiracy is for sure on the menu for then, but we’ll need to figure out a few supplementary texts to go with it. If you have any suggestions, let’s hear em!

Be sure to keep an eye on Shawn Wilbur’s website (www.libertarian-labyrinth.org) if you’re interested in continuing to follow his “Constructing Anarchisms” project. There have been some interesting posts over the past week, so give it a look!

And for anyone who wants to check out the interview Wolfi and Jason recorded a few years back on the idea of synthesis, you can find it HERE. I’m about twenty minutes in right now and can confirm that it’s definitely worth listening to — as if you needed any confirmation given the individuals who recorded it!

Hope to see you next time!

Next time we’re going to take part in a new project by friend of the group Shawn Wilbur called “Constructing Anarchisms”. You can read all about the course and its focus on Shawn’s site but for our purposes, we’ll just be reading and discussing the first week’s text; both parts of Voline’s “On Synthesis”. Check it out here!

Pressing on through Gestalt Therapy, chapters 9 and 10!

Reading for tomorrow is Chapters 7 & 8 (“Verbalizing and Poetry”, “The Antisocial and Aggression”) in Paul Goodman’s Gestalt Therapy. Sorry about the late post!

Next week we’re going to read Wilhelm Reich’s rant “Listen, Little Man!”. Let’s plan to discuss from the beginning through pg. 22 (stopping at “My students sat at their microscopes…”) but the text isn’t that long, so if you feel like tackling the whole enchilada, go for it!

And if you like what you’re reading check out this surreal quasi-documentary on Reich and his ideas (among other things…) — Dušan Makavejev’s WR: Mysteries of the Organism. Would make a great counterpoint to this text!

Next time, we’ll be returning to Paul Goodman’s Gestalt Therapy. Let’s read Chapters 5 and 6, pgs. 89-117. Until then!