Slingshot offers this Infoshop update every issue to update the list of radical contacts in our Organizer, but also because we love Infoshops. Infoshops take many forms ranging from radical cafes or bookstores that pay their workers to a spare room in a shared house hosting a zine library and Food Not Bombs meetings. They share a common function — providing a publicly accessible place where people who want to plug into the radical scene in a particular place can go to find out information about upcoming events, radical projects, and alternatives to the dominant society. Such places are great when you’re traveling, and they’re great because they can help radicals avoid the anarcho-ghetto — getting trapped in a closed social scene that only communicates with folks who are already part of the scene. Each Infoshop scattered across the globe represents a lot of hard work and a community coming together to create a space outside of corporate control where people can envision a new world. If you’re part of an Infoshop out there somewhere, thanks! Send us corrections, suggestions, and info on any new Infoshops that open up.
Iron Rail Bookstore – New Orleans
Iron Rail is a collectively run radical bookstore and lending library, that also sells records and street art supplies. They have a lending library with over 3,000 titles, many of them radical or hard-to-find books. They have been open 6 days a week since December, 2003. 511 Marigny St New Orleans, LA 70117 504-944-0366
Irregular Rhythm Asylum – Tokyo, Japan
IRA is an anarchist infoshop that just opened in Tokyo. They feature radical literature, punk rock stuff, music, books, zines, t-shirts, buttons, posters, videos and a chance for community for those who don’t fit into what its founders describe as the often conformist Japanese culture. They plan to organize music events, art shows, and discussions and they recently helped organize International Women’s Day in Tokyo. Before starting IRA, its founders helped create a DIY publishing collective, U-Do-Sha. (“U” means “play” or “frolic”, “DO” means “take action” and “sha” means‚ “collective” — “U-DO” together can also mean something like a Nomad.)
One organizer commented, “I hope people who visit our shop know that we can do anything without nations and corporations. And I hope we can support each other with autonomous people all over the world.” Check them out 1 – 8 p.m. at 1-30-12-302 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku Tokyo-to, Japan 160-0022. Tel: 03-3352-6916 (domestic); +81-3-3352-6916 (from abroad)
Catalyst Bookstore – Prescott, AZ.
The Catalyst Bookstore, Coffee and Infoshop opened in May. It distributes radical literature, sells political books and hosts a reading room, as well as a free skool. They are open late at night and provide space for meetings, films, studying, and general socializing with the explicit intent of taking down the man. In their parking lot they have a free bike space. 109 North McCormick Street, Prescott, AZ 86301 (928) 443-8525.
Uprising Books – Toronto, Canada
Ooops – we left Uprising books out of the 2005 Organizer because they moved and we couldn’t figure out their new address. Right after we went to press, they emailed us their new info: 6A Kensington Ave. Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5T 2J7 416-604-5254
Blank Generation – Little Rock
If you’re in Little Rock, check out this live music venue/radical book/skateboard/comics/music store. 608 Main Street, Little Rock, AR 72201
New Octopus Bookstore – Ottawa
An independent shop featuring local authors, small presses, radical and revolutionary voices, and writers from a variety of countries and cultures. 116 Third Ave. Ottawa, Ontario Canada K1s 2K1. 613-233-2589
Turning the Tide – Saskatoon
A new radical bookshop way up North. 525 11th St. East, Saskatoon, SK, Canada S7N 0G1 (306)955-3070
Santa Cruz, Calif. Anarchist Infoshop gets the boot
The folks at the Santa Cruz Infoshop got evicted from their space at the end of July by their liberal landlord the Resource Center for Nonviolence, which claimed that the Infoshopper’s smell was interfering with other tenants. Undeterred, they are hoping to find another space for their lending library, meetings, etc. soon. If you have any ideas for a new space, email them: infoshop@hushmail.com.
Infoshops listed in the 2005 Organizer that no longer exist:
* Sixth Street Books, San Francisco. RIP.
* Ecolibrium Environmental Shop, Burlingame, Calif.
Other Infoshops that are gone:
* Devil’s Claw Collective in Tucson.
* Cascadia Rising Infoshop, Portland, OR