Inside this issue: Volume 5, No. 2 Grant Awards & Updates...Anarchism and Color Project, the Anarchist Prisoner, and the Drug War 3 Fall 2001 Update on the IAS...Anarchism in this "new era", our 5 year mark, 2001 Fundraising campaign 2 What's Happening: Books and Events from around the world 4 Writing ContesL.deadline extended for call for essays on the new social movement 13 An Interview with Osvaldo Bayer, Argentinean Public Intellectual and Social Historian By Fernando Trujillo Fernando Trujillo, Argentinean Aires, is where he spends the But you're asking me about activist and miter, received a grant majority of his life. As always the '30s, I don't know any award from the IAS for his pro when in Buenos Aires, Bayer is at thing about the anarchism of © ject, The FACA and the Anar home alone. But this tranquility is the '30s..." chist Movement in Argentina, an illusion; Bayers days in this 1930-1950. Translation by Peter city are incredibly fatiguing, with Obviously not! How old Larsen. (Footnotes on page 16.) lectures, talks and invitations to were you at that time, ten? events and meetings throughout Well look, in 1940 I was thir I am with Osvaldo Bayer in bis Argentina. The Department of teen. My contact with anar austere study in the residential Human Rights founded by him in chism started in the '60s, district of Belgrano in the city of the School of Philosophy and Hu when the building was in ■ to Buenos Aires, Argentina. As manities of the University of Bue Humberto Primo Street(l) would have happened normally, nos Aires, although abandoned by with all the old guys, who Bayer himself receives the inconven him only last year, has not been died one by one... ient visit with his usual friendli able to do without him. I had ness. Exile has cut his life in two. mentioned to him by telephone that The FORA(2) was in Hum Now he has a home in Germany, I wanted him to tell me something berto Primo Street? where his companion, children and about the '30s and the activities of No, the Argentinean Liber 1 grandchildren await him. Far the FACA and Bayer upon re tarian Federation's building away, however, in this Buenos ceiving me bypasses the question was. Continued on page 6 tu Anarchism and the Struggle to Move Forward Q 3 By Kim Fyke & Gabriel Sayegh (Allfootnotes are on page 13) strategy to help move us anarchist principles, and has I- towards such a world. yielded an anarchism rooted «/> © in activism. known novel by Ursula X The question of how to move The Dispossessed,L e G u i n , d e t a i lwell- s a U forwardforces us to examine a All too often, we assume that CL functioning society built upon number of weaknesses and simply being anarchists anarchist principles. (1) contradictions within means we are against < Anarchists are often adept at contemporary anarchism: oppression, and thereby we z . imagining a new and different U . S . a n a r c h i s m i s w i l l f u l l y o v e r l o o k t h e < world, and, inevitably, we predominantly white, upper/ complex problems of white must ask ourselves: how are we middle class, and led by men; supremaq', patriarchy, and O o going to achieve this? Visions consistently avoids leadership classism. We often mistake such as LeGuin's are often issues; and has an unhealthy activism for building a free borne from rigorous anti- aversion to building or society. And we create authoritarian, multi participating in organizations. informal hierarchies by failing dimensional critiques of These weaknesses contribute to deal with issues of current society- its problems, to anarchism's incredibly leadership and power. To failures, and contradictions. isolated position on the Left, move forward we must Yet within the current U.S. its perceived irrelevance to address these- our greater anarchist trend, there is a many people who might painful absence of articulate S f t * otherwise identify with Continued on pa^e 10 Page 2 PERSPECTIVES ON ANARCHIST THEORY IAS Update Perspectives on Anarchist Theory "Since September 11"... the news media's of anarchist ideas and we need to raise singular preoccupation with the recent terror $20,000 by January 20002 in order to keep attacks does announce a compelling truth: Fall 2001, Vol. 5 No. 2 doing so. We are also frustrated with having there is a new reference point in American to turn down deserving grants or give less politics that seems to have obliterated all money to the projects we do choose, and so Newsletter of the Institute others. Even among anarchists the phrase I appeal to everyone to give a little more this for Anarchist Studies "Since Seattle," which was the point of de year, whether it's $5 or $1000, so that we can parture for so much of activism and theory, begin to increase our grant awards. We have Editor: now seems to have been trumped by "Since our great selection of books for donors and, Rebecca DeWitt September 11th. This is nothing new as an most importandy, we have another round of archists have always had to respond to an grants coming up. Anarchist writers are agenda set by someone else. However, we emerging just as we wanted them to do, so Subscription Rates must respond to this agenda while continu please help us help them! (Two issues per year) ing to pursue our long term tasks: the devel - Rebecca DeWitt L\S Donors Free opment of a radical vision of social change Individuals S5 and the construction of counter-institutions that embody this vision. This makes it more Institutions $10 • The Interview with Todd May (Fall Bulk (25 Copies)- $25 important than ever for the L\S to carry on 2000) has been published in the maga with its mission to promote and develop zine "El Rodaballo" n°13 (Inviemo anarchist theory. We can be sure of one 2001). Translated by Fernando Trujillo. (Please make checks payable thing: the alternatives have to exist in order to the Institute for Anarchist for anyone to utilize them. • Our writing contest deadline has been Studies) extended to December 15, 2002. See To that end, here at the L\S, we continue to page 13 for more details. Disclaimer: the views ex award grants and publish our newsletter and pressed in Perspectives do not find that our services continue to be in great • See our website for up to date informa demand. At different times, ideas for other necessarily represent the views tion on L\S supported projects, past of the L\S as a whole. The ma projects and directions for the L\S are dis issues of the newsletter, how to apply cussed but we always find ourselves return terial in this newsletter is © the for a grant, and our brochure in several Institute for Anarchist Studies. ing to the basics. In fact, our grant awards different languages. are becoming increasingly competitive due to an overall increase in the amount of qual http://flag.blackened.net/ias IAS Board of Directors: ity applications we are receiving. Paula Emery, John Petrovato, This Summer's round of grants indicate the Letter to the IAS: Chuck Morse, Paul Glavin, level of quality and diversity of ideas within In the conversation with Rebecca DeWitt, (Spring Cindy Milstein, Ashanti Alston, the anarchist movement, which we strive to 2001 Interview with Diva Agostinelli Wieck), I Dan Chodorkoff, nurture. Carlos Fernandez's and Jena inadvertently proved my point about the unreliabil Brooke Lehman Cephas' project, Anarchists of Color, confronts ity with oral history. In talking about the person anarchism with the often ignored issue of who made disparaging remarks about the old General Director: race and how people of color contribute to Why? people, I let anger overcome good sense. My Rebecca DeWitt and change anarchism; Ronald Campbell's remarks [Diva said that, in order to justify his liking serving in the Army, an old com project, The Anarchist Within: Anarchist Prison ers Building a Movement, seeks to extend our rade, quoted in Paul Avrich's book Anar chist Voices, said the Why? Group was not P.O. Box 1664 understanding of how anarchism develops in Peter Stuyvesant Station the prison environment and can be incorpo supportive of those who chose to either enlist or not avoid the draft during WWII] New York, NT 10009 - USA rated into anarchist theory as a whole; and are obviously speculation and I should have said so. E-mail: [email protected] Bill Weinburg, with his book, Pachamama I do not know why, nor do I have airy hard facts Web: http://flag.blackened.net/ias Betrayed: Ecological Crime and Indigenous Resis tance in the Andean Drug War, continues his therefore I should not have said what I did. Yet I Phone: (718)349-0438 do speculate as to why a person would say untrue thorough investigation into what the "Drug War" is really about. These new projects, as things and mean spirited things about bis former The L\S is a nonprofit, well as all the projects we have supported, comrades. I also will say that my 'negative" attitude tax-exempt organization. are slowly becoming part of a new body of towards history is not meant to disparage the really anarchist thought. good work done by Avrich and others—only that we add the proverbial bit of salt. ~ Diva Agostinelli Wieck We are infinitely pleased with our facilitation VOLUME 5, NO.