Emma Goldman

In the eighteen-nineties and for years thereafter, America reverberated with the name of the "notorious Anarchist," feminist, revolutionist and agitator, Emma Goldman. A Russian Jewish immigrant at the age of 17, she moved by her own efforts from seamstress in a clothing factory to internationally known radical lecturer, writer, editor and friend of the oppressed. This book is a collection of her remarkably penetrating essays, far in advance of their time, originally published by the Mother Earth press which she founded. In the first of these essays, Anarchism: What It Really Stands For, she says, "Direct action, having proven effective along economic lines, is equally potent in the environment of the individual." In Minorities Versus Majorities she holds that social and economic well-being will result only through "the non-compromising determination of intelligent minorities, and not through the mass." Other pieces deal with The Hypocrisy of Puritanism; Prisons: A Social Crim and Failure; The Psychology of Political Violence-note the relevence of these themes to our own time; The Drama: A Powerful Disseminator of Radical Thought; Patriotism: A Menace to Liberty; and The Tragedy of Woman's Emancipation. A biographical sketch by Hippolyte Havel precedes the essays. Anarchism and Other Essays provides a fascinating look into revolutionary issues at the turn of the century, a prophetic view of the social and economic future, much of which we have seen take place, and above all, a glimpse into the mind of an extraordinary woman: brilliant, provocative, dedicated, passionate, and what used to be called "high-minded."

Upon their scandalous deportation from the United States in 1919, famous anarchist writers and activists Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman were greeted like heroes by the new Bolshevik government in Russia. Berkman described it as "the most sublime day of my life." And yet he would flee the country after only two years. Belarus-born Ida Mett, who went through a similar experience at the time, also wrote a harrowing account of the Red Army's brutal massacre at the Kronstadt Uprising before she too went into exile. How did each of these figures become so deeply disillusioned with Russia so quickly? And why, within a few years, did they all leave the country forever? 1917 offers a unique alternative perspective on the early years of the Russian Revolution through the narrative perspective of these three eyewitnesses. Featuring an introduction by Murray Bookchin, this book emphasizes the rarely discussed anarchist hopes for a democratic October revolution, while also critiquing the increasingly authoritarian responses of Bolshevik leaders at the time. Published for the centennial of the Russian revolutions, 1917 contains four essays by Emma Goldman, Alexander Berkman, Ida Mett, and Bookchin, as well as a poem by Dan Georgakas, that analyze, assess, celebrate, and bemoan both the wild successes and the bitter failures of the revolution.

There was a general rejoicing when the regime of Tsar Nicholas II fell in February 1917, a new era of liberty dawned. But what would come next? This book presents sketches of encounters in the new Russia.* Emma Goldman relates her experiences of daily life, her meeting with Peter Kropotkin and tells the story of the life of Maria Spiridonova, a famous SR activist who escaped from a mental hospital where she had been locked up.* Gaston Leval and Angel Pestana were members of a delegation from the Spanish CNT union and reported back on what they found, especially how trade unions functioned with policeman keeping order in union meetings. Armando Borghi tells of a meeting with Victor Serge.* Jack Wilkens wrote a series of articles for the French journal Le Libertaire. They tell of how Soviets functioned, of how workers live, of working conditions for men and women and of rural life

Lithuanian-born revolutionary, called Red Emma in her days, Emma Goldman is known for her anarchist writings and lectures. In 1906, Goldman started a revolutionary periodical, Mother Earth and remained its editor till 1917. Her famous 'Anarchism and Other Essays' covers a wide range of radical topics like the enslavement of women, the destruction wrought by nationalism, the Puritan ethos and more.

Lithuanian-born revolutionary, called Red Emma in her days, Emma Goldman is known for her anarchist writings and lectures. In 1906, Goldman started a revolutionary periodical, Mother Earth and remained its editor till 1917. Her famous 'Anarchism and Other Essays' covers a wide range of radical topics like the enslavement of women, the destruction wrought by nationalism, the Puritan ethos and more.

Anarchism and Other Essays By Emma Goldman

For Emma Goldman, the High Priestess of Anarchy, anarchism was a living force in the affairs of our life, constantly creating new conditions, but the most elemental force in human life was something still more basic and vital: sex. The Sex Question emerged for Goldman in multiple contexts, and we find her addressing it in writing on subjects as varied as women s suffrage, free love, birth control, the New Woman, homosexuality, marriage, love, and literature. It was at once a political question, an economic question, a question of morality, and a question of social relations. But her analysis of that most elemental force remained fragmentary, scattered across numerous published (and unpublished) works and conditioned by numerous contexts. Anarchy and the Sex Question draws together the most important of those scattered sources, uniting both familiar essays and archival material, in an attempt to recreate the great work on sex that Emma Goldman might have given us. In the process, it sheds light on Goldman s place in the history of feminism."