The publishing cooperative Radical Theory & Practice from Moscow has initiated a new project: translating Emma Goldman’s autobiography “Living My Life” into Russian and printing it for distribution. This will be the first ever, integral translation of the work into Russian; three abridged chapters were translated in 2009 by Sharapov*. This work consists of 56 chapters in which Goldman describes her political and personal life: her childhood, her time in Russia and reflections on the Russian Revolution, going on till 1927. The book was first published in English in two parts in 1931 and 1934, and has been reissued several times since, and translated into many other languages, but never into Russian.
This text is relevant not only as part of the body of anarchist and
feminist works on theory & practice, but also for historians, social
scientists and feminists outside of the anarchist scene in all of the
post-soviet countries. Such a translation will find an audience in
Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia, Georgia and further on
amongst Russian readers.
Why do we want to translate Emma Goldman’s Living My Life?
Emma Goldman, Bakunin, Kropotkin, Berkman, Makhno all had their origins
in the Russian Empire. They are part of a common anarchist history,
local and international. Goldman’s autobiography provides an accessible,
first-hand account of anarchist history and is an important primary
resource that
Russian readers haven’t had a chance to make use of till now.
But more than just a resource we see it as a way to give power and focus
to the anarcha-feminist and radical feminist struggles in the exUSSR. As
the local situation worsens for anyone opposing norms and tradition,
with heavy conflicts arising even within the anarchist movement, it is
important to show that feminism, anti-sexism, personal bodily autonomy
have always been part of our common fight against oppression.
Financial support – For WHAT?
Radical Theory & Practice is one of few alternative publishing projects
in Russia. It exists since 2008 as a group of people who publish a few
books yearly at varying intervals (a full list of our publications is
attached below). Some of these books have been the result of
collaborative translation. As of last year this structure was
reorganized and a cooperative was born with a
stronger commitment to knowledge distribution. Thus far we have
self-financed all of our publications, but within this new structure we
will pay cooperative members for their share of the work. Such a
structure offers long-term sustainability for ourselves and our
projects; in 2013 we published five books, but by the end of 2014 we are
planning to publish nine books. However, we are facing some big
financial hurdles, and currently have 3000 euros in the minus column. We
do not want to stop working on the project due to profit margins or lack
thereof, but as most of us are fully employed within the cooperative we
need to ensure our daily costs are covered.
Another challenge we face is dealing with the legal system. In Russia
there’s a package of laws against extremism, including the banning of
extremist texts. Unsurprisingly, some anarchist magazines and books have
already been found extremist and were banned from shops and distribution
networks (such as several issues of the Avtonom Journal**). Currently
some of the books we have published are being reviewed by experts on
extremism. So far no results.
Any financial support would relieve us from having to constantly put in
our own money to support the costs of putting out books and give us more
time to focus on the said books.
In terms of the Emma Goldman – Living My Life book project costs we are
estimating a total of 18 000 euros, including printing. We believe the
translation process, including proofreading will take at least a year.
Of course, we hope this money will pay off one day, but in our context
it can take up to several years.
The project will go ahead even if our fundraising does not manage to
cover all costs, however all donations will be greatly appreciated.
We are going to publish newly translated chapters on our blog
http://emmagoldman.noblogs.org/
If you would like to make a donation or support our cooperative in any
way here are some suggestions:
- make a direct transfer into our account (see below)
- organize a fundraiser or benefit party to support our project
- talk to your local anarchist/feminist groups asking for smaller
donations
- tell us about any foundation you know that supports publications
- SPREAD THIS CALL-OUT
LAST BUT NOT LEAST: We welcome absolutely all help (advice, information,
suggestions, etc.). Feel free to contact us by writing in English,
German, Polish or Russian.
ACCOUNT:
Account holder: Alarm e.v
Bank: Sparkasse Offenburg
Reference: Belarus. Moscow Radical Theory & Practice
IBAN: DE26 6645 0050 0004 8736 51
BIC: SOLADES1OFG
CONTACT US HERE:
rtp@riseup.net
facebook.com/rtpbooks
vk.com/rtpbooks
OUR PREVIOUS BOOK PROJECTS:
Peter Gelderloos "Consensus: A New Handbook for Grassroots Social,
Political, and Environmental Groups."
Peter Gelderloos "Anarchy Works"
Peter Gelderloos "How Non-violence Protects the State"
CrimethInc. "Work"
Piotr Ryabov "Anarchist Letters"
Daniel Guérin "Anarchism: From Theory to Practice"
Ihar Alinevich "On the Way to Magadan"
Alexandr Volodarski "Chemistry"
Seeds for Change "Consensus Handbook"
Some of our publications are available here http://issuu.com/rtpbooks
*Translation is available here
http://svobodna.org.ua/txt/theory/%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B6%D0%B8%D0%B2%D0%B0%D1%8F-%D1%81%D0%B2%D0%BE%D1%8E-%D0%B6%D0%B8%D0%B7%D0%BD%D1%8C-%D0%B3%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%B0-1/
http://svobodna.org.ua/txt/theory/prozhivaja-svoju-zhizn-glava-2/
http://svobodna.org.ua/txt/articles/prozhivaja-svoju-zhizn-glava-3/
**More information and a call for solidarity with the Avtonom magazine
http://325.nostate.net/?p=9300