This October saw the 18th Edinburgh Independent and Radical Book Fair, hosted by Word Power Books, which offered an array of radical literature from over 70 publishers, along with a host of political events drawing large crowds. Wellred Books – the publishing house of the International Marxist Tendency – was present, attracting many people to our stall of Marxist classics.
This October saw the 18th Edinburgh Independent and Radical Book Fair, hosted by Word Power Books, which offered an array of radical literature from over 70 publishers, along with a host of political events drawing large crowds.
The International Marxist Tendency (IMT) played its part in the fair: our publishing house Wellred Books had a stall selling Marxist classics and contemporary titles alike, attracting many people with a fresh interest in the ideas of Marxism and their potential as a means of changing the world.
Wellred Books was present especially to promote its latest publication, a new expanded edition of Rob Sewell’s Germany: From Revolution to Counter-Revolution. The book, a brilliantly concise overview of the period of revolutionary upheaval between the munities of German sailors that ended the First World War and the rise of Hitler, provided the topic for a talk on the second evening of the book fair. More than 20 people were in attendance as Ross Walker of Edinburgh Marxists spoke thoroughly about the inspiring German revolutions of almost a century ago and the urgent need today to learn and apply the lessons from their failure.
Held in the Out of the Blue Drill Hall, the book fair began on the evening of 22nd October with author Owen Jones discussing his new book The Establishment – And How They Get Away with It in front of a packed house. The trend of busy evenings continued, particularly with meetings on the political situations in Scotland and Palestine in the following days.
Hundreds of radicalised people came to discuss the future of Scotland in the context of the recent referendum; many raising the question of a socialist solution to the problems facing Scottish people today. The referendum cropped up in many seemingly unrelated discussions: it appears that the mood for radical change ignited by the vote on independence is only growing, and many questions at meetings were asked with a view to finding a real alternative to the crisis of capitalism.
Even in response to a talk about anti-consumerist ‘minimalism’, the question was asked, “What about people who have no choice but to be ‘minimalist’?” – ie the majority of society, ordinary working people, increasingly being forced to subsist on the bare minimum as more and more wealth is accumulated at the other end by a super-rich elite.
No doubt this mood contributed to the great deal of interested generated by the stock of Wellred Books, with our material offering a revolutionary alternative to the system of crisis we still endure. The fair provided the chance for more people to find out about the activity of the Edinburgh Marxists and the work of the IMT, as well as being an excellent showcase for our material, also stocked by the Word Power bookshop on West Nicolson Street in Edinburgh. The organisers from Word Power worked very hard, organising what turned out to be a fantastic week with a record turnout reported. Wellred Books will certainly be back in the future!
To find out more about Wellred Books and browse our selection of new and second-hand titles, go to wellredbooks.net.
