The Maison Norman Bethune: A New Maoist Bookstore in Montreal

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The following announcement from the Revolutionary Communist Party (the on based in Quebec, not to be confused with the Avakian-led group in the united states!), regarding the opening of their new bookstore in Montreal. The original French is available in pdf here.

The Opening of the Maison Normal Bethune

The Political Information Bureau is anno the opening of the Maison Norman Bethune - unique in Canada, aiming to be both an information center and an organizing space to support the struggle for socialism and world revolution.

This project is especially important in the current situation, where capitalism is going through one of its worst crises and where more and more people are expressing renewed interest in struggling for a system based on the interests of the majority and workers' power.

Located in the heart of Montreal's Centre-Sud neighbourhood, the Maison Norman Bethune will make a variety of documents available to those interested: the classic works of Marx, Lenin and Mao, works on revolutionary history, publications from contemporary revolutionary organizations such as the Parti Communiste Revolutionnaire, books and texts about current events and socialism, and in all languages... In short, the Maison Norman Bethune aims to distribute all that can serve the revolution.

The Maison Norman Bethune also intends to be a space open to workers and revolutionary and anticapitalist militants who hunger for knowledge and wish to organize themselves to not simply stir up new hope for communism and revolution, but a concrete and immediate project to make them a reality. It is also the place to contact the Political Information Bureau and to learn about the positions and activities of the Revolutionary Communist Party.

For the moment, the Maison Norman Bethune is open Wednesday to Saturday (see below). Over the coming weeks, the team which runs it will work to expand and improve the collection of books and publications available. Regular activities (speakers, video nights, etc.) will also be organized, and a schedule will soon be announced.

The opening of the Maison Norman Bethune itself represents an important victory in the struggle against the propaganda of the bourgeoisie and the unitary vision that its acolytes have been trying to brainwash us with for so long now. It is up to us and us alone, workers and militants who wish to bring forward the liberatory voice of communism and to develop revolutionary action which will put an end to the capitalist system whose time is up, to make this a lively space and a tool in the service of the struggle of the proletariat and the oppressed masses in this country.

The Political Information Bureau calls on all revolutionary, progressive, and anti-imperialist militants to support the Maison Normal Bethune. You have books to give us? You know someone, a militant or former militant, who still has some "hidden treasures"? You want to contribute financially to this project or to offer a bit of time to help out? Let us know, and a militant from the Political Information Bureau will contact you right away to follow up on your proposal.

And most importantly, come and drop by the Maison Norman Bethune, and spread the word!

The Political Information Bureau

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Maison NORMAN BETHUNE
Bookstore - Political Information Bureau
1918, rue Frontenac
Montréal (Qc) H2K 2Z1
(across the street from Frontenac metro)
514 563-1487

Opening Hours:
Wednesday: 12:30 - 6pm
Thursday: 12:30 9pm
Friday: 12:30 - 9pm
Saturday: 10:00am - 5pm
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Concordia Community Solidarity Co-Op Bookstore Now Stocks Kersplebedeb Publications

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As many of you know, besides blogging i also publish and distribute a variety of revolutionary left-wing pamphlets and books, and also enjoy making buttons of all sorts.

i'm happy to say that at long last much of my literature and a selection of my buttons and t-shirts are available in Montreal.

As of now, the Concordia Community Solidairty Co-Op Bookstore is carrying Kersplebedeb pamphlets and books and buttons and shirts!

The Co-Op Bookstore is a non-profit, student run store, on the same block at the Sir George Williams building,at 2150 Bishop (Guy-Concordia metro), between de Maisonneuve and Sherbrooke.

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Five Things Of Note

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Five things of note, in no particular order, from our recent foray down south:

1. If visiting a strange city you should bring your ID with you when you go drinking - after being at the table all weekend, i was really looking forward to relaxing, listening to music, and having a nice cold drink at the closing party in Baltimore… never thought to bring my passport with me – and it seems in that ity you can’t drink without having your ID on you, no matter how old you look. The evening was not a complete right-off though, we got to listen to some great music by DJ Malatesta and Drowning Dog (of Entartete Kunst) and by Son of Nun. In fact, i have to qualify: especially Son of Nun – he really seemed to send a jolt through everyone in the club with his delivery of great political verse. (and i was tickled pink to see on his site that he has one of my t-shirts)




2. It may be the evil empire, and if there was a god of justice it might just be flattened by some roving comet, but the u.s.a. does have some pretty things in it. We spent a couple of nights in Philadelphia with friends, and i must say that is one beautiful city. Wonderful buildings, lots of trees and stuff growing all over the place. Great food too. Getting back to buildings and architecture though: i asked my very kind and accommodating host about the MOVE house that the cops bombed back in ’85… it seems the city decided that the appropriate thing to do with the place the police killed eleven people (six of them children) was… to build a police station on the site! (now where is that comet?)




3. There is a cosmic book-buying nexus that will not be advertised on most maps, but is well worth checking out, stretching from Springfield to Greenfield in Massachusetts. Every little town has a bookstore better than any of the english ones i know of here in Montreal, often with great used sections (i walked out with a dozen titles from one store which was having a buck a book sale). And some towns (i.e Whately) seem to have more bookstores than anything else, each of which would easily be “the biggest used bookstore” where i’m from. A special mention must be made of Food For Thought books in Amherst – this is a store worth detouring to if you’re passing through the area. You wouldn’t know it from their site, but this is not simply an “independent” it’s a radical worker-owned and operated store, with a selection of new titles to rival many big city left bookstores. I picked up several titles including a book NATO’s Secret Armies about the Gladio networks which i had never seen before…




4. It is still worth going into queer bookstores (sometimes). Over the past ten years i have witnessed the LBGT “community” embrace the “mainstream”, and it hasn’t been pleasant. Most queer community events – including the “radical” ones – leave me cold and slightly nauseous; they seemingly have only the faintest trace of the radical promise that i remember being there in the 80s and early 90s (illusions of youth?). So it was a nice surprise to go into Giovanni’s Room in Philly and see what a good and successful queer bookstore can be: lots of books about lots of different things, and even (yes!) a small but worthwhile used section…




5. It is good to meet new people. There were lots to meet at the Mid-Atlantic Radical Bookfair in Baltimore, and i was very happy to chat with folks from all kinds of different u.s. places – though it did make me realize how bad my sense of geography was and i finally gave up on trying to place the cities on a mental map. I had many enjoyable conversations, some with people i imagine i agree with about many things, some with folks i presume to disagree with about almost everything. Definitely nice to meet new people – i certainly wish we could manage to travel more! The whole “Baltimore trip” was very worthwhile, if only for this…

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