Difference between revisions of "From SFU to Commercial Drive, this is Spartacus Books"
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− | | notes = ''{{w|The Peak| | + | | notes = ''{{w|The Peak|The_Peak_(newspaper)}}'', 20 January 2020, p. 11. |
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− | <font size="4">''GLAD READS''</font> | + | <font size="4">{{p|11}}''GLAD READS''</font> |
− | <font size="5"> | + | <font size="5">'''From SFU to Com­mer­cial Drive, this is Spar­tacus Books'''</font> |
− | <font size="4">Find out how one tiny table sel­ling books at {{w|SFU| | + | <font size="4">Find out how one tiny table sel­ling books at {{w|SFU|Simon_Fraser_University}} turned into the volun­teer-run store it is today</font> |
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− | Tucked into a corner on Findlay Street off {{w|Com­mer­cial Drive| | + | Tucked into a corner on Findlay Street off {{w|Com­mer­cial Drive|Commercial_Drive,_Vancouver}} lies an un­ob­tru­sive book­store that has its roots in SFU. Spar­tacus Books is a breath of fresh, rad­ical air in a suf­fo­ca­tingly cap­it­al­ist world. It{{s}} a non-<wbr>profit, en­tirely volun­teer-<wbr>run book­store and re­source center that strives to be as in­clu­sive and ac­ces­sible as pos­sible. |
− | {{tab}}Spar­tacus Books got its start in 1972 as a book­table at SFU, mov­ing to a store­front on the {{w|Down­town East­side| | + | {{tab}}Spar­tacus Books got its start in 1972 as a book­table at SFU, mov­ing to a store­front on the {{w|Down­town East­side|Downtown_Eastside}} in 1973. It has faced more than its fair share of ad­vers­ity since, from a fire that de­stroyed every­thing to a {{l|reno­vic­tion|https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/renoviction}} as a result of in­creas­ing gent­ri­fi­ca­tion. For over 45 years, it has pre­served<!-- as printed --> and re­built, show­cas­ing the power of work­ing as a col­lec­tive. |
− | {{tab}}Spar­tacus oper­ates under an {{w|anti-<wbr>op­pres­sive|Anti- | + | {{tab}}Spar­tacus oper­ates under an {{w|anti-<wbr>op­pres­sive|Anti-oppressive_practice}}, {{w|anti-<wbr>colon­ial|Anti-imperialism}}, and {{w|anti-<wbr>cap­it­al­ist|Anti-capitalism}} frame­work to re­ject hier­ar­chies and bin­aries. This unites people through the spirit of strug­gle, as they be­lieve all op­pres­sions are linked. |
− | {{tab}}The store itself is fairly small, but can hold gath­er­ings of up to 30 people. Dur­ing my last visit, an {{w|ac­cor­dion|Accordion}} group of about 12 people were using the space to prac­tice. It is packed with adult and chil­dren{{s}} books, maga­zines, pins, patches, comics, and other merch featur­ing {{w|anarch­ist|Anarchism}}, {{w|In­dig­en­ous| | + | {{tab}}The store itself is fairly small, but can hold gath­er­ings of up to 30 people. Dur­ing my last visit, an {{w|ac­cor­dion|Accordion}} group of about 12 people were using the space to prac­tice. It is packed with adult and chil­dren{{s}} books, maga­zines, pins, patches, comics, and other merch featur­ing {{w|anarch­ist|Anarchism}}, {{w|In­dig­en­ous|Indigenous_peoples}}, {{w|queer|Queer_studies}}, {{w|fem­in­ist|Feminism}}, {{w|Black|Africana_studies}}, and {{w|im­mig­rant|Migration_studies}} con­tent—and more. |
− | {{tab}}Every­where you turn, post­ers such as {{qq|{{w|Sex Work is Real Work| | + | {{tab}}Every­where you turn, post­ers such as {{qq|{{w|Sex Work is Real Work|Sex_workers'_rights}},}} {{qq|{{l|A Riot is the Language of the Unheard|https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr.#The_Other_America_(1968)}},}} and {{qq|{{w|Smash Fas­cism|Anti-fascism}}}} greet you. There is a cozy corner of the store where any­one is wel­come to free coffee, tea, and what­ever other good­ies await. A couch featur­ing a co­lour­ful throw, along with other seat­ing, gives the space a homey feel where any­one can play board games, read, peruse {{w|zines|Zine}}, play an in­strum­ent, or just hang out. |
− | {{tab}}Alexander Daughtry, the longest-<wbr>stand­ing mem­ber of the col­lec­tive, joined in 1976. He first dis­covered Spar­tacus while it was a book­table at SFU. When ''The Peak'' asked what in­spired him to join, he said, {{qq|I loved that it was doing an im­port­ant func­tion of get­ting all this in­forma­tion to people who it would not other­wise be avail­able, but I also loved that it was non-<wbr>sectar­ian, and was a work­ing group of anarch­ists, {{w|Mao­ists|Maoism}}, and {{so­cial demo­crats| | + | {{tab}}Alexander Daughtry, the longest-<wbr>stand­ing mem­ber of the col­lec­tive, joined in 1976. He first dis­covered Spar­tacus while it was a book­table at SFU. When ''The Peak'' asked what in­spired him to join, he said, {{qq|I loved that it was doing an im­port­ant func­tion of get­ting all this in­forma­tion to people who it would not other­wise be avail­able, but I also loved that it was non-<wbr>sectar­ian, and was a work­ing group of anarch­ists, {{w|Mao­ists|Maoism}}, and {{w|so­cial demo­crats|Democratic_socialism}} who could all work to­gether which was un­usual in the 1970s.}} |
{{tab}}As to why he{{s}} stayed so long, he says, {{qq|I think we still have a very im­port­ant func­tion worth con­tinu­ing espe­cially as book­stores are all dis­ap­pear­ing.}} | {{tab}}As to why he{{s}} stayed so long, he says, {{qq|I think we still have a very im­port­ant func­tion worth con­tinu­ing espe­cially as book­stores are all dis­ap­pear­ing.}} | ||
− | {{tab}}Spar­tacus is more than just a book­store. It is a safe space for com­mun­ity gather­ing and or­gan­iza­tion. They hold free events such as movie screen­ings, craft nights, jam ses­sions, and book clubs. I{{m}} told by col­lec­tive mem­ber Alexander Kirby that the Spar­tacus Book Club will be re­start­ing on Janu­ary 30 at 6:30 p.m. with ''{{w|Capit­al­ism<!-- as printed --> Real­ism| | + | {{tab}}Spar­tacus is more than just a book­store. It is a safe space for com­mun­ity gather­ing and or­gan­iza­tion. They hold free events such as movie screen­ings, craft nights, jam ses­sions, and book clubs. I{{m}} told by col­lec­tive mem­ber Alexander Kirby that the Spar­tacus Book Club will be re­start­ing on Janu­ary 30 at 6:30 p.m. with ''{{w|Capit­al­ism<!-- as printed --> Real­ism|Capitalist_Realism:_Is_There_No_Alternative?}}'' by {{w|Mark Fisher|Mark_Fisher_(theorist)}} (a short 90-pager), and that more de­tails will be pub­lished on their Face­book page shortly. |
{{tab}}Stay­ing true to SFU{{s}} roots in­volves help­ing rad­ical, in­clus­ive spaces both on and off cam­pus flour­ish. As Spar­tacu{{s|r}} in­cep­tion can be traced back to SFU, I would en­cour­age any­one curi­ous about in­clus­ive so­cial change, al­tern­at­ive worlds based on unity, or chal­len­ging the status quo, to pop by this oasis. | {{tab}}Stay­ing true to SFU{{s}} roots in­volves help­ing rad­ical, in­clus­ive spaces both on and off cam­pus flour­ish. As Spar­tacu{{s|r}} in­cep­tion can be traced back to SFU, I would en­cour­age any­one curi­ous about in­clus­ive so­cial change, al­tern­at­ive worlds based on unity, or chal­len­ging the status quo, to pop by this oasis. |
Latest revision as of 17:31, 21 February 2020
From SFU to Commercial Drive, this is Spartacus Books
Find out how one tiny table selling books at SFU turned into the volunteer-run store it is today
Meera Eragoda
Staff Writer
Tucked into a corner on Findlay Street off Commercial Drive lies an unobtrusive bookstore that has its roots in SFU. Spartacus Books is a breath of fresh, radical air in a suffocatingly capitalist world. It’s a non-
Spartacus Books got its start in 1972 as a booktable at SFU, moving to a storefront on the Downtown Eastside in 1973. It has faced more than its fair share of adversity since, from a fire that destroyed everything to a renoviction as a result of increasing gentrification. For over 45 years, it has preserved and rebuilt, showcasing the power of working as a collective.
Spartacus operates under an <span data-html="true" class="plainlinks" title="Wikipedia: anti-
The store itself is fairly small, but can hold gatherings of up to 30 people. During my last visit, an accordion group of about 12 people were using the space to practice. It is packed with adult and children’s books, magazines, pins, patches, comics, and other merch featuring anarchist, Indigenous, queer, feminist, Black, and immigrant content—and more.
Everywhere you turn, posters such as “Sex Work is Real Work,” “A Riot is the Language of the Unheard,” and “Smash Fascism” greet you. There is a cozy corner of the store where anyone is welcome to free coffee, tea, and whatever other goodies await. A couch featuring a colourful throw, along with other seating, gives the space a homey feel where anyone can play board games, read, peruse zines, play an instrument, or just hang out.
Alexander Daughtry, the longest-
As to why he’s stayed so long, he says, “I think we still have a very important function worth continuing especially as bookstores are all disappearing.”
Spartacus is more than just a bookstore. It is a safe space for community gathering and organization. They hold free events such as movie screenings, craft nights, jam sessions, and book clubs. I’m told by collective member Alexander Kirby that the Spartacus Book Club will be restarting on January 30 at 6:30 p.m. with Capitalism Realism by Mark Fisher (a short 90-pager), and that more details will be published on their Facebook page shortly.
Staying true to SFU’s roots involves helping radical, inclusive spaces both on and off campus flourish. As Spartacus’ inception can be traced back to SFU, I would encourage anyone curious about inclusive social change, alternative worlds based on unity, or challenging the status quo, to pop by this oasis.
Spartacus Books can be found at 3378 Findlay St, Vancouver, BC and is open from 10 a.m.–8:30 p.m. on weekdays, and 11 a.m.–7 p.m. on weekends.