Edited by Hillary Lazar, Lara Messersmith-Glavin, Paul Messersmith-Glavin, and Theresa Warburton
AK Press
7/7/2026, paperback
SKU: 9781849355865
Three decades of critical anarchist thought on major historical moments and social issues.
Visions and Interventions covers major movements in world history over the past three decades, as well as small moments of insight and reflection. Readers will find examinations of the potential for anarchist dreams and practices, dispatches from uprisings and campaigns, notes on ways in which anarchism shapes and is shaped by daily life, examples of anarchist thought and organizing around the world, and historical elements that help us understand and better shape the future. The collection, organized into five sections, includes works by movement luminaries, grassroots organizers, philosophers, artists and comrades from around the globe.
This collection is a retrospective of Perspectives on Anarchist Theory, the long-running journal of the Institute for Anarchist Studies, an organization that supports the development of anarchism, and acts as a grant-giving organization for radical writers and translators.
Includes essays by: Joel Olsen, Cindy Crabb, Victoria Law, and Colectivo Situaciones, among others. Interviewees include Barbara Epstein, Cedric Robinson, Howard Zinn, Arif Dirlik, and Walidah Imarisha.
Reviews:
"In this moment of cascading crises and mounting resistance, this collection is a perfectly timed resource for all of us working on caring for each other and fighting back. Packed with useful analysis and stories of purposeful action from many places and movements, this book is fuel for the work we must do right now." --Dean Spade, author of Mutual Aid and Love in a F*cked Up World
"Thirty years is an impressive length of time to sustain any independent media project, let alone one as radical and ambitious as Perspectives on Anarchist Theory. What was once a humble newsletter has blossomed into one of our premier anarchist publications, one that remains committed to publishing writers from the front lines of the global struggle and with a wide range of experiences in anarchist intellectual and movement circles. This collection lovingly compiles pieces from each era of the journal's long life. Here, you'll find thoughtful essays on organizing, on Occupy, on parenting and exercise and rebellion and much more besides. It has never been easy to live an anarchist life, but Perspectives makes that dream feel accessible, and the mission clear. Buy this for the anarcho-curious young radical in your life, stand back, and watch them soar." --Kim Kelly, author of Fight Like Hell
"Dangerous times demand dangerous books and Visions and Interventions certainly rises to that challenge." --Tom Morello, Rage Against the Machine
"During a time of unbridled reaction, Visions and Interventions is a refreshing resource for thinking outside the limits of our current rules and rulers. . . . What matters here is the capacity of everyday peoples' imaginations to shape liberation." --George Katsiaficas, activist and author of The Subversion of Politics
"For thirty years the IAS has sought to widen the scope of anarchist theory. This collection from their newsletter-cum-journal Perspectives includes the expected discussions of mutual aid and critiques of the state but also invites us to question our assumptions about theater, science fiction, ambulances, gym culture, motherhood--the whole of society and the minutiae of daily life." --Kristian Williams, author of Our Enemies in Blue: Police and Power in America and Resist Everything Except Temptation: The Anarchist Philosophy of Oscar Wilde
About the Editors:
Hillary Lazar is a longtime organizer, writer, and radical educator. She is a member of the Perspectives on Anarchist Theory editorial collective and on the board of the Institute for Anarchist Studies. She co-authored The Anarchist Turn in 21st Century Leftwing Activism and has published extensively on anarchist history, theory, and contemporary movements. Hillary lives in Pittsburgh, PA, where she teaches critical sociology.
Paul Messersmith-Glavin is a founding member of the Institute for Anarchist Studies (IAS), working with them their first twenty-five years. Since 2008, he has been part of the collective that publishes Perspectives on Anarchist Theory. He is a longtime antiauthoritarian organizer. He was a member of the Youth Greens, the Love & Rage Revolutionary Anarchist Federation, the Minneapolis AWOL collective, and the Portland based Hella 503 collective, Parasol Climate Collective, and Mutual Aid Acupuncture Collective. He is a bike commuter, dad, ballplayer, fellow worker, and healthcare provider living in the Pacific Northwest. His writing has appeared in Upping the Anti, New Politics, the Oregonian, and Waging Nonviolence.
Lara Messersmith-Glavin is an award-winning author of both essays and speculative fiction, whose previous books include Ruiner, Spirit Things, and Life During Wartime: Resisting Counterinsurgency. Her essays and short fiction can be found in dozens of journals and anthologies. She lives in the Pacific Northwest, where she teaches creative writing, coaches movement practices for all bodies, and serves on the board of the Institute for Anarchist Studies.
Theresa Warburton is an educator, organizer, and scholar originally from the East Coast and now living in the Pacific Northwest. Her work in all these capacities focuses on both the historic and potential relationship between literature and radical social movements. Her book, Other Worlds Here: Honoring Native Women's Writing in Contemporary Anarchist Movements, was published by Northwestern University Press in 2021. Along with Cowlitz writer Elissa Washuta, she is also the co-editor of Shapes of Native Nonfiction: Collected Essays by Contemporary Writers, which was a finalist for the Washington State Book Award. They have been a member of the board for the Institute for Anarchist Studies and the editorial collective of Perspectives on Anarchist Theory for many years.