BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//eroding empire - ECPv6.15.14//NONSGML v1.0//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://www.eroding.org.uk X-WR-CALDESC:Events for eroding empire REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H X-Robots-Tag:noindex X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Europe/London BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST DTSTART:20250330T010000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT DTSTART:20251026T010000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST DTSTART:20260329T010000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT DTSTART:20261025T010000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST DTSTART:20270328T010000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT DTSTART:20271031T010000 END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260502T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260502T203000 DTSTAMP:20260623T000027 CREATED:20260414T023023Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260427T095043Z UID:5989-1777748400-1777753800@www.eroding.org.uk SUMMARY:BOOK LAUNCH: LIQUID REFLECTIONS WITH LILIANE LIJN DESCRIPTION:We are profoundly honored to be hosting the paperback launch for a memoir by one the world’s greatest living artists\, the sculptor Liliane Lijn\, who will be joined in conversation by leading art writer Jennifer Higgie.\nLiliane Lijn is an artist who needs little introduction. Her stirring\, often ostentatious and always poetic works are dotted throughout the British urban landscape\, and overseas. Regular visitors to Housmans will have no doubt seen her recent piece Temenos just up the road from us\, near Granary Square. \nWe will host Liliane May 2nd to launch the paperback edition of her brilliant bildungsroman Liquid Reflections. The book begins in 1958 with the talented and fearless Liliane Lijn leaving her family home and moving to Paris alone to become an artist. Once there\, she found an art world filled with the wild energy of creative revolution – peopled and controlled almost entirely by men. In the years that followed\, Lijn built a life for herself in the city. She embraced the hectic bohemian spirit of the Left Bank. She befriended artists\, painters\, poets\, gallerists and revolutionaries\, as the late Surrealists gave way to a burgeoning Pop Art movement. She had disastrous love affairs with difficult men. She experimented boldly\, creating ground-breaking sculptures with light\, text and movement. And as her profile steadily grew\, she was told again and again that there are no great women artists: ‘There never have been.’ \nLiquid Reflections is her memoir of these years of experiment and adventure – years when Lijn was constantly in motion\, from Paris to New York to Venice to Athens\, from paper and canvas to wax and Perspex to oil and water. In love\, she became pregnant but rebelled against the idea that a woman could not be both a great artist and a mother. And she sought – and found – radical pleasure in the act of creative expression and in the living\, sensuous world around her. \nBased on personal diaries from the time\, this is a riveting and revelatory account of a singular coming of age: a glittering portrait of the artist as a young woman. \n‘I wrote LIQUID REFLECTIONS because I wanted to take my readers on the journey I made to become an artist. It’s the story of an idealistic\, inspired young woman who refuses to accept the prejudices of her time. Becoming an artist was also a search for my own identity…’\n— Liliane Lijn \nLiliane will be conversation with the art writer Jennifer Higgie\, author of numerous books\, her most recent being The Other Side: A Journey into Women\, Art and the Spirit World\, the first major work of art history to focus on women artists and their engagement with the spirit world. \nThis is going to be an extremely special event and we are delighted to be hosting it. Please do book a ticket in advance to avoid disappointment on the night. \nLiliane and Jennifer will talk for around 45 minutes to an hour\, followed by an open discussion with the audience. Doors will open at 6:45\, with the event starting around 7. \nAs always\, tickets are priced on a sliding scale. If you are unable to pay for a ticket please do not hesitate to contact us at shop@housmans.com\, and a free ticket will be made available. \nIf you choose ‘book +entry’ your copies of the book will be available to collect on the evening. If you would like to collect it earlier\, or arrange for delivery\, please contact us (postage is £2.95). Telephone 020 7837 4473 or email shop@housmans.com. \nDoors Open at 6:45pm\, Event Starts 7:00. URL:https://www.eroding.org.uk/event/book-launch-liquid-reflections-with-liliane-lijn/ LOCATION:Housmans\, 5 Caledonian Road King’s Cross\, N1 9DX CATEGORIES:Bookshops/Libraries,Presentations END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260502T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260502T203000 DTSTAMP:20260623T000027 CREATED:20260501T022950Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260506T102306Z UID:6202-1777748400-1777753800@www.eroding.org.uk SUMMARY:[POSTPONED] Book Launch: Liquid Reflections with Liliane Lijn DESCRIPTION:PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED DUE TO UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES – PLEASE CHECK BACK SOON FOR A RESCHEDULED DATE. We are profoundly honored to be hosting the paperback launch for a memoir by one the world’s greatest living artists\, the sculptor Liliane Lijn\, who will be joined in conversation by leading art writer Jennifer Higgie. Liliane Lijn is an artist who needs little introduction. Her stirring\, often ostentatious and always poetic works are dotted throughout the British urban landscape\, and overseas. Regular visitors to Housmans will have no doubt seen her recent piece Temenos just up the road from us\, near Granary Square. \nWe will host Liliane May 2nd to launch the paperback edition of her brilliant bildungsroman Liquid Reflections. The book begins in 1958 with the talented and fearless Liliane Lijn leaving her family home and moving to Paris alone to become an artist. Once there\, she found an art world filled with the wild energy of creative revolution – peopled and controlled almost entirely by men. In the years that followed\, Lijn built a life for herself in the city. She embraced the hectic bohemian spirit of the Left Bank. She befriended artists\, painters\, poets\, gallerists and revolutionaries\, as the late Surrealists gave way to a burgeoning Pop Art movement. She had disastrous love affairs with difficult men. She experimented boldly\, creating ground-breaking sculptures with light\, text and movement. And as her profile steadily grew\, she was told again and again that there are no great women artists: ‘There never have been.’ \nLiquid Reflections is her memoir of these years of experiment and adventure – years when Lijn was constantly in motion\, from Paris to New York to Venice to Athens\, from paper and canvas to wax and Perspex to oil and water. In love\, she became pregnant but rebelled against the idea that a woman could not be both a great artist and a mother. And she sought – and found – radical pleasure in the act of creative expression and in the living\, sensuous world around her. \nBased on personal diaries from the time\, this is a riveting and revelatory account of a singular coming of age: a glittering portrait of the artist as a young woman. \n‘I wrote LIQUID REFLECTIONS because I wanted to take my readers on the journey I made to become an artist. It’s the story of an idealistic\, inspired young woman who refuses to accept the prejudices of her time. Becoming an artist was also a search for my own identity…’— Liliane Lijn \nLiliane will be conversation with the art writer Jennifer Higgie\, author of numerous books\, her most recent being The Other Side: A Journey into Women\, Art and the Spirit World\, the first major work of art history to focus on women artists and their engagement with the spirit world. \nThis is going to be an extremely special event and we are delighted to be hosting it. Please do book a ticket in advance to avoid disappointment on the night. \nLiliane and Jennifer will talk for around 45 minutes to an hour\, followed by an open discussion with the audience. Doors will open at 6:45\, with the event starting around 7. \nShare this: \n Share on X (Opens in new window) \n X Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) \n Facebook Share on Insta (Opens in new window) \n Insta \n Like this:Like Loading… URL:https://www.eroding.org.uk/event/postponed-book-launch-liquid-reflections-with-liliane-lijn/ LOCATION:Housmans\, 5 Caledonian Road King’s Cross\, N1 9DX CATEGORIES:Bookshops/Libraries,Presentations END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260505T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260505T203000 DTSTAMP:20260623T000027 CREATED:20260330T142921Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260404T144125Z UID:5825-1778007600-1778013000@www.eroding.org.uk SUMMARY:BOOK TALK: PUNK SPIRIT! DESCRIPTION:AN ORAL HISTORY OF PUNK ROCK\, SPIRITUALITY AND LIBERATION\nWe are super excited to welcome John Malkin over from California to talk about his incredible\, and as far as we can tell\, unique\, book: Punk Spirit! We’ve had countless books about punk (not to mention zines) pass through Housmans over the year but none that quite approach the topic from this angle. \nPunk Spirit! is an oral history that examines this movement from many unique perspectives\, bringing together well-known and cutting-edge bands including Sex Pistols\, Minor Threat\, Dead Kennedys\, The Ramones\, Gang of Four\, Pussy Riot\, Crass\, Talking Heads\, Propagandhi\, The Slits\, Bad Religion\, Shelter\, Rebel Riot\, Blackfire\, and many others. \nPunk Spirit! ventures into the emotional and personal experiences of punk artists and activists from around the world and highlights intelligent\, thoughtful\, and humorous discussions on liberation\, spirituality\, and living freely. They discuss a myriad of topics from creativity and anger to freedom from suffering and the ways that punk rock has opposed or embodied religious and moral tenets. Chapters dive deeply into a variety of interconnected realms of punk rock such as the subgenre of straight edge\, Krishnacore and Taqwacore\, evangelical punk concerts in southern California churches\, illegal punk concerts in East German churches\, anti-religious sentiment within punk rock\, the vital connections between punk and self-expression\, and the myriad ways punk rock has been combined with spiritual and religious traditions to illuminate ideas from science\, atheism\, Buddhism\, Christianity\, Judaism\, Islam\, and other ways of being in the world. \nAnd complete with a forward by one of our favorite writers\, Penny Rimbaud! How could we have said no?! \nJohn Malkin is a journalist\, musician\, activist\, photographer and filmmaker. He is the author of Punk Revolution!: An Oral History of Punk Rock Politics and Activism \, and his interviews and writings have been published in internationally including Adbusters\, Punk Planet\, Razorcake\, Spirituality & Health\, Z Magazine\, Ode\, In These Times\, Sojourners\, The Sun\, Film International\, Shambhala Sun\, Tricycle\, Friends Journal\, The Santa Cruz Sentinel\, The Monterey Herald\, and others. He lives in Santa Cruz\, California with his wife and son. \nAs always\, tickets are priced on a sliding scale. If you are unable to pay for a ticket please do not hesitate to contact us at shop@housmans.com\, and a free ticket will be made available. \nIf you choose ‘book +entry’ your copies of the book will be available to collect on the evening. If you would like to collect it earlier\, or arrange for delivery\, please contact us (postage is £2.95). Telephone 020 7837 4473 or email shop@housmans.com. \nDoors Open at 6:45pm\, Event Starts 7:00. URL:https://www.eroding.org.uk/event/book-talk-punk-spirit/ LOCATION:Housmans\, 5 Caledonian Road King’s Cross\, N1 9DX CATEGORIES:Bookshops/Libraries,Presentations END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260507T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260507T190000 DTSTAMP:20260623T000027 CREATED:20260424T142949Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260427T095129Z UID:6092-1778180400-1778180400@www.eroding.org.uk SUMMARY:Book Talk: Fascist Yoga with with Stewart Home DESCRIPTION:Join us to welcome author Stewart Home to talk about his book ‘Fascist Yoga: Grifters\, Occultists\, White Supremacists\, and the New Order In Wellness’ \nThe practice of yoga promises peace\, self-realisation and release\, thanks to the power of its ‘mystic’ Indian origins. But what if this is just hype? In Fascist Yoga\, Stewart Home sweeps away the half-truths to tell a new origin story of the world’s first modern yogi – a Californian escapologist who added some Hindu fairy dust to gym and circus exercises. \nEver since\, the world of yoga has been full of grifters\, occultists and white supremacists\, all out to exploit and recruit via the medium of exercise. From cult leaders to brainwashed followers\, TV celebrities and fake gurus\, the story of yoga has involved some of the strangest currents of humanity. \nToday\, the COVID pandemic has activated elements within the modern yoga movement to espouse far-right conspiracies\, and QAnon’s fascist political programmes mirror some of yoga’s key early proponents.\nIn this new exposé\, Stewart Home shows that nothing is sacred. \nAbout the author:\nStewart Home is a legend of counterculture. He is an artist\, filmmaker\, pamphleteer\, art historian and activist\, and the author of countless pulp fictions\, including most recently Art School Orgy and She’s My Witch. He regularly performs to audiences across the world and recently started making headstand paintings with the canvas placed above him and brushes held in his toes. He was born and lives in London. URL:https://www.eroding.org.uk/event/book-talk-fascist-yoga-with-with-stewart-home/ LOCATION:Freedom Bookshop\, Angel Alley\, 84b Whitechapel High Street\, E1 7QX CATEGORIES:Bookshops/Libraries,Presentations ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://www.eroding.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/6092_image_yoga.webp END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260508T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260508T190000 DTSTAMP:20260623T000027 CREATED:20260501T204121Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260501T204619Z UID:6223-1778266800-1778266800@www.eroding.org.uk SUMMARY:Punk Spirit! book talk with author John Malkin DESCRIPTION:‘Punk Spirit! An Oral History of Punk Rock\, Solidarity and Liberation’ is an oral history that brings together well-known and cutting-edge bands including Sex Pistols\, Minor Threat\, Dead Kennedys\, The Ramones\, Gang of Four\, Crass\, Propagandhi\, The Slits\, Bad Religion\, Shelter\, Rebel Riot\, Blackfire\, and many others. John Malkin ventures into the emotional and personal experiences of punk artists and spiritual teachers from around the world and highlights intelligent\, thoughtful\, and humorous discussions on liberation\, spirituality\, and living freely. Chapters dive deeply into many interconnected realms of punk such as the subgenres of straight edge\, Krishnacore and Taqwacore; evangelical punk concerts in southern California churches and illegal punk concerts in East German churches; anti-religious sentiment within punk; and the myriad ways punk has been combined with a variety of traditions to illuminate ideas from atheism\, anarchism\, science\, Buddhism\, Christianity\, Judaism\, Islam\, and other ways of being in the world. \nJohn Malkin is a journalist\, musician\, activist\, photographer and filmmaker. He is the author ofPunk Revolution!: An Oral History of Punk Rock Politics and Activism (Rowman & Littlefield 2023). \n“Punk Spirit!\, with its unique blend of anarchic counterculture and classic psychoanalytical theory\, makes for a most compelling read. From incarnation to oral history\, the power of punk compels you!” —Steven Blush\, Author and Filmmaker\, American Hardcore \n“I devoured Punk Spirit! in two sittings. It was pure enjoyment to read – pure exhilaration! Crack openPunk Spirit! and behold a ‘volatile church’ where the lifeblood of a rich\, complex\, and passionately punk spirituality surges through every page. Incited by John Malkin’s galvanizing questions\, the collective voices of his interlocutors raise up a kaleidoscopic vision of punk spirit that is as vibrantly alive as it is full of surprises.” —Glenn Wallis\, Guitarist for Ruin\, Author of An Anarchist’s Manifesto \n“Punk Spirit! is an affirming and varied testimony to the significance of punk music and spirit in the library of humanity and existence. Explore! The Spirit of Punk reflects how in our extreme punk expression of letting go of societal norms and indoctrination\, we find liberation and peace in reaching for and manifesting another state of being and its possibilities.” —Yaotl Mazahua\, Iconoclast\, Aztlan Underground (aka Anahuak Underground) \n“A skilled interviewer\, John Malkin is one of a handful of punk mavens willing to explore its deep\, spiritual intimations. This is a monumental collection of conversations\, offering anyone with a reasonable curiosity about punk rock and spirituality the opportunity to understand their amorphous\, vibrant\, and sometimes revolutionary entanglements. If God is dead\, punk is not dead\, and the anti-establishment postures and rebellious spirit captured in Malkin’s book lives on!” \n—Ken Chitwood\, Religion Scholar\, Journalist\, Theologian “Punk is far from dead; it is getting richer and richer. We are lucky to have John Malkin look at a very specific aspect of that world. With gems from more than 150 interviews conducted over the course of a quarter century\,Punk Spirit! is an important contribution to the ever-growing oral history of one of the world’s most compelling subcultures.” \n—Gabriel Kuhn\, Author of Sober Living for the Revolution: Hardcore Punk\, Straight Edge\, and Radical Politics “You need this book if you ever screamed at the sky and wanted it to scream back. Lively and vivid\,Punk Spirit! dares you to ask: What does it mean to be free?” \n—Antonino D’Ambrosio\, Filmmaker\, Author\, and Visual Artist\, Let Fury Have the Hour “This book tries to make sense of the madness that is punk and to find the meaning in the noise\, the spirituality in the energy\, and the idealism in the anger.” —John Robb\, Bassist and Singer for The Membranes\, Author ofPunk Rock: An Oral History and The Art of Darkness: The History of Goth \n“For those of us who came up in punk clubs and later found a home in spiritual practice\, this book isn’t just interesting—it’s personal.”—Miguel Chen\, Bassist for Teenage Bottlerocket; author of I Wanna Be Well and The Death of You \n“Captivating. Malkin connects with an amazing array of artists and enlarges the vision of the spirit of punk.” —Eddie Stern\, Bassist for Chop Shop; Yoga and Meditation Teacher for Lou Reed \n“Malkin’s decades-long trek takes us dead center into the interior. No bullshit.” —Gary Gach\, Author of The Complete Idiots Guide to Understanding Buddhism John Malkin is a journalist\, musician\, activist\, photographer and filmmaker. He is the author ofPunk Revolution!: An Oral History of Punk Rock Politics and Activism (Rowman & Littlefield 2023). URL:https://www.eroding.org.uk/event/punk-spirit-book-talk-with-author-john-malkin/ LOCATION:Freedom Bookshop\, Angel Alley\, 84b Whitechapel High Street\, E1 7QX CATEGORIES:Bookshops/Libraries,Presentations ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://www.eroding.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/6223_image_freedom_press_london_may_8_2026.webp END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260508T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260508T203000 DTSTAMP:20260623T000027 CREATED:20260421T023014Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260427T095213Z UID:6038-1778266800-1778272200@www.eroding.org.uk SUMMARY:BOOK LAUNCH: REVOLUTIONARY FORGIVENESS: D. K. RENTON in conversation with Barnaby Raine DESCRIPTION:Housmans are delighted to welcome the legendary theorist\, thinker and lawyer D.K. Renton to launch what we believe may be one of the most original\, and vital\, works of left wing thought to appear in recent years. He will be joined in conversation by the scholar and journalist Barnaby Raine. \nForgiveness is necessary in the long fight for a just world—but it is only possible after the oppressed are victorious \nFor too long\, revolutionary social movements have reconciled to defeat. We must start winning again. Forgiveness is a crucial strategy for remaking the world\, to secure and sustain victories\, to transform one-time enemies into friends. With deep political commitment\, D. K. Renton makes the case for forgiveness—but of a particularly unruly sort. Tracing the tragic abuse of Eleanor Marx and Jane Wells\, the mistakes of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission\, and the redemption of televangelist Tammy Faye\, Renton urges us to forgive\, but only after tearing down the citadels of the rich. \nRevolutionary Forgiveness connects collective struggle with the individual’s search for justice to demand a better future for all—when the oppressed will be magnanimous in power\, and even former oppressors will be free. \n“Renton rescues ‘forgiveness’ from the pulpit and returns it\, bloodied but lucid\, to history.” \n— Richard Seymour\, author of Disaster Nationalism \nAs always\, tickets are priced on a sliding scale. If you are unable to pay for a ticket please do not hesitate to contact us at shop@housmans.com\, and a free ticket will be made available. \nIf you choose ‘book +entry’ your copies of the book will be available to collect on the evening. If you would like to collect it earlier\, or arrange for delivery\, please contact us (postage is £2.95). Telephone 020 7837 4473 or email shop@housmans.com. \nDoors Open at 6:45pm\, Event Starts 7:00. URL:https://www.eroding.org.uk/event/book-launch-revolutionary-forgiveness-d-k-renton-in-conversation-with-barnaby-raine/ LOCATION:Housmans\, 5 Caledonian Road King’s Cross\, N1 9DX CATEGORIES:Bookshops/Libraries,Presentations END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260508T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260508T203000 DTSTAMP:20260623T000027 CREATED:20260508T022915Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260512T131444Z UID:6259-1778266800-1778272200@www.eroding.org.uk SUMMARY:SOLD OUT: REVOLUTIONARY FORGIVENESS: D. K. RENTON in conversation with Barnaby Raine DESCRIPTION:THIS EVENT IT NOW SOLD OUT. TO BE ADDED TO A WAITING LIST PLEASE EMAIL SHOP@HOUSMANS.COM Housmans are delighted to welcome the legendary theorist\, thinker and lawyer D.K. Renton to launch what we believe may be one of the most original\, and vital\, works of left wing thought to appear in recent years. He will be joined in conversation by the scholar and journalist Barnaby Raine. \nForgiveness is necessary in the long fight for a just world—but it is only possible after the oppressed are victorious \nFor too long\, revolutionary social movements have reconciled to defeat. We must start winning again. Forgiveness is a crucial strategy for remaking the world\, to secure and sustain victories\, to transform one-time enemies into friends. With deep political commitment\, D. K. Renton makes the case for forgiveness—but of a particularly unruly sort. Tracing the tragic abuse of Eleanor Marx and Jane Wells\, the mistakes of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission\, and the redemption of televangelist Tammy Faye\, Renton urges us to forgive\, but only after tearing down the citadels of the rich. \nRevolutionary Forgiveness connects collective struggle with the individual’s search for justice to demand a better future for all—when the oppressed will be magnanimous in power\, and even former oppressors will be free. \n“Renton rescues ‘forgiveness’ from the pulpit and returns it\, bloodied but lucid\, to history.” \n— Richard Seymour\, author of Disaster Nationalism \nAs always\, tickets are priced on a sliding scale. If you are unable to pay for a ticket please do not hesitate to contact us at shop@housmans.com\, and a free ticket will be made available. \nIf you choose ‘book +entry’ your copies of the book will be available to collect on the evening. If you would like to collect it earlier\, or arrange for delivery\, please contact us (postage is £2.95). Telephone 020 7837 4473 or email shop@housmans.com. \nTHIS EVENT IT NOW SOLD OUT. TO BE ADDED TO A WAITING LIST PLEASE EMAIL SHOP@HOUSMANS.COM \nShare this: \n Share on X (Opens in new window) \n X Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) \n Facebook Share on Insta (Opens in new window) \n Insta \n Like this:Like Loading… URL:https://www.eroding.org.uk/event/sold-out-revolutionary-forgiveness-d-k-renton-in-conversation-with-barnaby-raine/ LOCATION:Housmans\, 5 Caledonian Road King’s Cross\, N1 9DX CATEGORIES:Bookshops/Libraries,Presentations END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260512T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260512T203000 DTSTAMP:20260623T000027 CREATED:20260415T022931Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260427T095252Z UID:5994-1778612400-1778617800@www.eroding.org.uk SUMMARY:BOOK LAUNCH: THE ASSET CLASS: HETTIE O'BRIEN IN CONVERSATION WITH DAN HANCOX DESCRIPTION:‘PART WAKE-UP CALL\, PART FINANCIAL THRILLER’ (SHAMI CHAKRABARTI) The Asset Class is an equal parts thrilling and enraging work of vital\nfinancial journalism\, lifting the lid on the relentlessly destructive force of private equity. We are thrilled to welcome the book’s author Hettie O’Brien to Housmans to be interviewed about the book by celebrated journalist Dan Hancox.\nA thrilling\, eye-opening investigation into private equity\, a secretive wing of the finance industry that is so relentlessly destructive\, it could have been created to undermine our way of life. You don’t know their names\, but they own the house you rent. They own your hospitals\, nurseries and care homes\, the media you consume and the companies you work for. They even own the tools your union uses to fight back. Business is a contest – and they say their people are built to win. But when does competition become a struggle to the death? For decades\, private equity firms have infiltrated every corner of modern life. Wielding debt as a weapon\, they push vital services into crisis. Their cover story: that this is merely the ‘creative destruction’ essential to growth. Old-school capitalists say they’re dismantling everything that made our economies work. \nIn The Asset Class\, reporter Hettie O’Brien penetrates a hidden empire of billion-dollar deals and covert financial warfare. From Copenhagen to San Francisco\, Barcelona to the Yorkshire Dales\, she follows the money\, the ideological roots and the trail of destruction. What she finds is chilling: private equity isn’t just reshaping the economy – it’s selling out the foundations of Western society. The new owners think they can hide in the shadows. But the owned are fighting back. \nHettie will be interviewed by Dan Hancox\, Guardian journalist and author of Multitudes: How Crowds Made the Modern World (Verso\, 2024). They will talk about the book for about 45 minutes followed by a q&a. \nTo avoid disappointment\, please do book a ticket ahead of the event. \nAs always\, tickets are priced on a sliding scale. If you are unable to pay for a ticket please do not hesitate to contact us at shop@housmans.com\, and a free ticket will be made available. \nIf you choose ‘book +entry’ your copies of the book will be available to collect on the evening. If you would like to collect it earlier\, or arrange for delivery\, please contact us (postage is £2.95). Telephone 020 7837 4473 or email shop@housmans.com. \nDoors Open at 6:45pm\, Event Starts 7:00 \n  URL:https://www.eroding.org.uk/event/book-launch-the-asset-class-hettie-obrien-in-conversation-with-dan-hancox/ LOCATION:Housmans\, 5 Caledonian Road King’s Cross\, N1 9DX CATEGORIES:Bookshops/Libraries,Presentations END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260513T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260513T203000 DTSTAMP:20260623T000027 CREATED:20260418T022922Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260422T134329Z UID:6025-1778698800-1778704200@www.eroding.org.uk SUMMARY:'Bored Stiff: the punk 'zine and scene that refused to die' an evening with Terry Macalister\, Gaye Advert and Emilia Elfrida DESCRIPTION:FREE ENTRY BUT PLEASE RSVP USING THE FROM AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE \nThis event celebrates a Bored Stiff book half a century after a fanzine of that name burst into life at the height of the punk “explosion.” \nOriginal creator Terry Macalister has brought together in contemporary time a group of musicians\, photographers and club owners who made the punk scene what it was then and what it has become now. \nLaid out in the original way using marker pens and manual typewriters\, Bored Stiff\, the book\, is a totally original and authentic window into what academics have called a “significant cultural intervention.” \nWith the help of Martin Hand – a graphic designer\, Bored Stiff contains interviews with band members from the likes of The Adverts\, Penetration and the Menstrual Cramps as well as folk such as Andrew Czezowski and Susan Carrington who created the Roxy and Vortex punk clubs. \nThere are also copies in this new book of the original fanzine which include live reviews from the late 1970s of the Sex Pistols\, 999 and Iggy Pop and harnesses the raw energy of the early days of punk. \nGaye Advert\, the bassist of the Adverts\, will be at the book launch to talk about her role in the early punk scene along with Emilia Elfrida\, vocalist and songwriter of today’s self-styled lesbian punk band\, the Menstrual Cramps. \nThey will discuss why punk happened\, what it means to them and why it has survived albeit in different form 50 years on. Terry and Martin will explain how they put together the new version of Bored Stiff and why they insist on an analogue production that eschews the superficial glamour of the digital print world. \nTerry Macalister is the original creator of Bored Stiff and the author of the new compilation of old and new material. Excited by the success of the early fanzine\, Terry went on to spend his life in national journalism\, most notably as a specialist editor on The Guardian. \nHe is the author of several books including Crude Britannia (Pluto Press) and Polar Opposites (Guardian ebooks)\, executive producer of The Oil Machine film and co-producer of the forthcoming Earth Mother documentary. He is the founder of a Cambridge-based protest choir and sees himself now more as artist and activist than journalist. \nFREE ENTRY BUT PLEASE RSVP USING THE FROM AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE URL:https://www.eroding.org.uk/event/bored-stiff-the-punk-zine-and-scene-that-refused-to-die-an-evening-with-terry-macalister-gaye-advert-and-emilia-elfrida/ LOCATION:Housmans\, 5 Caledonian Road King’s Cross\, N1 9DX CATEGORIES:Bookshops/Libraries,Presentations END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260513T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260513T213000 DTSTAMP:20260623T000027 CREATED:20260505T022916Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260512T131554Z UID:6244-1778698800-1778707800@www.eroding.org.uk SUMMARY:An Evening of Techno-Negativity with MayDay rooms and Thomas Dekeyser DESCRIPTION:Join us for an evening diving into the long histories of technological resistance\, with MayDay rooms and Thomas Dekeyser. \nAt a time when Big Tech grows increasingly enmeshed with authoritarian control\, how do we resist? One path\, the new book\, TECHNO-NEGATIVE: A LONG HISTORY OF REFUSING THE MACHINE argues\, is to look deeply into the archives. From the Luddites to medieval monks banning tools\, seventeenth-century loom burners\, revolutionary lantern smashers\, and computer arsonists\, history is riddled with critical junctures where people have recognised and resisted the machine as a violent\, sometimes deadly force. \nWhich traces in the archives does our current techno-dystopian moment call us to bring back to life? How do we draw energy from radical pasts without romanticising them? An informal panel with the author of the book (Thomas Dekeyser) will explore these questions\, and will be followed by a chance to read through techno-negative archives\, including Mayday Rooms’ own collections. URL:https://www.eroding.org.uk/event/an-evening-of-techno-negativity-with-mayday-rooms-and-thomas-dekeyser/ LOCATION:Mayday Rooms\, 88 Fleet Street\, EC4Y 1AE CATEGORIES:Bookshops/Libraries,Presentations END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260519T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260519T203000 DTSTAMP:20260623T000027 CREATED:20260421T023015Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260427T095330Z UID:6039-1779217200-1779222600@www.eroding.org.uk SUMMARY:BOOK LAUNCH: The Forest Fights Back with Jessica den Outer DESCRIPTION:Join Us For A Discussion Of A Global Movement for the Rights of Nature\nAs the world grapples with the escalating climate crisis\, ecosystems are collapsing\, and the planet’s future hangs in the balance. For centuries\, our legal systems have treated nature as something to be owned and exploited\, but a bold new movement is challenging this paradigm. \nIn The Forest Fights Back\, Jessica den Outer explores a groundbreaking global movement—Rights of Nature—taking on the legal system to recognise the rights of rivers\, forests\, and mountains to exist\, flourish\, and sustain their ecological balance. From the fight for the Whanganui River in New Zealand to the battle for Spain’s Mar Menor lagoon\, den Outer highlights the campaigns led by grassroots communities\, telling stories of determination and legal ingenuity. \nThis movement goes beyond law – it represents a cultural shift that could reshape how we live\, think\, co-exist and advocate for nature. \nAs always\, tickets are priced on a sliding scale. If you are unable to pay for a ticket please do not hesitate to contact us at shop@housmans.com\, and a free ticket will be made available. \nIf you choose ‘book +entry’ your copies of the book will be available to collect on the evening. If you would like to collect it earlier\, or arrange for delivery\, please contact us (postage is £2.95). Telephone 020 7837 4473 or email shop@housmans.com. \nDoors Open at 6:45pm\, Event Starts 7:00. \n  URL:https://www.eroding.org.uk/event/book-launch-the-forest-fights-back-with-jessica-den-outer/ LOCATION:Housmans\, 5 Caledonian Road King’s Cross\, N1 9DX CATEGORIES:Bookshops/Libraries,Presentations END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260520T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260520T203000 DTSTAMP:20260623T000027 CREATED:20260508T022918Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260512T131622Z UID:6260-1779303600-1779309000@www.eroding.org.uk SUMMARY:HAJAR READS DESCRIPTION:‘At this\, the man turned in their direction and smiled; he played not for the dream of success but because this new world necessitated beauty of all kinds. The new world was not just labour\, but labour for the sake of life-making.’\n— Lola Olufemi\, Experiments in Imagining Otherwise \nJoin us for Hajar Reads: Play. In this reading and discussion group\, we’ll reflect on play as a life-affirming practice\, considering how embracing play and playfulness can open us up to more expansive ways of thinking\, creating and living. \nWe’ll use short extracts from selected Hajar Press titles—including Experiments in Imagining Otherwise (Lola Olufemi)\, COOP (Nida Sajid) and Seeing for Ourselves (Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan)—as a starting point for our discussion. \nExtracts will be shared in advance of the session\, but there’s no expectation to have read them all to take part—just come along ready to listen\, think and share! \nThis session\, hosted by Hajar Press\, will be facilitated by Amber Obasi from Hajar Press and Dr Durre Shahwar. \nDr Durre Shahwar is an interdisciplinary writer\, researcher\, and artist. She is the author of One of the Good Ones\, a pamphlet accompanying her solo photo exhibition on archives\, seeking sanctuary\, and documentation\, exhibited and published in 2026 by Ffotogallery\, Cardiff. She is co-editor of Gathering: Women of Colour on Nature (2024) and Just So You Know (2020). Durre has a PhD in autofiction and Pakistani-Welsh identity from Cardiff University and was the recipient of a Future Wales Fellowship. Her work deconstructs established frameworks to present counter-narratives that capture the complexities of lived experiences when situated within social\, cultural\, political and geographical landscapes. Durre divides her time between South London and Cardiff and is currently working on her debut non-fiction book. \n  URL:https://www.eroding.org.uk/event/hajar-reads/ LOCATION:Housmans\, 5 Caledonian Road King’s Cross\, N1 9DX CATEGORIES:Bookshops/Libraries,Presentations END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260526T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260526T213000 DTSTAMP:20260623T000027 CREATED:20260501T204126Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260519T084354Z UID:6227-1779822000-1779831000@www.eroding.org.uk SUMMARY:The Plot is on Fire with MayDay Rooms and Manuela Zechner DESCRIPTION:Many of the materials from our ecological holdings offer examples of organised attempts to confront ecological crisis through insurgent\, ground-level direct-action. In this spirit\, we invite you to join us in this practical session with Manuela Zechner\, who will share key takes from her new book\, The Plot is on Fire: Care Struggles after Progress\, Plantation and Patriarchy (Pluto 2026) and its chapters on tech and agrarian extractivism\, as well as from the work of the Common Ecologies School on agrarian extractivism and building agroecological counterpower. \nWe’ll be looking towards toxic tech extractivism and the new digital and data frontiers that capitalism is pushing\, and map some of the forms of resistance we see or imagine springing up around us. How might we resist data centres\, microchip factories\, toxic tech assembly lines\, and mines for rare earths? And how do struggles around water and land intersect with struggles against toxic algorithmic and data harvesting regimes? Bring what you know\, along with what you want to learn about these and other contemporary ecological struggles\, and we’ll take time to map it together and orient it toward a shared horizon. URL:https://www.eroding.org.uk/event/the-plot-is-on-fire-with-mayday-rooms-and-manuela-zechner/ LOCATION:Mayday Rooms\, 88 Fleet Street\, EC4Y 1AE CATEGORIES:Presentations END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260527T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260527T203000 DTSTAMP:20260623T000027 CREATED:20260511T142923Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260519T084237Z UID:6269-1779908400-1779913800@www.eroding.org.uk SUMMARY:BOOK LAUNCH: THE PLOT IS ON FIRE: Manuela Zechner in conversation with Max Haiven DESCRIPTION:We are delighted to welcome Manuela Zechner to Housmans to talk about her truly original and radical work in postcolonial eco-theory. \nAs myths of progress and modernisation collapse in the relentless polycrisis of our time\, how do we strengthen other plots—in community\, practice and struggle? How do we come together as movements for earthcare? \nThe Plot is on Fire: Care Struggles after Progress\, Plantation and Patriarchy weaves stories\, proposals\, and analyses around a key domain of living reproduction in crisis: agriculture. Looking at peasant\, indigenous\, and transecofeminist practices\, it formulates another plot on how we want to sustain life collectively—beyond progress\, plantation\, and patriarchy. \nRecovering and repurposing old and new technologies\, and breaking down the division between rural and urban\, the ground is made fertile for growing other futures. Alongside writers like Ursula Le Guin and Octavia Butler\, this work of radical political theory raises critical questions about technology and storytelling\, as matters of care and community. \nManuela will be in conversation with Max Haiven author of Palm Oil: The Grease of Empire (Pluto). They will talk for around 45 minutes to an hour followed by a discussion with the audience. \nAs always\, tickets are priced on a sliding scale. If you are unable to pay for a ticket please do not hesitate to contact us at shop@housmans.com\, and a free ticket will be made available. \nIf you choose ‘book +entry’ your copies of the book will be available to collect on the evening. If you would like to collect it earlier\, or arrange for delivery\, please contact us (postage is £2.95). Telephone 020 7837 4473 or email shop@housmans.com. \nDoors Open at 6:45pm\, Event Starts 7:00 URL:https://www.eroding.org.uk/event/book-launch-the-plot-is-on-fire-manuela-zechner-in-conversation-with-max-haiven/ LOCATION:Housmans\, 5 Caledonian Road King’s Cross\, N1 9DX CATEGORIES:Presentations END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260529T080000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260529T170000 DTSTAMP:20260623T000027 CREATED:20260430T022930Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260519T084444Z UID:6197-1780041600-1780074000@www.eroding.org.uk SUMMARY:HOUSMANS POETRY SERIES DESCRIPTION:INTRODUCING THE FIRST IN OUR POET’S PROSE SEQUENCE We are delighted to welcome two extremely exciting poets to Housmans for the first installment of our Summer Poetry Series. This season we’re going to be doing something a bit different and focusing instead on the work that poets produce outside of ‘traditional’ lyric modes; focusing instead on prose; novels; novellas; novelettes; essays; criticism; chunks of memoir and ‘hybrid’ lumps. \nOpening the series we have two poets whose work (and dual radiant vibe) need very little introduction (to those who’ve been following literary avant-gardes in Britain for the last decade or so): Kirsty Dunlop and Maria Sledmere. Between them they compose the centripetal force of Glasgow’s celebrated post-internet DIY publishing project SPAM and have produced a truly terrifying volume of exceedingly brilliant poetry collections\, scholarly work and experiments. \nAt Housmans they will be discussing their recent experiments in fiction writing: Kirsty’s Centrefolding and Maria’s The Indigo Hours. \nCentrefolding follows an unnamed protagonist who shifts\, sprints\, swerves and transmorphs through the “Centre!” (exclamation mark required)\, a research institute in some northern British city\, in our current jittery moment. Glitches in reality abound: expect research into alien life that goes nowhere\, an underground hospital\, an Entrepreneur-in-Residence\, and ‘lingerers’ slithering under glass doors (you know\, like a worm). Daisy Lafarge says it is her ‘dream novelette: gossipy\, pacy\, and full of gorgeous swerves of language. With enviable wit and inventiveness’. \nThe Indigo Hours is an immersive\, radiant text that moves between autofiction\, essay\, and poetic prose to document the textures of contemporary longing. Centred around a seasonal arc and filtered through the ambient melancholia of late capitalism\, the work refracts emotional experience through media\, memory\, pop culture\, and shifting landscapes—from Berlin pools to prairie towns\, from night buses to art galleries. Sledmere’s sentences are lush\, recursive\, and sensorily attuned\, sustaining a rhythmic\, diaristic lyricism that continually folds the personal into the atmospheric. What emerges is a powerful reckoning with intimacy\, grief\, and temporality at the edges of digital and embodied life. ‘Maria Sledmere tells a post-Romantic tale of moonlit precarity and passion among pools & thunderstorms & prairies & airports…’ says Poppy Cockburn. \nBoth poets will read from their work\, discuss shared ideas\, themes\, feelings and forms. As always with our poetry series\, we encourage you to byob and the spirit of celebration and conversation. If we have time we might engage in a more general conversation on the nature of poetry\, prose and other aesthetic modes gurgling up thru this current zombied epoch of slow collapse and cultural amnesia. (‘Why do all the poets write novels now\, anyway??’ we might ask.) \nThis is a free event\, but we have limited capacity so please do book ahead using the link below. \nShare this: \n Share on X (Opens in new window) \n X Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) \n Facebook Share on Insta (Opens in new window) \n Insta \n Like this:Like Loading… URL:https://www.eroding.org.uk/event/housmans-poetry-series/ LOCATION:Housmans\, 5 Caledonian Road King’s Cross\, N1 9DX CATEGORIES:Presentations END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR