This May marks the return of the LeftWords Festival of Books and Ideas, a day-long showcase of progressive and left-leaning authors, publishers, and book sellers. The festival, which has been on hiatus since 2005, is re-launching this year in partnership with the Mayworks Festival of Working People and the Arts.
This year’s LeftWords has much to offer. In addition to a marketplace showcasing more than 20 exhibitors, the festival will host a series of panel discussions and workshops on subjects ranging from activism and dissent to community art and graphic novels.
According to Matt Adams, one of the festival’s organizers, what makes Leftwords unique is the way it responds to the salient—and controversial— social and political issues of our time. “Among our panelists this year, we have G20 critics, Occupy activists, and labour experts,” says Adams. “For better or for worst, the time is certainly ripe to re-launch.”
Highlights of this year’s festival include a keynote address by famed feminist and activist Michele Landsberg and a panel discussion featuring Frances Fox Piven, who recently earned the ire of Glenn Beck for her involvement in the Occupy Wall Street movement.
LeftWords is on May 6, 2012 at the Ryerson Students’ Centre, 55 Gould St. The festival opens at 11 a.m. and runs until 5 p.m. It will be followed by an After-Party hosted by the Socialist Register. For more information, please visit: www.leftwordsfestival.ca.
