The Briarpatch Reading Group

Our reading groups aim to inspire, incite, and deepen discussions of radical politics and action, beyond the pages of Briarpatch. We want to bring together activists, academics, seasoned radicals, and new leftists to discuss the urgent questions facing the left in Canada. Our groups are free, nonsectarian, and and open to anyone who wants to talk about Briarpatch and leftist politics.

Our reading group meets once every two months in our hometown of Regina. Typically we select an article from the most recent issue of the magazine to discuss. Check the Events section of our Facebook page for details on when and where the next reading group will be held in Regina.

We’re hoping to set up autonomous reading groups in other locations. We’ll update this page with a list of reading groups in different cities, as they form. We’ll include contact information for each group, so you can join an existing group near you.

Start your own Briarpatch reading group

If you want to start a new reading group where you are, email editor [at] briarpatchmagazine.com. and tell us where you are, whether you have any experience organizing reading groups, and whether you already have any interested members. We prefer that groups have two co-organizers to share the work; if you don’t have a co-organizer already, we’ll try to help you find one.

We’ll set up a call with you (and your potential co-organizer) to talk about finding a location and publicizing the group, growing and maintaining the group, how to pick articles and topics for discussion, and how to facilitate.

Leftist organizing and discussion spaces often become cliquey, inaccessible, and riddled with jargon and insidious hierarchies. We want to cultivate groups that are anti-authoritarian, non-hierarchical, and democratic. That means choosing locations and times that make the group accessible for people with disabilities and people who may live outside of downtown. It means facilitating discussions to open space for the voices of Black, Indigenous, and people of colour; trans and queer people; women; and low-income people. It means actively inviting and encouraging participation from members that aren’t just university-educated white guys, brocialists, and manarchists.

If this sounds exciting to you, get in touch!