Located in Seattle’s historic Pike Place Market, Left Bank Books is a 38-year-old radical institution of learning and agitation, so I was overjoyed when they agreed to host a stop on the Hey, Shorty! book tour. The event drew a crowd of folks who came to learn more about gender-based violence in public spaces, gain tools with which to write curricula for youth programs, and share their own expertise in transformative justice strategies. One woman who attended was a part of the organization Home Alive, which I read about some ten years ago in a book by feminist author Inga Muscio and from which I found inspiration as a budding activist. Hearing about the successes and struggles of anti-violence work in Seattle, and how they are similar yet different from those in New York City, enriched the conversation and made the subject matter more meaningful for the attendees. The Pacific Northwest has a long history of radical social justice activism — from the labor movement to the WTO protests in the fall of 1999 — and that spirit is still very much alive in its cities.
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