In the coffeehouse, you'll find delicious fair trade, organic coffee and espresso as well as a selection of vegan and vegetarian food. In the bookstore, you'll find books and periodicals on a wide range of topics, with a focus on radical politics and culture. We also offer free internet access, both through our wireless network and our public internet terminals.
If you are looking for information about 2640, the community events space we run in conjunction with St. John's United Methodist Church in Charles Village, please have a look at the 2640 website .
The Work of Art in the Age of Its Technological Reproducibility, and Other Writings on Media
by Walter Benjamin
This new thematic collection of Benjamin's writings includes at its heart the second, expanded version of his seminal "Work of Art" essay - formerly known as "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction". Like the title, Benjamin's essay has been subject to significant re-interpretation, especially with the publication of the second version, which, aside from investigating the end of aura in an age of copies, also points toward the utopian possibilities in mechanized media like film. We're also quite fond of the included essay "Little History of Photography", which is up there with Barthes' Camera Lucida as an essential piece of photographic criticism. Beyond that, there's 400 pages of short essays and fragments in here (some appearing in English for the first time), on everything from folk art to Chaplin and Mickey Mouse.
Taking art seriously (in two different directions)
by v/a
New at the store this week are two amazing just released art titles. First up is Reproduce and Revolt: A Graphic Toolbox for the 21st Century Activist edited by Josh MacPhee and Favianna Rodriguez. This one's the practical one - 200 pages of easy to reproduce radical graphic art, ready to be dropped into your agitprop. If (like us) you've been looking desparately for the comprehensive, stylish, and inspiring clip-art-for-the-revolution collection that would make your poster-making life easier, and had almost given up in despair, get down here and pick this up.
The other title is a little more on the theoretical/historical side: Branden Joseph's Beyond the Dream Syndicate Tony Conrad and the Arts after Cage. Not so much a biography of Conrad, as much as an excavation of the minor art of the American avant-garde through the lens of Conrad's trajectory as musician and filmmaker, this sprawling, nearly 600 page monster from the theory heads at Zone Books looks like an essential instant classic of underground aesthetic history.
Digital Media and Democracy: Tactics in Hard Times
by Megan Boler (editor)
Just in is this brand new anthology of essays centered around the problematic posed to media activists trying to engage today's media landscape tactically. In an age where rampant media consolidation shares the stage with horizontally structured spaces of potential media freedom --- the so-called Web 2.0 technologies like blogging, video sharing, social networks --- and where the power of corporate and military elites to use the media as elements of a propaganda strategy nevertheless seems undiminsihed and even augmented, we're very happy to see this book, which meets these and other questions head-on, with work from, among many many others, Amy Goodman, Deepa Fernades, Geert Lovink, and Brian Holmes.
Two radical history tours of Baltimore in May
First up, check out the IWW's May Day Roll: The Baltimore Labor History Bike Tour. Starting May 1st at 9:30 AM (don't worry, you can hook up with the tour at Red Emma's at 10:30 if that sounds a little early). More info over at Baltimore Indymedia.
If that's too short notice, or you can't get off work, or don't bike, don't worry! On May 18th there'll be a Baltimore People's Bus Tour: Commemorating the Catonsville Nine Anniversary, which will be touring sites of struggle from the 60's in the area, with a focus on anti-war activism and the Black Panthers. $10 tickets are available at Red Emma's, click through for the full details.
As Baltimore Heats up...
Fine folks of Baltimore things are heating up! The trees are blooming, short sleeves are appearing, and we here at Red Emma's have some blood warming news!
First things first, we are very happy to celebrate and dance away winter with the one year anniversary of the 2640 project ! For a year we have been witness to Jazz legends and contemporary greats, Radicals of many colors, The 2007 Mid Atlantic Radical bookfair, DIY-ZINE Fest, Iraq Veterans against the War, music of every persuasion, Poetry, meetings, Hula-Hooping, and the all embracing (unless you lose) musical chairs.
Also raising our blood temps are the amazing new titles that are on our shelves: "A People's History of American Empire" - Howard Zinn, Paul Buhle, and Mike Konopaki bring an old chapter of the immensely popular and important "People's History of the United States" to a new light with their comic book style of America's centuries-long involvement around the world, and "Nowtopia: How Pirate programmers, Outlaw Bicyclists and vacant-lot gardeners are inventing future today" - Chris Carlsson brings ordinary everyday revolution to our fingertips (by the way Carlsson will stop by the shop May 2nd 7pm ). We of course have many radical classics and obscurities as well.
Cool your hot blood by sipping some iced, fair trade and organic coffee or some cold fancy sodas and juice. Finally, to refresh yourself from this whole Emma's experience....Vegan delectables and sandwiches. Who says the Revolution can't taste good?!
Video from Adam Smith in Beijing event at 2640.
If you missed it, here's the video from last months amazing discussion with Giovanni Arrighi, David Harvey, and Joel Andreas.
Volunteer at Ladyfest Baltimore!
This April 11-13, Baltimore hosts its first Ladyfest ! Red Emma's & 2640 are proud to support this amazing event, but Ladyfest needs YOUR help to make the weekend a success! Volunteers are needed in a variety of areas - see the call from the Festival organizers below, and get in contact if you can help out!: April 11th -- 13th will be filled with fun, education, and amazement but not without some help from volunteers (2-hour shifts preferred). SECURITY/SAFETY: We need women-identified people to volunteer as part of our safety/security team from 10am - 6pm on Saturday and Sunday as well as Sunday night from 7pm-10pm at 2640 St. Paul Street. CHILDCARE: We need men (or women) to volunteer for childcare from 10am - 6pm on Saturday and Sunday at 2640. We would like to have mainly man-identified people help with childcare, recognizing that women have historically provided childcare when men participate in social/educational activities. GENERAL: We need volunteers at the info table, to carry things from place to place, to help direct folks to workshops, to set up, to clean up, to be there for support, and to provide general assistance that cannot be foreseen at this point. To sign-up, e-mail Harriet with the times you are available and the type of volunteering you are interested in: moonharriet@gmail.com. We're working on obtaining & silkscreening LadyFest t-shirts for our volunteers to keep as a gift and to help identify all our fantastic volunteers during the festival!
In the US a police officer is more likely to kill a civilian than be killed by one. Between 1996and 2005, 575 officers were killed in the line of duty—an average of 64 deaths per year. Yet ina recent joint investigation, ColorLines and The Chicago Reporter found that approximately “9,500people nationally were killed by police during the years 1980 to 2005.” That’s 380 civilian deathsper year, roughly six times the amount of police fatalities. The Bureau of Justice reports a steadydecline in police fatalities since the early 1970s. The same cannot be said about the rate of deadlypolice force, whether deemed “justified” or “wrongful” by police standards, against civilians. Don't miss this special presentation by author Kristian Williams of his latest book American Methods: Torture and the Logic of Domination!
Sunday May 18, 11AM @ 2640
Jazz Brunch!
Jazz Brunch is back!! We've been brunch-ing for just over a year now (first ever was Mother's Day 2007, and most of the audience was our moms...) and we hope you can come celebrate with us! Featuring a special South Asian-themed menu, plus all your usual brunch favorites- including our famous vegan pancakes.... and- breakfast curry?? It's just delicious enough to work! As usual, doors open 11 am, open jazz jam at 11:30, and an open mic for all kinds of performance & announcements around 12:30. $7 for the all-you-wanna-eat buffet, or just $4 for performers in the session or open mic.
Hope to see you there!
Contrary to our plans last year or so, Red Emma's is not at the moment actively pursuing a new location for the bookstore and cafe. Instead, at least for the time being, we are concentrating our efforts on keeping the existing space thriving, but also on the 2640 project, a partnership between Red Emma's and St. John's United Methodist Church in Charles Village, where both parties are cooperating to restore the (beautiful) building at 2640 St. Paul St. and to put this building to work as a space for social justice organizing and independent culture. Like most big projects, this is going to take a lot of money and a lot of work - if you're able to offer either, please drop us a line at 2640 [at] redemmas.org.
800 St. Paul St. * Baltimore, MD 21202 * (410) 230-0450 * info@redemmas.org
Red Emma's is open Monday through Saturday from 10AM-10PM, and Sunday from 10AM-6PM. Our weekly collective meetings are Sunday at 7PM, and are open to anyone interested in the project.
This new thematic collection of Benjamin's writings includes at its heart the second, expanded version of his seminal "Work of Art" essay - formerly known as "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction". Like the title, Benjamin's essay has been subject to significant re-interpretation, especially with the publication of the second version, which, aside from investigating the end of aura in an age of copies, also points toward the utopian possibilities in mechanized media like film. We're also quite fond of the included essay "Little History of Photography", which is up there with Barthes' Camera Lucida as an essential piece of photographic criticism. Beyond that, there's 400 pages of short essays and fragments in here (some appearing in English for the first time), on everything from folk art to Chaplin and Mickey Mouse. 
The other title is a little more on the theoretical/historical side: Branden Joseph's 
