The Camas Bookstore and Infoshop is a not-for-profit

infoshop Infoshops are places in which people can access anarchist or autonomist ideas. They are often stand-alone projects, or can form part of a larger radical bookshop, archive, self-managed social centre or community centre. Typically, infoshops offer ...

located at 2620 Quadra Street in

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

, Canada.

History

A collective which included

Allan Antliff Allan W. Antliff (born 1957) is an anarchist activist, art critic, author and founding member of the Toronto Anarchist Free School (now Anarchist U) who has written extensively on the topics of anarchism and art in North America since the 1980s. ...

started off renting shelf space at Dark Horse Books in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

. Camas was then established at 2590 Quadra Street on the corner of Kings Road, in September 2007. The

is named after the camas plant (camassia quamash), which was grown by the local

Lekwungen The Lekwungen peoples (natively lək̓ʷəŋən) are a Coast Salish people who reside on southeastern Vancouver Island, British Columbia in the Greater Victoria area. They are represented by the Songhees First Nation, Songhees and Esquimalt First ...

nation. The project aimed to publicise social justice perspectives and to make solidarity links to social movements worldwide. The space was intended to be as accessible as possible. Camas sells books and zines on the themes of

anarchism Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

anti-capitalism Anti-capitalism is a political ideology and movement encompassing a variety of attitudes and ideas that oppose capitalism. Anti-capitalists seek to combat the worst effects of capitalism and to eventually replace capitalism with an alternati ...

and

anti-colonialism Decolonization is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. The meanings and applications of the term are disputed. Some scholars of decolon ...

. It is non-profit and supporting itself through book sales and events, such as exhibitions, readings and films. Camas was raided by the

Victoria Police Department The Victoria Police Department (VicPD) is the municipal police force for the City of Victoria, British Columbia, Victoria and the Esquimalt, British Columbia, Township of Esquimalt, British Columbia, Canada. It is the oldest municipal police dep ...

in 2010. Four volunteers were detained whilst the police searched, taking away two computers. The police were searching for evidence concerning vandalism of the mayor's house. In October 2012 Camas Books moved to a new location at 2620 Quadra, less than half a block away from the original location. The store hosted a book launch for

Ann Hansen Ann Hansen is a Canadian anarchist and former member of Squamish Five, Direct Action, a guerrilla warfare, guerrilla organization known for the Litton Industries bombing, 1982 bombing of a Litton Industries plant, which made components for Amer ...

's ''Taking the Rap: Women Doing Time for Society's Crimes'' in 2018.

External links

Website

References

Infoshops Independent bookstores of Canada Anarchist bookstores Shops in Victoria, British Columbia Anarchism in Canada Socialism in British Columbia {{canada-retail-company-stub

History

External links

See also

References