Blackwell’s are thrilled to welcome Dean Spade to the shop in partnership with the Centre for New Writing and the Centre for Sexuality Studies.

Dean will be speaking about his latest book, LOVE IN A F*CKED UP WORLD: How to Build Relationships, Hook Up, and Raise Hell, Together in conversation with Wu Tsang.

Doors: 6.30pm, starts: 6.45pm

Tickets are £4. Admission is free when purchasing a copy of either book.

About the book:

We all know it takes guts to fight injustice and inequality. But how often do we bring those same values into our most intimate relationships? In this inspiring self-help handbook, luminary trans activist and author of Mutual Aid Dean Spade dares us to be the change we want to see-both in the world, and at home.

Around the globe, people are faced with a spiralling succession of crises, from the pandemic and climate change-induced disasters to the ongoing horrors of mass incarceration, racist policing, endemic gender violence, and severe wealth inequality. Many of us feel mobilised to organise and collectively combat these issues on both a personal and political level, often dedicating our lives to the forwarding of progressive ideas and the daunting goal of trying to bend the world toward justice.

But even those of us who long for change seem to have trouble when it comes to interpersonal relationships. Too often we think of our political values as outward-facing positions again dominant systems of power. Rarely, if ever, do we pursue the same kind of justice close to home, in our personal connections. Many activist projects and resistance groups fall apart because people treat each other poorly, trying desperately to live out the cultural myths about dating and relationships that we are fed from an early age.

How do we divest from the idea that one romantic partner will be the solution to all our problems? How do we separate our expectations of love from the troubling dynamics left to us by our parents? How do we bring our best thinking about freedom and justice into step with our desires for healing and connection?

Lifelong activist and educator Dean Spade dares us to decide that our interpersonal actions are not separate from our politics of liberation and resistance. Love in a F*cked-Up World is a resounding call to action and a practical manifesto for how to combat cultural scripts and take our relationships into our own hands, preparing us for the work of changing the world.

About the author:

Dean Spade has been working to build queer and trans liberation based in racial and economic justice for the past two decades. He is a professor at the Seattle University School of Law.

He is the author of Normal Life: Administrative Violence, Critical Trans Politics and the Limits of Law. His second book, Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the next), was published by Verso Press in October 2020.

About the interviewer:

Wu Tsang is an American filmmaker and visual artist known for her work that explores issues of identity, race, and queer communities. Her films and immersive installations often blend documentary and fiction, focusing on marginalized voices and histories.