Vol. 78/No. 6      February 17, 2014

Nearly 3,000 subscriptions and more than 750 books on special offer were bought during the campaign last fall. Among those who signed up for the socialist press for the first time are many who should be long-term readers.

This weekly column will follow the progress of the drive.

The campaign will run for five weeks — Feb. 8 to March 16 — and coincides with efforts to win readers for several new books from Pathfinder Press. Last week the Militant began a series of features on the new titles with a centerspread from I Will Die the Way I’ve Lived, which contains 15 watercolor paintings from prison by Antonio Guerrero, one of the Cuban Five. This week’s issue features selections from Voices from Prison (see pages 6-8). Coming issues will feature other new titles, as well as coverage on book launchings at the Havana International Book Fair — one of many reasons not too miss an issue.

“We got a jump on things and have sold eight renewals over the past couple weeks,” David Rosenfeld from Des Moines, Iowa, told the Militant Feb. 3. “We’ve organized to systematically follow up with subscribers. We just go and knock on their doors. After that we visit others in the neighborhood to sign up new readers.”

“Mike Kuhlenbeck, a long-term reader, put together a list of art galleries he wants to visit with us to discuss organizing exhibits for Antonio’s art,” Rosenfeld said. “Having the new books will be a real help in this work.”

On Feb. 1, Katy LeRougetel and John Steele from Montreal visited the picket line of hotel workers who have been on strike since October 2012 in St. Hyacinthe, Quebec. Strikers put up a poster in their picket shack to publicize a meeting Feb. 6 to launch an exhibit of Guerrero’s paintings at the University of Montreal. The picket captain bought the French edition of The Cuban Five: Who They Are, Why They Were Framed, Why They Should Be Free to put in the trailer.

“As soon as Lee-ann Wightman opened her door, she said she wanted a subscription,” said Janet Roth, reporting on door-to-door sales in the suburb of Onehunga, in Auckland, New Zealand. Wightman said a co-worker at the counseling service where she works had shown her the paper. He received it from a friend in Canada who sent it to him.

“I’ve also noticed attitudes are changing,” Wightman said. More people are realizing that attempting to deal with growing economic difficulties are not just a personal matter, but “the personal is political,” said Wightman, who also got a copy of Women and Revolution: The Living Example of the Cuban Revolution, one of the books on special.

“The work you are all doing is appreciated,” wrote a worker behind bars along with a subscription renewal request that arrived Feb. 4. He is incarcerated in Florida, where the Militant has beaten back attempts to censor the paper. A subscription request from another inmate in Florida came the same day.

Hundreds of subscriptions expire in the coming weeks. If yours is one, we urge you to renew. Join in efforts to build showings of Guerrero’s paintings. Come to the weekly Militant Labor Forums in your area. Join us to sign up readers and get renewals to the paper.

To join in the renewal campaign or get a subscription, contact a distributor listed on page 8 or the Militant at (212) 244-4899.  
 
 
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