WASHINGTON — Pathfinder Press was one of over 50 publishers, bookstores and vendors at the Middle Eastern Studies Association conference here Nov. 22-25. Some 1,900 academics, authors and others took part in over 300 workshops and panel discussions. Topics included “Tied Up in Tehran: Women, Social Change, and the Politics of Daily Life in Postrevolutionary Iran,” “Precarity, Academic Freedom and the Profession in a Time of Genocide” and “Bearing Witness: The Transmission of Memory and Truth in Contemporary Algerian Literature and Music.”
“These are interesting books for sure,” said Lening Olivera when he visited the Pathfinder booth on the first day of the conference. He came back on its last day for more discussion. Many conference participants wanted to talk about the major political questions of the day and learn more about a working-class approach to resolving the growing crisis of capitalism worldwide. Several walked away with more than one book.
The international character of the conference was noticeable, with participants from Algeria, Afghanistan, Denmark, Egypt, Iran, Hong Kong, Jordan, Oman, Qatar, U.S. and elsewhere stopping by Pathfinder’s booth.
The prominently displayed books in Arabic and Farsi were a particular attraction. One young student bought copies in both English and Arabic of Women’s Liberation and the African Freedom Struggle by Thomas Sankara, the leader of the 1983-87 revolution in Burkina Faso.
Among the top sellers were Are They Rich Because They’re Smart? Class, Privilege and Learning under Capitalism by Socialist Workers Party National Secretary Jack Barnes; Cosmetics, Fashion, and the Exploitation of Women; Malcolm X, Black Liberation, and the Road to Workers Power; and Labor, Nature, and the Evolution of Humanity. Of the 109 books sold, almost one-third were titles on the fight for women’s emancipation. Two copies of The Fight Against Jew-Hatred in the Imperialist Epoch: Stakes for the International Working Class were sold. An Israeli Palestinian from the West Bank purchased a copy of The Jewish Question: A Marxist Interpretation as a gift for a friend. “He probably has read an earlier version. I think he will like this very much,” he said.
There was also interest in Pathfinder titles on the Cuban Revolution. Charlie Fong, a student from Hong Kong studying at New York University’s Abu Dhabi campus, grabbed up Our History Is Still Being Written: The Story of Three Chinese Cuban Generals in the Cuban Revolution, first in English, and then in Mandarin, for her mother. She said her grandfather was Chinese Cuban and a combatant in the Cuban Revolution.
“Once my grandmother told me about it, I have always been very proud of my grandfather. Now I have a chance to know what he was part of and learn about the Cuban Revolution,” Fong said. She brought several of her friends to the booth, one of whom picked up three Pathfinder titles.
Arlene Rubinstein contributed to this article.