Abolitionist Intimacies
with El Jones
Hosted by Adrian Harewood
In Person Politics Non-Fict History
Abolitionist Intimacies is an urgently needed text… With rigour, theoretical agility and a grounded sense of integrity, Jones forwards a poetic vision of intimacy, care, and human liberation, sketching out abolitionist futures beyond policing, prisons, and cages.
Carleton University’s Adrian Harewood hosts a conversation with poet, journalist, professor and activist El Jones on her new book, Abolitionist Intimacies, which examines the movement to abolish prisons through the Black feminist principles of care and collectivity.
Examining the history of prisons in Canada in their relationship to settler colonialism and anti-Black racism, Jones observes how practices of intimacy become imbued with state violence at carceral sites including prisons, policing and borders, as well as through purported care institutions such as hospitals and social work. The state also polices intimacy through mechanisms such as prison visits, strip searches and managing community contact with incarcerated people. Despite this, Jones argues, intimacy is integral to the ongoing struggles of prisoners for justice and liberation through the care work of building relationships and organizing with the people inside.
PLEASE NOTE: For the safety and comfort of all patrons, masks are required to attend in person.
Most people coming by car park for free at the Supreme Court of Canada on Wellington St.
Ticket holders unable to attend in person can request access to the livestream. Livestream links will be sent about an hour prior and will remain active for 48 hours. Please email leslie@writersfestival.org to request a link.
Books are available from our friends at Perfect Books.
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