A.K. 47 - Selections from the Works of Alexandra Kollontai

Kristen Ghodsee reads the third part of Alexandra Kollontai's 1916 essay, "Working Woman and Mother," and discusses reform vs. revolution. Upcoming events -   Second World, Second Sex. Socialist Women’s Global Solidarity in the Cold War Videos France 24 English, “ Women Under Socialism: A Better Emancipation ,” October 6, 2021 Second Life Book Club, “ Why Women Have Better Sex Under...

In this episode, Kristen Ghodsee interviews the French-Canadian feminist activist and fellow Kollontai aficionado, Rebecca Amsellem in Paris, France. Rebecca is the editor of a well-known feminist newsletter in France, Les Glorieuses ,  and she has contributed an essay a forthcoming edited volume about the impact Alexandra Kollontai has had on her life and work. In this conversation, Ansellem disc...

In this episode, Kristen Ghodsee reads Part Two of Alexandra Kollontai's 1916 essay, "Working Woman and Mother." This is an excellent essay to examine Kollontai's rhetorical strategies for reaching literate working class women. In this pamphlet, she starts by telling the stories of four pregnant women named Masha, and how their class positions determine society's different...

In this episode, Kristen Ghodsee reads Part One of Alexandra Kollontai's 1916 essay, "Working Woman and Mother." This is an excellent essay to examine Kollontai's rhetorical strategies for reaching literate working class women. In this pamphlet, she starts by telling the stories of four pregnant women named Masha, and how their class positions determine society's different...

In response to a listener request from the Chicago Teachers' Union, Kristen Ghodsee reads Louise Bryant's chapter on Alexandra Kollontai from Bryant's 1923 book: Mirrors of Moscow . Bryant was a feminist and a journalist who traveled to Russia in 1917 to report on the revolution with her husband, John Reed. This chapter is based on Bryant's personal conversations with Kollontai...

Kristen Ghodsee and her daughter discuss the relationship of Alexandra Kollontai with her lifelong Bulgarian friend, Zoya Shadurskaya.  The two women met when they were six years old and remained friends for their entire lives, often living together and raising Kollontai's son, Misha. Shadurskaya never married, and Kollontai claimed that after her son, Zoya was the most "dear person to h...

Kristen Ghodsee reads and discusses Alexandra Kollontai’s 1914 essay, “War and Our Immediate Tasks,” which reflects her early commitment to pacifism during World War I.  Mentioned in this episode is Leo Tolstoy’s important book, The Kingdom of God Is Within You , the foundational document of Christian anarchism and a key theoretical elucidation of pacifism which had a profound impact on Mohandas G...

In answer to a listener's question, Kristen Ghodsee discusses the meetings and interactions of the Russian-American anarchist with Alexandra Kollontai in 1920, quoting directly from Goldman's own works. Cited here are Goldman's Living My Life and My Further Disillusionment with Russia . Quotes from Emma Goldman: “I had known for some time of the presence in New York of Mme Alexandra...

Kristen Ghodsee discusses a recent edited collection of essays about the life and work of Alexandra Kollontai, published by Sternberg Press, which includes an English translation of a Swedish play by Agneta Pleijel. The play was first performed in 1977 and this version is based on a revised version that was performed in Stockholm in 1979. The Red Love Reader emerged from a CuratorLab project from...

Kristen Ghodsee reads and discusses the second part of Isabel de Palencia's 1947 translation of Alexandra Kollontai's essay, "A Letter to a Young Comrade."  This essay was reprinted in a report written by the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1959: "The Communist Conspiracy: Strategy and Tactics of World Communism." This essay is essentially a shorter version...

Kristen Ghodsee reads and discusses the first part of Isabel de Palencia's 1947 translation of Alexandra Kollontai's essay, "A Letter to a Young Comrade."  This essay was reprinted in a report written by the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1959: "The Communist Conspiracy: Strategy and Tactics of World Communism." This essay is essentially a shorter version o...

Kristen Ghodsee reads and discusses the introduction to Alexandra Kollontai included in a report written by the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1959. This report, "The Communist Conspiracy: Strategy and Tactics of World Communism," includes two English selections of Kollontai's work: the foreword to Red Love and Isabel de Palencia's 1947 translation of Kollontai'...

Kristen Ghodsee reads part two of Alexandra Kollontai's 1920 essay on the history of International Women's Day. Ghodsee also announces some upcoming lectures and events: 7 March 2021 (15:00 GMT-5) A special event for the Democratic Socialists of America International Committee (co-sponsored by the socialist feminist working group and Lux Magazine): Love and Sex Behind the Iron Curtain: 2...

Kristen Ghodsee reads part one of Alexandra Kollontai's 1920 essay on the history of International Women's Day. Ghodsee also announces some upcoming lectures and events. 5 March 2021 (09:30 GMT-5) Conference Presentation: " Infrastructures of Solidarity: East-South Alliances During the United Nations Decade for Women, 1975-1985 ," Bartlett School of Architecture at University C...

Kristen Ghodsee discusses the political economy of Valentine's Day and reads an excerpt from Alexandra Kollontai's 1911 book review of The Sexual Crisis by Grete Meisel-Hess .  In this section of "Love and the New Morality," Kollontai critiques the institution of bourgeois monogamous marriage as it existed in 1911. Ghodsee  also mentions several recent video appearances on Yout...

In this bonus episode, Kristen Ghodsee discusses the surprise hit series Bridgerton with her daughter and the University of Pennsylvania graduate student, Angelina Eimannsberger. According to a Netflix announcement on January 27th, 2021, 85 million households have streamed the series, making it the most streamed series on Netflix in its history. In this episode, Ghodsee and her guests ask whether...

Kristen Ghodsee reads Alexandra Kollontai's 1917 article "Our Tasks," written in the immediate aftermath of the October Revolution. Ghodsee also celebrates the social media activism of the K-Pop stans who took over Twitter on January 22, 2021. FREE STICKERS IF YOU REVIEW THE PODCAST! A Note from Kristen Ghodsee: "January 2021 will be the two year anniversary of the A.K. 47 podc...

Kristen R. Ghodsee reads Adrienne Rich’s 1983 poem, “North American Time,” in which Rich name-checks Alexandra Kollontai. Ghodsee reflects on the events of the January 2021 “Capitol Insurrection,” the influence of political correctness, and the responsibilities of “verbal privilege.” Rich also mentions the amazing Puerto Rican poet Julia de Borgos . You can watch Adrienne Rich read North American...

Kristen Ghodsee reads a letter Kollontai wrote to the English suffragist and socialist, Dora Montefiore. It is an update of the work of the revolution, and Kollontai is remarkably candid about the struggles they were facing and the work remaining to be done. The letter is an interesting look at the status of socialist women's activism almost exactly one century ago. FREE STICKER OFFER A Note...

Kristen Ghodsee reads Alexandra Kollontai's 1946 essay, "Lenin thought of both great and small," which reflects on her memories of Christmas 1917. Nadezhda Konstantinovna refers to Lenin's wife and Maria Ilyinichna is Lenin's sister.  In this article, Kollontai reflects on the importance of small acts of kindness. FREE STICKERS IF YOU REVIEW THE PODCAST! A Note from Kriste...

In this episode, Kristen R. Ghodsee reads an endnote included with the text of Kollontai's 1946 article The Soviet Woman - A Full and Equal Citizen of Her Country. This endnote was included in 1984 by the Soviet editors of the collection of Kollontai's writing to highlight the real strides the Soviet Union was attempting to make toward true women's equality. Ghodsee discusses the Co...

Kristen Ghodsee discusses the later decades of Alexandra Kollontai's life and reads an abridged version of her 1946 essay, "The Soviet Woman, A Full and Equal Citizen of Her Country." This essay was written in the aftermath of World War II and was published in Soviet Woman . Its goal is to encourage Soviet women to have babies while also working to rebuild the Soviet economy.   Alth...

In this Thanksgiving Day episode, Kristen Ghodsee discusses why she is not going to finish reading Red Love on the podcast, but discusses the overall themes of the novella. Mentioned in this episode are: Alexandra Kollontai, Love of Worker Bees (Translated by Cathy Porter). Cassandra Editions: 1977. The novella is published here as "Vasilisa Malygina." Kristen Ghodsee, The Left Side of H...

Kristen R. Ghodsee reads Part Two of Chapter Six of the 1927 English translation of Alexandra Kollontai's 1923 novella, Red Love .  Send us Fan Mail Thanks so much for listening. This podcast has no Patreon-type account and receives no funding. There are no ads and there is no monetization. If you'd like to support the work being done here, please spread the word with your networks. Kris...

Kristen R. Ghodsee reads Part One of Chapter Six of the 1927 English translation of Alexandra Kollontai's 1923 novella, Red Love .  Send us Fan Mail Thanks so much for listening. This podcast has no Patreon-type account and receives no funding. There are no ads and there is no monetization. If you'd like to support the work being done here, please spread the word with your networks. Kris...