Is there anything more important than love? (and other questions)

One of the speakers at Wednesday's Love on Trial was Nina Power - it's her book, One Dimensional Woman, being read in the picture of a protest in Zagreb, which I nicked from her blog. I like the picture because it amusingly evokes, in a rather literal sense, the notion of 'uniting theory and practice'. Desire for that unity is behind the Mutiny events, of which Wednesday's was the second (following last September's Money on Trial). It is political discussion linked to the needs of activists and geared towards changing, not just talking about, the world. Clare Solomon, one of the organisers, reports on her blog:

'The evening began with Tansy Hoskins facilitating our super speed debating session with questions such as 'Is sex a political subject?', 'Is there anything more important than love?' (one answer was 'solidarity') and 'where do we get morality from?'. Our early arrivers were easily persuaded to get their teeth into these questions right from the beginning, to get to know each other and to set the tone for the night putting people at ease straight away.

The three main sessions gathered momentum as they went along. We have learnt that the first session is always going to be the hardest because people need a bit of encouragement before feeling confident enough to speak. This is significantly different from other public meetings at which you often find the same people making the same speeches, which often discourages those who are shy or nervous.. At Love on Trial we had about 30 different people make some form of contribution which is testament to the relaxed atmosphere of the event.'

There's a very thoughtful and interesting review of Love on Trial HERE. You can also read more at The Sauce and Liam Macuaid's blog. And there's a plug for the next Mutiny event HERE.

I also strongly recommend reading this brilliant, provocative Valentines-themed post from Penny Red, one of the best writers in blogland (and a speaker at Love on Trial).

Finally, Solomon's Mindfield has the full info about a forum on modern feminism with Nina Power and Lindsey German. Here's the short version:

BOOK EVENT/TALK: ‘Feminism Today’ with Nina Power and Lindsey German
Saturday 6th March, 5pm to 6.30pm

Author and academic Nina Power joins veteran socialist campaigner Lindsey German to discuss the state of modern feminism

Event information: Housmans Bookshop, 5 Caledonian Road, King's Cross, London N1 9DX Tel: 020 7837... 4473 020 7837 4473
Free entry - Nearest tube: King's Cross