Join PhD researcher Madeline Routon and Islington Archives to discover Islington’s vibrant history of squatting and DIY publishing. Drawing on our unique collections, including original copies of Islington Gutter Press and the Squatters' Handbook, press cuttings and Council publications, this talk will trace the borough's history of renewal and revolutionary action.
Islington Gutter Press is a record of leftist community organising in a borough shaped by both rapid gentrification and engaged activism. Co-founded by feminist visionary Lynne Segal, The Gutter Press ran from 1972-1982 (with a brief reprisal in 1989) and featured local stories not only about housing but also women’s health, labour organising, and international struggles.
DIY publishing was central to squatting and other leftist projects of the period, where practical tips and legal advice brush up against sardonic columns and hand-drawn comics. Humour and levity were vital yet underexamined tools used by activists at the time, as exemplified by comics which underlined rather than undermined the seriousness of the issues they covered. They also highlight the intersectional solidarities which characterised leftist movements of the period, especially as squatting provided a ‘free space’ in which both activism and creativity flourished.
Examining a selection of articles authored by, for, and about squatters - as well as press articles which demonised them - we will chart the movements which grew in and through these spaces and the DIY print materials they produced.
This talk will feature a display of original archive material, so please do not bring any food or drink with you.
Madeline Routon is a PhD student at the University of Manchester, where her research focuses on creativity, precarity, and feminist activism during London’s ‘second wave’ of squatting. Her article, ‘Mothers, wives, friends: women’s role in London squatting struggles since 1969’, was published last year in Gender, Place & Culture.
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