About SpitFire Press
Rooted in friendship, SpitFire Press creates welcoming, supportive, and conversational pamphlets that aim to create a more loving and just world.
Our pamphlets amplify the work of people who inspire and challenge us while building a network of readers who are listening (grounded in curiosity and care) and taking action (in small and/or big ways).
Whether you are new to desiring social change and justice or a lifelong organizer we’d love to be in community with you. We’d like to meet and build relationships with people who have a genuine desire for root level change; going beyond personal growth to include relationships of solidarity and resource redistribution.
Tangible & Analog / White Rose
We wanted SpitFire to be tangible and analog. Something people could pass on to their friends and family or sit with while cozy.
Tina wanted to create something tactile, beautiful, and interesting, something that was different in the way you engage with it – she wanted to play with design and see if the act of doing something different with your hands opened you up to something different in your mind and body.
Political art and graffiti has long delighted and inspired Jeanette. When Tina brought up the idea of creating a publication Jeanette loved the idea of continuing the work of resistance movements that used pamphlets and small print editions as a tool for collective change. Among the many inspirations is the White Rose resistance group in Nazi Germany who produced leaflets and conducted a graffiti campaign that called for active opposition to the Nazi regime. The willingness to speak honestly about the systems of power and violence we live within, in a way that welcomes others to learn and join in, feels powerful, important, and relevant today.
Both of us wanted to create something digestible, conversational, and relatable. Something that shared information and supported people to feel courageous so they could speak out and take action against systems of violence and oppression.
Volumes 1 & 2
Our first two volumes focus on white supremacy culture and aim to create practice space where readers can work on undoing white supremacy culture (WSC) within ourselves and identify it in the world around us. Volume 1 focuses on urgency while Volume 2 reflects on denial, defensiveness, and perfectionism.
What we’ve learned from our own practice of unlearning is that it’s easiest to face internalized whiteness when we don’t feel alone, when we can see whiteness as part of a broader systems that purposefully teach us these world views, and that these thoughts and behaviours aren’t personal failings – but that they are our responsibility to unlearn, undo, and dismantle.
Our deepest unlearning has come when we root in vulnerability and friendship, supporting us so we don’t sink into shame or guilt, but rather move toward action and tenaciously trying; whether it be through listening, learning, and self reflection, or practicing solidarity guided by the people most impacted, making art, hosting events, the possibilities are endless and all are needed.
One of our key bits of learning is that mistakes are part of the process. They are the result of learning in action and we can’t avoid them. What matters is that we make amends and keep on trying. So with that in mind, if you see us making mistakes please let us know. We ask that you give us feedback rooted in a collective desire for growth, friendship, and vulnerability and that you give us the grace of allowing us to make mistakes and try again. We will listen and reflect and maybe/likely contend with defensiveness and denial because they are a WSC characteristic we’re unlearning. We’d like to include feedback and lessons we’ve learned in each edition. If you would like to share your experiences please email us at spitfirepress.contact@gmail.com or fill out the contact form here.
Volume 1: Published November 17 2023
Volume 2: On the horizon
Volume 3
Volume 3 asks the question “What is violence and who defines it?” and is being made in response to a request from Indigenous land defenders for settlers to learn about – and speak honestly about – state violence.
This volume will look at various aspects of state level violence including:
- What is settler colonialism
- What is violence and who defines it
- The history and current function of the RCMP / police
- What are dog whistles
- Power: what is it and how does it work
- And more from people we are inspired by and want to hear their thoughts about kinds of violence
We’re going to start reaching out to contributors soon. If you know of someone who we should consider working with please email us at spitfirepress.contact@gmail.com or fill out the contact form here.
Jeanette works and takes care of her beloved partner who has a disability and Tina is taking care or our newest family member baby B, so our timeline on getting volume 3 done is unknown. We’re taking things one step at a time. If there is a lot of interest in volumes 1 & 2, and folks ask for volume 3, we’ll follow the energy. If you like our work and want to see a third edition let us know.
Volume 1, A Letter from the Editors
Dear old and new friends,
Welcome, we’re Tina and Jeanette, and we’re grateful you’re here. We started SpitFire in response to heartfelt requests for white people to actively engage in dismantling the systems and structures that disproportionately -and often exclusively- benefit us.
We want to create a network of readers who are listening and taking action, grounded in curiosity and care. People who have a genuine desire for root level change; going beyond personal growth to include relationships of solidarity and resource redistribution.
Each SpitFire volume is grounded in one or two characteristics of White Supremacy Culture (WSC) outlined by Tema Okun and Kenneth Jones. Volume 1 focuses on Urgency; exploring the tension between the time needed for unlearning, growth, and change and the reality that WSC is violent and creates pressing realities that need to be challenged and changed today.
SpitFire is our tenacious attempt to unlearn what we’ve been taught as white women. An active practice of listening and moving toward solidarity and kinship. We’re striving to change and “spit fire” at the systems and cultural practices which harm people we love and people we don’t know.
It’s taken us so much longer than we anticipated to get to this into your hands and the irony/magic of the first volume focusing on urgency is not lost on us – most likely it was an essential part of our (un)learning. So, let’s dive in, together.
In Friendship and Solidarity, Tina and Jeanette
What is Empire? Empire encompasses both the historic and present day processes of Imperialism and colonization and the resulting systems of violence and oppression; including capitalism, the carceral state, white supremacy culture, racism, heterosexism, ableism, eugenics, misogyny, whorephobia, transphobia, fatphobia, rape culture, kid oppression, and more. The structures that uphold Empire range from the concrete (like police, RCMP, prisons, class divisions, nation-states, the World Bank/International Monetary Fund/World Trade Organization, etc) to the conceptual (like productivity, scarcity, urgency, and more) to the interpersonal (tone policing, defensiveness, ‘don’t rock the boat’ syndrome, what-about-ism, bothsides-ism, and many many more). Over time we will tease this apart more in depth, but for now this is a good place to start.