Chaz Bufe
Encyclopedia
Charles Bufe, better known as Chaz Bufe, is a contemporary American Anarchist author.
Bufe writes most notably on the problems faced by the modern anarchist movement (as in his pamphlet "Listen, Anarchist!). This pamphlet was concerned in part with the conflict (1984-1985) between anarchist writer Bob Black and the San Francisco magazine "Processed World" for which Bufe was the East Bay distributor. As a member of the Bound Together anarchist bookstore collective in San Francisco, he sought to ban from the store "The Baby and the Bathwater" (1985), Black's book-length version of the conflict. Bufe was opposed by, among others, Lawrence Jarach, who was later the co-author (with Brian Kane) of "Hold Your Tongue Demagogue: Turning a Deaf Ear to Bufe-oonery," a rejoinder to "Listen, Anarchist!" (available from http://theanarchistlibrary.org). When the collective decided to continue to carry both Black's book and "Processed World," Bufe resigned from it.
After receiving a masters in music from the University of California (Berkeley), Bufe relocated to Tucson, Arizona and commenced his current publishing project, See Sharp Press, which emphasises atheist and anarchist titles. Some are reprints of classical anarchist texts, others are by Bufe himself, including a critique of Alcoholics Anonymous and two pamphlets on ideas about a future anarchist or utopian society. One was "A Future Worth Living: Thoughts on Getting There" (1998), which reveals the influence of the German New Age commune ZEGG. It was critically reviewed by Bob Black in "Bufe Goof" (available at www.inspiracy.com). Bufe returned to the utopian theme in "Design Your Own Utopia" (2004), co-authored by "Doctress Newtopia" (Libby Hubbard, from the ZEGG commune) which mostly consisted of a questionnaire addressed to would-be utopians. Black again wrote a critical review, "Views From Nowhere" (available at http://theanarchistlibrary.org).
Bufe has written some aphorisms under the pseudonym "Robert Tefton" which appear in an anthology he edited, "The Heretics's Handbook of Quotations" (self-published in 1998, and in an expanded edition in 2001). Its model is "The Devil's Dictionary" by Ambrose Bierce. Bufe has released a volume, The Devil's Dictionaries consisting of quotations by Bierce and himself. The latter book has been referenced by IslamOnline
, recommended by Cape Cod Times
and has earned him the title "the Ambrose Bierce of our time" from AlterNet
. Bufe is also a musician, and author of An Understandable Guide to Music Theory, now in its third edition. He edited two works on Ricardo Flores Magón
– Flores Magón and the Anarchist Vision of Freedom and Dreams of Freedom: A Ricardo Flores Magón Reader – and translated the Spanish language
book Cuban Anarchism: The History of a Movement by Frank Fernández
into English.
Bufe writes most notably on the problems faced by the modern anarchist movement (as in his pamphlet "Listen, Anarchist!). This pamphlet was concerned in part with the conflict (1984-1985) between anarchist writer Bob Black and the San Francisco magazine "Processed World" for which Bufe was the East Bay distributor. As a member of the Bound Together anarchist bookstore collective in San Francisco, he sought to ban from the store "The Baby and the Bathwater" (1985), Black's book-length version of the conflict. Bufe was opposed by, among others, Lawrence Jarach, who was later the co-author (with Brian Kane) of "Hold Your Tongue Demagogue: Turning a Deaf Ear to Bufe-oonery," a rejoinder to "Listen, Anarchist!" (available from http://theanarchistlibrary.org). When the collective decided to continue to carry both Black's book and "Processed World," Bufe resigned from it.
After receiving a masters in music from the University of California (Berkeley), Bufe relocated to Tucson, Arizona and commenced his current publishing project, See Sharp Press, which emphasises atheist and anarchist titles. Some are reprints of classical anarchist texts, others are by Bufe himself, including a critique of Alcoholics Anonymous and two pamphlets on ideas about a future anarchist or utopian society. One was "A Future Worth Living: Thoughts on Getting There" (1998), which reveals the influence of the German New Age commune ZEGG. It was critically reviewed by Bob Black in "Bufe Goof" (available at www.inspiracy.com). Bufe returned to the utopian theme in "Design Your Own Utopia" (2004), co-authored by "Doctress Newtopia" (Libby Hubbard, from the ZEGG commune) which mostly consisted of a questionnaire addressed to would-be utopians. Black again wrote a critical review, "Views From Nowhere" (available at http://theanarchistlibrary.org).
Bufe has written some aphorisms under the pseudonym "Robert Tefton" which appear in an anthology he edited, "The Heretics's Handbook of Quotations" (self-published in 1998, and in an expanded edition in 2001). Its model is "The Devil's Dictionary" by Ambrose Bierce. Bufe has released a volume, The Devil's Dictionaries consisting of quotations by Bierce and himself. The latter book has been referenced by IslamOnline
IslamOnline
Islamonline is a global Islamic website on the Internet providing services to Muslims and non-Muslims in several languages. Its motto is "credibility and distinction." Sunni Muslim scholar....
, recommended by Cape Cod Times
Cape Cod Times
The Cape Cod Times is a broadsheet daily newspaper serving Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, Massachusetts, United States. It is owned by the Dow Jones Local Media Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation. It is also the sister paper of the weekly The Barnstable Patriot.-History:The paper...
and has earned him the title "the Ambrose Bierce of our time" from AlterNet
AlterNet
AlterNet, a project of the non-profit Independent Media Institute, is a progressive/liberal activist news service. Launched in 1998, AlterNet now claims a readership of over 3 million visitors per month .AlterNet publishes original content as well as journalism from a wide variety of other sources...
. Bufe is also a musician, and author of An Understandable Guide to Music Theory, now in its third edition. He edited two works on Ricardo Flores Magón
Ricardo Flores Magón
Cipriano Ricardo Flores Magón was a noted Mexican anarchist and social reform activist. His brothers Enrique and Jesús were also active in politics. Followers of the Magón brothers were known as Magonistas....
– Flores Magón and the Anarchist Vision of Freedom and Dreams of Freedom: A Ricardo Flores Magón Reader – and translated the Spanish language
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
book Cuban Anarchism: The History of a Movement by Frank Fernández
Frank Fernández
Frank Fernández is a Cuban anarchist author. He is an exiled member of the Movimiento Libertario Cubano and was the editor of its periodical Guángara Libertaria...
into English.