Jim Sharp, a well-known veteran of the left and labour movements in the city, launched his book of poetry, entitled Leftside at the Queensland Council of Unions building on July 31. About 100 people attended. Speakers included Marxist historian Humphrey McQueen and music was provided by Jumping Fences.
Sharp is a retired meatworker, who was active in the Australian Meat Industry Employees Union for more than two decades. He has also been active in peace and environmental movements. The book’s blurb says Sharp’s poetry explores “his early background in the coal mining region of northern Yorkshire; his experiences both personal and political during fifty years of working class struggle; and some of the issues of power, authority and domination which workers, organised in trade unions, constantly face.”
Visit www.ginninderrapress.com.au for copies of the book.