You’ve probably already noticed from the strapline at the top of the website that I am a Marxist, trade unionist, socialist-feminist, author, poet, speaker, tutor, former RMT Executive member, supporter of Workers’ Liberty, neurodivergent, bi, Peterborough United (men’s footy) and Lewes FC (women’s footy) fan!
I have had five ‘proper’ books published:
- Guilty and Proud of it: Poplar’s Rebel Councillors and Guardians 1919-1925 (Merlin Press, 2009)
- Plundering London Underground: Private Capital and Public Service 1997-2010 (Merlin Press, 2013)
- Autism Equality in the Workplace: removing barriers and challenging discrimination (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2016)
- Minnie Lansbury: suffragette, socialist, rebel councillor (Five Leaves, 2018)
- The Big J vs The Big C – issues, experiences and poems in the battle against breast cancer (Flapjack, 2019)
I write and perform poetry. As The Big J, I was part of the ranting poetry movement in the 1980s, doing more than 100 gigs before giving it up at the end of the decade. In 2014, I took up the muse again, and am now a performing angry middle-aged woman poet. :-)
My first six books of poetry can be bought from this site, here:
- Mostly Hating Tories: poems by Janine Booth
- The 3Rs: Ranting Rhyming Revolting: more poems by Janine Booth
- ’16: the age of discontent – a ranting, rhyming, revolting review of the year (also available as a CD)
- Disaffected Middle-aged Women (currently out of stock)
- Fighting Tories: The Force Awakens
- Unprecedented Rhymes: verses versus the virus
And my most recent poetry book, Amplify, can be bought from the publisher here.
I am active in the National Education Union (NEU) and am LGBT+ Officer of the Shropshire District. I am also active in the RMT trade union, having previously represented its London Transport members on the union’s National Executive. I was the founding Chair, and then Secretary, of the union’s Disabled Members’ Advisory Committee.
I am a for member and co-Chair,of the TUC Disabled Workers’ Committee, and posted reports and news here about how the Committee is working to organise and speak up for disabled workers.
I particularly work on the issue of autism and neurodiversity, including running training and giving presentations to trade unionists about Autism / Neurodiversity in the Workplace. For more information about this, check out Red in the Spectrum.
I am a former member of the ETF Women’s Committee.
From 2005 until 2007, I blogged on the Workers’ Liberty website, and from 2007 until 2011 at Stroppyblog.
I live in Lewes, East Sussex, with my youngest offspring, two cats and two dogs.
