Dorothy Livesay was a friend, an inspiration and a companera for me. We met late in her life, not at a literary event, but at a commemoration of Hiroshima Day on a warm sunny day in a field overlooking the sea, on a small island near Victoria. A few years later when she moved to Victoria, we became friends and co—workers in peace and social justice organizations. Although she never taught me a course in poetry, she passed on a few useful lessons. The most important lesson she taught me was that the engaged life of an artist, involved Read more [...] Author Archives: Theresa Wolfwood. Director, The Barnard-Boecker Centre Foundation
Livesay, Dorothy. THE SELF-COMPLETING TREE. Selected poems. 1992. Press Porcepic. Victoria & Toronto, Canada.
Dorothy Livesay was a friend, an inspiration and a companera for me. We met late in her life, not at a literary event, but at a commemoration of Hiroshima Day on a warm sunny day in a field overlooking the sea, on a small island near Victoria. A few years later when she moved to Victoria, we became friends and co—workers in peace and social justice organizations. Although she never taught me a course in poetry, she passed on a few useful lessons. The most important lesson she taught me was that the engaged life of an artist, involved Read more [...] Comments Off on Livesay, Dorothy. THE SELF-COMPLETING TREE. Selected poems. 1992. Press Porcepic. Victoria & Toronto, Canada.
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Litvinoff, Miles and John Madeley. 50 Reasons to Buy Fair Trade. 2007. Pluto Press. UK.
“The mainstream trading system is failing the poor. Fair Trade offers partnership in place of exploitation.”
Beyond the general response when people ask why one should support fair trade – something that I usually sum up as a better life for producers and an opportunity for consumers to challenge the bottom line mentality of ruthless global corporations, this useful volume offers some very specific reasons and specific details of more general reasons.
Fair Trade has been growing spectacularly in both quantity and variety of goods Read more [...]
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Linn, Susan. Consuming Kids: The Hostile Takeover of Childhood. 2004. The New Press, New York, USA and London, UK.
If I had small children, I would want to take them and run for the bush and homestead in the wilderness after reading this terrifying tale of the destruction of our first humanity - childhood. Billions of dollars are being spent to sell everything to children. Linn'concern is that, "The explosion of marketing aimed at kids today is precisely targeted, refined by scientific method and honed by child psychologists..."
The author is a parent, a citizen activist and a lecturer in psychiatry. She researched this subject with passion and professionalism Read more [...] Comments Off on Linn, Susan. Consuming Kids: The Hostile Takeover of Childhood. 2004. The New Press, New York, USA and London, UK.
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Lindsay-Poland, John. EMPERORS IN THE JUNGLE: The Hidden History of the U.S. in Panama. 2003. Duke University Press, USA.
“…the book examines the manner in which Panama served as an instrument for grander U.S. aims and the role of ideas about race and the tropic…”
The author of this excellent history is a peace activist and Director of the Fellowship of Reconciliation’s Task Force on Latin America and the Caribbean who lived for many years in Panama. He is one of the organizers of the NOUSBASES Network which hosted a panel at the World Peace Forum on ‘Foreign Military Bases: Instruments of Domination’.
As Guillermo Castro, former Deputy Minister of Read more [...] Comments Off on Lindsay-Poland, John. EMPERORS IN THE JUNGLE: The Hidden History of the U.S. in Panama. 2003. Duke University Press, USA.
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Legault, Stephen. CARRY TIGER TO MOUNTAIN The Tao of Activism and Leadership. Arsenal Pulp Press. 2006 Vancouver, BC.
This is an unusual and refreshing book for activists told through the unfolding of the ancient Chinese work, the Tao te Ching, as it applies to the work and effectiveness of modern activism. I have never heard of the author, even though he also lives in Victoria. He is an environmental activist, whereas my focus has always been peace and social justice, I am, at best, a passive supportive environmentalist, so I am not too surprised we have not met. But is this a case of the prophet at home being ignored? I wonder if he gets more attention elsewhere. Read more [...] Comments Off on Legault, Stephen. CARRY TIGER TO MOUNTAIN The Tao of Activism and Leadership. Arsenal Pulp Press. 2006 Vancouver, BC.
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Langley, Billy & Dan Curtis. GOING WITH THE FLOW: Small scale water power. 2004. Centre for Alternative Technology Publications, Wales.
This little book excites me more than the whole heavy stack that PN recently sent me. It is immediate, politically and socially relevant, practical and comprehensive – we need it. Small scale water power - that is.
The price of petroleum increases as the reserves dwindle; wars and coups are planned and executed to ensure the minority world gets what it considers “our oil”, no matter where it is. And those who complain about polluting coal-based energy, also from a non-renewal resource, are told the answer is nuclear which supposedly will Read more [...]
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Kurlansky, Mark. Nonviolence: Twenty-five Lessons from the History of a Dangerous Idea. 2006. Modern Library, Random House, New York, USA.
The kind of pacifism that does not actively combat the war preparations of the government is powerless and will always stay powerless. Albert Einstein
One of the twenty-five lessons tells us that there is no proactive word for non–violence – at least in English and most languages. Another says that the state imagines it is impotent without a military because it cannot conceive of power without force; yet another lesson states that people motivated by fear do not act well. What are we ruled by? In my lifetime our society has always been fear Read more [...]
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Kovel, Joel. The Enemy of Nature: The End of Capitalism or the End of the World? Zed Books London, UK, & New York, USA. 2002.
Kovel, a USA activist-scholar and one of the most original and radical thinkers in that country, has written many thoughtful and challenging books on subjects ranging from Nicaragua to political witch hunting in USA.
The Enemy of Nature, not exactly a cheerful title, is an analysis and action plan to create an ecological socialist society. Although Kovel admits the obstacles to creating such a society are enormous, he says that we really have little alternative. Capitalism has alienated and disconnected us from nature and as Susan Hawthorne Read more [...] Comments Off on Kovel, Joel. The Enemy of Nature: The End of Capitalism or the End of the World? Zed Books London, UK, & New York, USA. 2002.
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Kovel, Joel. OVERCOMING ZIONISM: Creating a Single Democratic State in Israel/Palestine. 2007. Published by Between the Lines. Toronto ON & Pluto Press, USA & UK.
´This book is absolutely fundamental for those who reject the unfortunate confusion between Jews, Judaism, Zionism and the State of Israel –– a confusion which is the basis for systematic manipulation by the imperialist power system. It convincingly argues in favour of a single secular state for Israelis and Palestinians as the only democratic solution for the region.´ Samir Amin, director of the Third World Forum
Joel Kovel is one the most original and creative thinkers in contemporary USA. His previous books range on subjects from racism Read more [...] Comments Off on Kovel, Joel. OVERCOMING ZIONISM: Creating a Single Democratic State in Israel/Palestine. 2007. Published by Between the Lines. Toronto ON & Pluto Press, USA & UK.
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Kovel, Joel. HISTORY and SPIRIT: An Inquiry into the Philosophy of Liberation 1991. Beacon Press. USA.
This is a book I read and reviewed in 1991. I recently re-read it and still find it to be an important and profound work that confronts me with many questions about my journey through life and the society I live in.
History is a concept we can all understand, even though it has shades of meaning. Spirit and spirituality are difficult terms, used loosely in many ways, so Kovel is careful to start the book with his own definitions: spirit, “what happens to us at the as the boundaries of self give way. Or we could say that it is about the ´soul,´ Read more [...]
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Kollwitz, Kathe. PRINTS AND DRAWINGS OF KATHE KOLLWITZ selected by Carl Zigrosser. 1969. Dover Book, General Publishing Co. Toronto, Canada.
When the Cold War was at its most virulent, abstract artists in the USA were funded secretly by their government. The official line was that art is not political. Art classified as ´social realism´ was considered politically suspect if not darn right subversive and communist. So the art of Kollwitz was brushed aside along with Ken Sprague as outdated and unfashionable. This book may be out of print but is well worth looking for; other works about her are also available in English and German. I like this book because it is large format Read more [...] Comments Off on Kollwitz, Kathe. PRINTS AND DRAWINGS OF KATHE KOLLWITZ selected by Carl Zigrosser. 1969. Dover Book, General Publishing Co. Toronto, Canada.
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Kneen, Brewster. Farmageddon: Food and the Culture of Biotechnology. New Society Publishers, Gabriola Island, BC, Canada. 1999.
Personal, scientific, philosophical and moral expose of the chemical industries control of modern agriculture. An elegant and moving writer.
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