Books and Drugs and Rock ‘n Roll
Activist reading and listening for September
Welcome back to Pen in Fist.
I’m excited to get started on the new version of this newsletter, which will bring in other activist writer voices.
From next month subscribers will get two regular features each month:
1st Tuesday: An essay on activism and writing.
3rd Tuesday: An interview with an activist writer, using the Substack podcast feature.
Watch out on Tuesday 17 October for my first guest: London-based freelance journalist Samir Jeraj. I’ll be talking to Samir about how he brings his activist experience to his politically engaged writing on housing, health, work, racial justice and more.
There will still be the occasional list of activist reading and listening, like the one below.
From October I’ll also be adding an optional paid subscription for those who can afford to pitch in a few quid a month to support independent activist writing. Other ways to support:
Subscribe for free.
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Thanks and happy reading.
Crackdown
This podcast on “the drug war, covered by drug users” comes out of Vancouver, a city that has been the site of some of the worst consequences of the so-called opioid crisis. Host Garth Mullens has been doing drugs and drug-user advocacy for decades, and is a member of the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users, which opposes the criminalisation of people who use drugs and supports harm reduction. Crackdown features a series of interviews and reports on key issues related to drug use, health and the law, always centring people who use drugs, challenging stereotypes about who uses, and centring anti-racism, feminism and workers’ rights. An important, political and compassionate intervention into an urgent issue.
Alicia Kennedy, No Meat Required
has been cooking and writing about vegan food for years. Here’s an excerpt from her first book, which examines some of the challenges – and rewards – of a plant-based diet in the midst of a climate crisis and a consumerist culture full of contradictions. “To eat plants is to be open to the world”. Amen.Plant-Based Universities, UK
In other no-meat-required news, hundreds of academics, researchers, alumni and others have signed an open letter calling for all universities in the UK to go plant-based to help combat climate change. About time.
Knowing Animals: In Memory of Siobahn O’Sullivan
Knowing Animals is a regular podcast out of Australia about all things human-animal: ethics, research, relationships. It was founded in 2015 by animal studies scholar Siobahn O’Sullivan, a specialist in animal welfare, work and environmental ethics who died earlier this year. Episode 217 features an interview with O’Sullivan conducted by Clare McCausland. The podcast continues with host and fellow animal studies scholar Josh Millburn.
Amelia Possanza, Lesbian Love Story
A friend recommended this book, which tells the stories of seven lesbians and their lovers, companions and communities from the late nineteenth to the late twentieth century (with Sappho snuck into the middle for good measure). Possanza’s prose is lovely and loving, and she draws on a compelling combination of archival research––including women’s diaries and letters––and her own imagination to craft a moving queer history. As a historian, for decades I followed debates about how to interpret the limited but tantalising evidence of women’s past passionate and romantic relationships, and it’s interesting to see how a non-academic historian of lesbian relationships tackles this question. Possanza weighs the arguments, considers the possible meanings of silence and absence in the archives, and comes out on the side of desire and fantasy: “Just as these historical figures had to invent new blueprints for how they loved as lesbians, I have invented entire scenes, moments that are absent and inaccessible, the very ones I crave.” A joyful read.
Kim TallBear on Indigenous Citizenship in the Academy
This is an important read on the phenomenon of Pretendians (people falsely claiming to have Indigenous heritage, or to belong to Indigenous communities that don’t recognise them, often in order to advance their studies or careers) in universities in Canada and the United States. There’s lot written on this issue, and
– originally given as an invited lecture at the First Nations University of Canada Second National Indigenous Citizenship Forum – covers a lot of ground. As a white citizen of Canada I found her critique of the terms “identity” and “Indigenous” particularly insightful and challenging. TallBear’s observation that Indigenous women are doing the bulk of the labour of trying to deal with false claims to Indigenous/Native status is an urgent reminder of the enormous power imbalances at play in these cases.Robbie Robertson
By way of an antidote to the narcissism of opportunistic identity theft: some classic listening from The Band, in memory of their songwriter and guitarist Robbie Robertson who died in August. Rest in Power.
Pen in Fist is written by me, Carrie Lou Hamilton. You can find my other writing and projects here. You can support my writing further by buying my book or getting me a virtual coffee.
Great list—thanks! Love Robbie Robertson...