Editor's Blog
Sam Diener, editor of Peacework Magazine, muses on global thought and local action. He will also highlight the online musings of the authors of Peacework Magazine. Please read the guidelines of Peacework's blogs and forums to participate in the discussion.
by Sam Diener, Peacework Co-Editor
In the July-August 2007 issue of Peacework, 13 authors answered the question, "What work of poetry or fiction changed your life?"
Now it's your turn. Please respond in the comment box by commenting at the bottom of the page.
Please either comment on the works and perspectives presented in the articles linked to below (e.g. how did Whitman affect you?) OR
Please describe your experience of a work of fiction or poetry
which transformed your political/social consciousness or motivated
you to take action on an issue. Maybe it helped change your mind about something, or started you on a new path. Mabye it didn't shift your opinion, but it inspired you to act on your beliefs, or helps you sustain your activism. In any case, we'd like to hear from you. More below the fold...
These are some additional questions I asked of the authors above (but also feel free to use this theme and go in a different
direction):
What was it about the work of literature which moved you? How did you
feel, and what was your thought process like, as you read it? How did
you internalize or process the experience afterwards? What did you do
with these feelings, insights, and new awareness? How has it informed
your work since? Have you read the work again and had a different
impression of it? Have you shared the work with others, and if so,
how? How have you and how might educator-activists incorporate this
work of literature into workshops, classes, or other forms of
consciousness-deepening dialogue?
You might want to describe the work in question
somewhat, particularly if it's not well known.
Works in this Activist Forum:
Woman-Loving Words
on feminist poetry
Struggling to Change Perspective
on Ani DiFranco
Let's Talk
on India.Arie
Don't Read this Alone
on Crime and Punishment and War and Peace
Drums of... Peace?
on Walt Whitman
Unhistoric Acts
on Middlemarch
That Radical School
on Native Son
Learning to Read
on Erich Fried
Father Figure
on To Kill a Mockingbird
Crafting Violence into Art
on The Things They Carried
Violence is a Choice We Can Refuse
on Herzog
Siddhartha: Contradictions and Enlightenment
on Siddhartha
Editorial: Summer Reading Issue
by Sam Diener on A Door Into Ocean
Also, please see a sample of responses to a similar question about movies.
Commenting Moderation Now On to Prevent Spam
Hello friends,
Some of you may have visited this site earlier, only to find spam comments for drugs and pornography cluttering up the site. We have now turned Capcha and moderation on to prevent these kinds of postings from stopping our dialogue. If you have any accessibility difficulties with Capcha, please email me at pwork(at)igc.org.
In Peace,
Sam Diener
Peacework Co-Editor
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