July 2020 News

Dear Friends,   The pandemic has shown dramatically the importance of anticipating what might happen and being prepared. Ensuring that knowledgeable people and key resources are at hand has proven critical. It may likewise be crucial that we educate ourselves and understand what needs attention, before we can respond intelligently to grave injustices. The myriad social and economic inequities of our communities demand we be ready for necessary change.   May we have the wisdom to listen to those who have been wronged and silenced and to those committed to healing community injustices. May we go out of our way to truly and creatively engage all stakeholders in imagining the alternatives we want and need.   In community, Lynne

Margaret Randall - My Life in 100 Objects

New Village Press is honored to be publishing an illustrated and unique memoir by revered poet, essayist, and activist Margaret Randall— My Life in 100 Objects. Her lovely color book will be released in September, and is available for preorder now. Using objects and photographs as launching points, Randall reflects on the experiences and relationships that shaped her passionate life and work. "Like a cabinet of curiosities, Margaret Randall’s beloved objects and places form a record of adventure, inquisitiveness, and inexhaustible love of the world. I am grateful for this book." —Mary Louise Pratt, Author of Imperial Eyes

Kirkus Revie w of My Life in 100 Objects “Randall’s hope was to show us ‘how the objects and places that move us breathe their life into ours.’ In this, she certainly succeeds.” Image is a portrait of Margaret Randall by Elaine de Kooning, the 19th object featured in her memoir.

Mindy Thompson Fullilove Updates

Conversations on the City Recording Dr. Mindy Fullilove, author of four New Village Press books , discusses equity with Gregory Wessner, executive director of Open House New York. In this conversation, Dr. Fullilove describes how broken connections between different sections of cities harm public health. She examines this topic in more detail in her forthcoming book Main Street: How a City's Heart Connects Us All .

In Main Street , Dr. Fullilove pulls from over a decade of research on 178 cities to explain how city centers contribute to the mental health and resiliency of communities. "This is as much a guide for the perplexed (or depressed) as it is an astonishing study of the built environment and its effects on our health, communities, politics—and our future."  —Mara Spiegel, Co-Director, The Division of Narrative Medicine, Columbia University

Countdown to Main Street Blog In her blog, Dr. Fullilove writes about racial inequality and managing mental health during the pandemic.

Poor People's M oral Agenda Dr. Fullilove joined the Poor People’s Campaign’s Moral March on Washington, where they presented a policy platform to end systemic racism and more.

From Enforcers to Guardians Excerpt Center NYC published a chapter from the book Dr. Fullilove coauthored with Hannah Cooper about ending police violence.

U of Orange Honors Ernest Thompson

The University of Orange popular education center recognized Juneteenth with quotes from labor organizer Ernest Thompson, a master of coalition building and the coauthor of Homeboy Came to Orange: A Story of People's Power . See their social media post. Follow University of Orange on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram .

Waging Peace in Vietnam 30% Off

Now through the end of July, use discount code PEACE30 at checkout when you buy the book from NYU Press. “ Waging Peace in Vietnam presents unassailable evidence of the power and reach of the anti-war movement among GIs and veterans during the American War in Vietnam. Its publication could not be more timely.”—Carolyn Forché, Author of What You Have Heard is True: A Memoir of Witness and Resistance

Can’t see the Waging Peace in Vietnam exhibit in person? Watch virtual walkthroughs of the US and Vietnam exhibits here.

Ron Carver essay reflects on lynchings, past and present Ron Carver, co-editor of Waging Peace in Vietnam , published an article in Other Words reflecting on the history of violence against black people and calling for justice. "From the late 19th century to today, cops have been given impunity, if not encouragement, to take out their aggression on black people—especially when they protest their mistreatment."

Spoon Jackson Updates

Pen America published work by incarcerated poet Spoon Jackson in the sixth volume of Temperature Check . Spoon is the co-author of By Heart: Poetry, Prison and Two Lives. Read Spoon’s poem “SAG” in their Speaking Truth to Power Through Poetry section.

Spoon’s poem “Nowhere But Barstow and Prison” has been released in The Prison Music Project’s album Long Time Gone on Ani DiFranco's label Righteous Babe.  See what reviewers are saying in Gambit and the Los Angeles Times .

You can purchase Long Time Gone with a copy of By Heart here. Proceeds go to communities impacted by mass incarceration.

Nadina LaSpina in Authority Magazine

Authority Magazine interviewed Nadina LaSpina, author of Such a Pretty Girl: A Story of Struggle, Empowerment, and Disability Pride on her impact on the disability rights movement. “I feel my life was saved by reaching out to other disabled people, by sharing and comparing stories and ideas, and realizing that what made us unhappy was not disability, but the way we're treated because of our disabilities.” Read the full interview.

Learn more about Nadina LaSpina’s journey to activism in Such a Pretty Girl , now available as an audiobook .

Placemaking with Children and Youth

A new review of Placemaking with Children and Youth: Participatory Practices for Planning Sustainable Communities by Victoria Derr, Louise Chawla, and Mara Mintzer was published in Children, Youth, and Environments . “This is a rich resource for those interested in exploring young people’s perspectives on their communities, based on several years of rigorous academic and practice-based research.”— Jackie Bourke Read the full review.

Louise Chawla and Mara Mintzer contribute to new anthology Mara Mintzer and Louise Chawla both contributed chapters to a new book on youth inclusion in designing public spaces: The Routledge Handbook of Designing Public Spaces for Young People: Processes, Practices and Policies for Youth Inclusion .

More from Our Authors

Resource on outdoor learning from Green Schoolyards America How can schools reopen with physical distancing measures in place? Use school grounds and local parks as a resource, and teach outside! Check out this new web page. The founder of Green Schoolyards America is Sharon Gamson Danks, author of Asphalt to Ecosystems: Design Ideas for Schoolyard Transformation .

Nasser Rahmaninejad's memoir A Man of the Theater: Survival as an Artist in Iran describes his theater career and political repression in Iran during two great revolutions in the country's history.

In Visitors: An American Feminist in East-Central Europe , feminist scholar and activist Ann Snitow describes her adventures organizing a feminist movement in Eastern Europe during the post-communism rise of the Right.

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