What a delightful crew we had this summer! It was hard to say goodbye to interns Sayuri Govender (Barnard), Claire Brown (Barnard), Sofia Matson (Columbia), and Sofia Donohue (Fordham), who have returned to fall semesters. Shayla Mensink (middle in white like me, Lynne, left) is now a Fordham graduate and our invaluable apprentice—she's been coordinating publicity and events while completing her undergraduate studies. Not pictured are our new fall interns, Tyler Martinez (Hunter) and Skye Ferris (Barnard). As her first project, Skye has edited and assembled this newsletter! I can never fully express how much I appreciate our brilliant interns, but it is high time to make a public thank you to every intern who has served New Village Press over the past nineteen years! May all find this fall fulfilling. | |
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See Me
Prison Theater Workshops and Love
Jan Cohen-Cruz
with Finn K, Ausettua Amor Amenkum, Alexander Anderson, John Bergman, Kevin Bott, Reginold Daniels, George Ferguson, Rand Hazou, Saul Hewish, Kathy Randels,
Jess Thorpe, and Gloria “Mama Glo” Williams
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We are thrilled to announce the arrival of See Me, an eye-opening collection of intimate dialogues about prison theater workshops. Each chapter reveals a collaboration between two or three people who connected profoundly in the temporary community that a workshop can create. Part I is an exchange grounded in the prison theater workshop between the author and an incarcerated participant. They alternately tell the story of what they found in the workshop, each other, the future they imagined together, and the social turmoil and utopian aspirations of the times. The chapters of Part II are contributed by eleven others impacted by close relationships spawned in diverse in-prison and re-entry theater workshops.
Running through all the essays is the significance of love and being fully seen by at least one other person—what Martin Buber calls the I/Thou relationship—in the context of collaboration.
Original Paperback, 232 pages, Indexed,
6 x 9 in, 12 b/w images
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Praise for See Me
“As a professional Prison Arts Practitioner, with a career spanning 40+ years of working intimately from the center of marginalized communities that society often labels as outcasts, outlaws, and outsiders, I discovered myself and my work within the pages by Jan Cohen-Cruz and her cohort of collaborative authors in their stunning book, See Me: Prison Theater Workshops and Love.”
— Curt L. Tofteland, Founder, Shakespeare Behind Bars
“This book is important because it is made up of stories by and about incarcerated people ... It will be an inspiration not only for people currently and formerly imprisoned but also for families and communities—because when you can tell your story it means that you have been able to work through some of the root causes that contributed to your incarceration and are now ready to have an impact on changing an unjust system.”
— Cheryl Wilkins, Co-Founder and Co-Director, Columbia University’s Center for Justice
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Jan Cohen-Cruz is an author, educator, and practitioner of community-based performance art. She served as director of Imagining America from 2007–2012 and was also director of field research for A Blade of Grass. Cohen-Cruz writes on the work of performance artists who address social issues. Grounded in the resistant theater of the late 60s and early 70s, she was a member of the NYC Street Theater/Jonah Project and has been a freelance practitioner of the techniques of Augusto Boal since bringing him to the U.S. in 1989. After receiving her PhD in Performance Studies at NYU, she taught in the Drama Department for 28 years, and now continues to teach at and collaborate with several New York institutions. | |
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See Me events with Jan Cohen-Cruz
Prison Theater: A Community Dialogue
Emerson College, 80 Boylston Street, Boston, MA
Friday, September 20, 4:30–6:00 pm
Editor and coauthor, Jan Cohen-Cruz, will discuss See Me and then facilitate a conversation about the impact of the arts in carceral spaces. Hosted by the Theatre Education & Applied Theatre Graduate Programs at Emerson College. Reserve a free seat HERE.
The presentation portion of the Emerson College event will be live streamed on HowlRound, 4:30–5:00 pm on Friday Sept 20th. Join the livestream HERE.
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Reading and Book Signing at Labyrinth Books
Labyrinth Books, 122 Nassau Street, Princeton, NJ
Monday, October 7, 6:00–7:00 pm
Jan Cohen-Cruz will share from her new book, See Me, in an event hosted by Labyrinth Books and co-sponsored by five Princeton University programs. More information HERE.
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October 21–29, Jan will take See Me on a UK tour of London, Warwick, Manchester, and Glasgow! Details to come in our October newsletter and Events page of our website.
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Americans Who Tell the Truth exhibition
The Center at Belvedere, Charlottesville, VA
Through September 21
The Center at Belvedere will be exhibiting 20 portraits by artist Robert Shetterly of Americans Who Tell the Truth. Shetterly is the author of Portraits of Racial Justice, Portraits of Earth Justice and the forthcoming Portraits of Peacemakers. More about the exhibit HERE.
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Robert Shetterly to be special guest at five Charlottesville events | |
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Making a Movement Talk
The Center at Belvedere, Charlottesville, VA
Wednesday, September 18, 6:00 pm
Thursday, September 19, 1:30 pm
Robert Shetterly tells his own story about the development of his powerful portrait series, Americans Who Tell the Truth. Reserve a free seat HERE.
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Show Us Who You Are Workshop
The Center at Belvedere, Charlottesville, VA
Thursday, September 19, 5:30–7:30 pm
Participants will create self-portraits and write companion narratives about an event, person, and/or belief that helped them become who they are today. Free reservations HERE.
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Truth Tellers Film Screening
The Center at Belvedere, Charlottesville, VA
Wednesday, September 18, 4:30–6:00 pm
Saturday, September 21, 12:00–2:00 pm
Join Robert Shetterly at the The Center at Belvedere for the screening of Truth Tellers, a feature-length documentary about Shetterly's work. Reserve a free seat for Wednesday HERE and for Saturday HERE.
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Doug Rawlings Portrait Unveiling
Social and Political Action Tent, Common Ground Fair, Unity, Maine
Saturday, September 21, 3–4 pm
Artist and author Robert Shetterly will unveil his 275th Americans Who Tell the Truth portrait – of Vietnam veteran/peace activist/poet Doug Rawlings – at the 2024 Common Ground Fair. Rawlings and Shetterly will share stories, art and poetry. More information HERE.
| Portraits of Peacemakers, the third volume in the
Americans Who Tell the Truth Series book series, comes out October 8th! | |
Americans Who Tell The Truth Workshop with John Hunter
Emlen Hall at The Bay School, 17 Bay School Drive, Blue Hill, Maine
Wednesday, October 9, 3:30–5:15 pm
Join World Peace Game creator and educator John Hunter for an open discussion about the four universal principles behind the World Peace Game’s philosophy. Learn how they apply to teaching in any setting for the ultimate outcome of compassionate teaching and learning.
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Portraits of Peacemakers – Book Launch!
Emlen Hall at The Bay School, 17 Bay School Dr, Blue Hill, Maine
Wednesday, October 9, 7:00 pm
Celebrating Robert Shetterly's newest book featuring portraits, biographies, and essays by peacemakers from Americans Who Tell the Truth.
This is a free event hosted by Blue Hill Books. All are welcome.
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Listening to the Land Event with Louise Dunlap
Zoom
Sunday, September 22nd, 2–5 pm EST
Join Louise Dunlap, author of Inherited Silence: Listening to the Land, Healing the colonizer Mind, in conversation with Aravinda Ananda as they discuss practices for healing and transformation.
Register for the event HERE.
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Muriel Fox to speak at
Smith College
Seelye Hall 201, 2 Seelye Dr #1, Northampton, MA
Thursday, September 26,
7:00–8:15 pm
Smith College Program for the Study of Women and Gender will present an in-person reading from The Women's Revolution and Q&A with Muriel Fox.
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Free, wheelchair accessible, and open to the public.
For disability access information or accommodations requests, call 413-585-2407.
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ENJOY 20% OFF
purchases through our distributor.
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Enter code
PEACE20 at checkout.
Valid on all New Village Press titles
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Breena Clarke reviews Merideth M. Taylor’s Making a Way Out of No Way
“The enslaved individuals in the text see and feel the world around them, appreciate its beauty, and understand its many horrors. Each narrative is framed separately from the story preceding or following. The cumulative effect completes a panoramic portrait like a patchwork quilt or a museum installation.”
Read the review HERE. Get Merideth Taylor's book HERE.
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PEN America on The Book of Judith
PEN America shares selections from The Book of Judith: Opening Hearts Through Poetry, including contributions from Judith and three of Judith Tannenbaum’s former students: Elmo Chattman, Jr., Boston Woodward, and Spoon Jackson. Read the article HERE.
The Book of Judith honors the legacy of the beloved late poet Judith Tannenbaum who taught writing in prisons and with youth. Judith also guided arts in corrections programs in California and beyond.
Get The Book of Judith HERE.
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Muriel Fox on 51% Radio
Author Muriel Fox spoke with host Jesse King about her new memoir, The Women's Revolution.
“Hundreds of thousands of women and men began to say ‘Yes, this revolution is long-overdue’ and each of them worked and fought against what made them mad.”
Listen to the segment HERE. Get Muriel Fox's memoir HERE.
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The Trumpeter: Journal of Ecosophy
Ivis Garcia reviews Louise Dunlap’s Inherited Silence: Listening to the Land, Healing the Colonizer Mind
“A heartfelt exploration of the historical harm caused by colonization, with a focus on Dunlap's Californian roots. Through a blend of personal experiences and broader themes such as climate change, resource wars, and genocide, Dunlap offers insight into the trauma caused by colonization and suggests self-healing strategies for descendants.”
Read the review HERE. Get Louise Dunlap's book HERE.
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Portraits of Peacemakers
Americans Who Tell the Truth
Robert Shetterly
October 8, 2024
Essays, portraits, and profiles of over 50 peace activists who resist violence and act with love
"The essays in this book offer diverse perspectives and strategies from some of the most important peacemakers of our time, providing us with necessary guidance for moving through this time of deep upheaval and transition. Additionally, the portraits of peacemakers across time calmly remind us that peace is not something to be achieved, it is a state of being that travels alongside us.”
—Sherri Mitchell, Weh'na Ha'mu Kwasset, author of Sacred Instructions: Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change
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Creative Instigation
The Art and Strategy of Authentic Community Engagement
Fern Tiger
October 22, 2024
Case stories in effective community engagement with democratic policy-making
“Fern Tiger’s concept of creative instigation opens doors for effective community engagement that honors the voices of those often omitted from public policy conversations. Through case studies, she provides principles and lessons while simultaneously recognizing the importance of specific contexts.”
—Theresa Cordova, Director Great Cities Institute, University of Illinois Chicago
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Inspired and Outraged
The Making of a Feminist Physician
Alice Rothchild
November, 11 2024
A stunning autobiography—in free verse—of Rothchild's journey from 1950's good girl to feisty, feminist obstetrician-gynecologist forging her own direction in the sexist world of medicine
“This remarkable memoir depicts so eloquently the many challenges facing women going into medicine both back in the 1970s as well as more recently. It will surely inspire both young and old to speak truth to power as we seek to preserve our fragile democratic institutions.”
—Judy Norsigian and Jane Pincus, co-founders of Our Bodies Ourselves
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