October 2022 News
It's about time to pay tribute to New Village Press interns who are a stellar force in our publicity, social media, manuscript review, and book events. Clockwise from left are the fall team of Barnard and Columbia students: Sofia Reecer, Sophie Craig, Suzanna Lathrum, and Lauren Oberwager. They've got their hands full this month with author events including five major programs on October 6th!
News for Recent Titles
Inherited Silence

Louise Dunlap reveals the thought provoking story of her own family, colonizers in the land of California's Napa Valley

​​Inherited Silence brings readers to California’s Napa Valley, where author Louise Dunlap’s ancestors were among the first Europeans to claim ownership of traditional lands of the Wappo people during a period of genocide. Dunlap looks back into California’s and America’s history for the key to her ancestors' silences and a way to heal the wounds of the land, its original people, and the harmful mind of the colonizer. Inherited Silence offers a way for readers to evaluate their own life actions and the lasting impact they can have on society and our planet.

Paperback, 240 pages, 10 b/w illustrations
“In this bold and moving love letter to the land, Louise Dunlap breaks twelve generations of silence. A keen learner from Indigenous peoples and from the land she loves, Dunlap charts out a path toward rehumanization and healing.”
—Christine Sleeter, Professor Emerita, California State University Monterey Bay; author of Family History in Black and White
Inherited Silence Events
Thursday, October 6, 6:30–8:30 pm ET; 3:30–5:30 PT
The Alliance for Ecotherapy & Social Justice will host a virtual book talk and ceremonial dialogue event with author Louise Dunlap. Learn more and register here.
The Book of Judith

An homage to the life of poet, writer, and teaching artist Judith Tannenbaum and her impact on incarcerated and marginalized students

The Book of Judith: Opening Hearts Through Poetry honors the late Judith Tannenbaum and pays tribute to different aspects of Judith—poet, teaching artist, friend, mentor, colleague—through a collection of original poetry, prose, essay, illustration, and fiction from 33 contributors. In so doing, it echoes Judith's own determination to perceive contradiction without judgment. For the next generation of teaching artists in corrections and elsewhere, the book serves as an inspiration on the qualities needed to survive and thrive in a multi-faceted, ever-changing environment.

Paperback, 224 pages, 5 b/w illustrations
"The ecosystem left in Judith Tannenbaum's wake is a colorful network of creative minds, burning hearts, and artists who walk through walls, literally and metaphorically. Judith set the path for many of us working in prisons—her legacy is a gift, inspiration, and teacher."
—Caits Meissner, writer and Director of Prison and Justice Writing, PEN America
The Book of Judith Events
Thursday, October 6, 8:00–9:00 PM ET

The Justice Arts Coalition will offer a lively online program with introductions by Wendy Jason, Spoon Jackson, and Lynne Elizabeth and featuring readings by contributors Allie Horevitz, Fury Young, and devorah major, as well as conversations to honor Judith Tannenbaum and the publication of The Book of Judith. Learn more and register here.
Thursday, October 27, 8:00 PM EST

Save the date! PEN America will host a virtual event for The Book of Judith, with Caits Meissner in conversation with Spoon Jackson and other contributors. More information to come on our upcoming events page.
The Book of Judith in the Media
The Book of Judith highlighted by the Justice Arts Coalition
The Justice Arts Coalition has published a heartfelt article on The Book of Judith, which includes contributions from Wendy Jason, the Coalition's founder, and Spoon Jackson, another Coalition member. Read the full article here.
Die Jim Crow Records on The Book of Judith
DJC Records honored the launch of The Book of Judith with an illustrated tribute to Judith Tannenbaum by DJC's founder, Fury Young, who considered Judith a mentor. The DJC blog also presented Fury's essay from the book on Judith's legacy in his eyes, "Imaginary Landscapes." Read it here.

Five compelling essays and fifty stunning portraits and profiles of American environmental activists

This second volume in the Americans Who Tell the Truth book series is a collection of environmental and climate activists whose remarkable color portraits were painted by artist Robert Shetterly. The crisis of climate change and environmental degradation is the greatest crisis humanity has ever confronted, and the people in this book diagnose the truth of the problem and point a way forward. Besides the inspiring portraits, seminal quotes, and profiles, the book features original essays by Bill McKibben, Leah Penniman, Diane Wilson, Robin Wall Kimmerer, and Bill Bigelow, as well as Robert Shetterly's moving preface.

Hardcover, 128 pages, 51 color illustrations
Portraits of Earth Justice illuminates the humanity of forward-thinking advocates taking critical bold actions on the challenge of our lifetime: the climate crisis. At a time when democracy and the very life support systems of humanity are threatened, let these beautiful faces and works inspire you to keep rising up, or rise up for the first time, to preserve our rights and this beautiful and sustaining planet for all of our children and future generations.
 —Julia Olson, Executive Director and Chief Legal Counsel, Our Children’s Trust
Portraits of Earth Justice Events
Thursday, October 6, 6:30–8:30 PM ET
Doors will open at 6:00 for an exhibition of portraits by Robert Shetterly

Blue Hill Books will host an in-person book launch event at The Bay School led by artist, activist, and author Robert Shetterly, who will be in conversation with renowned activists Steven Donziger, Florence Reed, Tim DeChristopher, and Sherri Mitchell, all of whom are portrayed in Portraits of Earth Justice and Portraits of Racial Justice.
Location: Emlen Hall at The Bay School
17 Bay School Drive, Blue Hill, Maine, 04614
Thursday, October 27, 7:00–9:00 PM ET

Robert Shetterly will give an in-person artist talk at ArtRage Gallery in Syracuse, New York. This event is in conjunction with two of ArtRage's current exhibitions—one that features portraits from Shetterly's Americans Who Tell The Truth series, and another that highlights local earth justice activists.
Location: ArtRage Gallery, 505 Hawley Avenue, Syracuse, NY 13203
Portraits of Earth Justice in the Media
Portraits of Earth Justice excerpt in LitHub
Literary Hub has republished "How the Myth of Human Exceptionalism Cut Us Off From Nature," an essay by Robin Wall Kimmerer excerpted from Portraits of Earth Justice. Kimmerer explores the concept of "species loneliness"—the idea that humans "suffer a deep estrangement from the other beings on the planet." Read her essay here.
Selected Americans Who Tell the Truth portraits featured by Orion magazine
Orion magazine has recently republished a number of Robert Shetterly's Americans Who Tell the Truth portraits from Portraits of Earth Justice. View the visual excerpt here!
Truth Tellers Screenings with Robert Shetterly
MYSTIC FILM FESTIVAL
October 24 – October 30, 2022
Truth Tellers is an official selection at this year's Mystic Film Festival in Connecticut. Tickets will be on sale soon here.

SUFFOLK UNIVERSITY
Thursday, October 13, 6:00–8:00 PM ET
An in-person screening of the film at the university's Modern Theatre in Boston will be followed by a discussion with Robert Shetterly and a book signing. More information here.
Americans Who Tell the Truth – Exhibitions
Portraits of Courage – EXHIBITION
September 9 – December 11, 2022
Museum of Art - DeLand
600 N. Woodland Blvd, DeLand, Florida

More details here.
Without Courage There Are No Other Virtues – EXHIBITION
September 10 – October 29, 2022
Art Rage Gallery
505 Hawley Avenue, Syracuse, NY 13203

ArtRage Gallery in Syracuse welcomes back Robert Shetterly with this exhibition of twenty portraits not previously exhibited in their space. Dik Cool, the president of Syracuse Cultural Workers, and Rose Viviano, now Gallery Director, founded ArtRage Gallery with its unique mission to exhibit art for social change.
Other Exhibitions of Note
September 28 – October 28
University of Washington, Seattle

In conjunction with the University of Washington exhibit there will be multiple events including a conference:
GI and Veteran Resistance in the PNW
October 6, 9:30am – 5pm in HUB 332
September 6 – December 3
University of New Mexico Art Galleries

The show revisits the 1984 Artists Call, curated by Erina Duganne and Abigail Satinsky, and features the collective Reconstructed Codex from Sabra Moore's NYC Women’s Art Movement Collection at Barnard College and Renew, an artwork Sabra made for Reconstruction Project.
Other October Events
"Changing the Paradigm: Marking a Surface, Marking the Society"
Thursday, October 6, 7pm EST

The University of Maine will host a hybrid in-person and virtual talk by Divining Chaos author Aviva Rahmani as part of their Art & Creative Ecologies series.
Location: University of Maine, IMRC Center
101 Stewart Commons, Orono, ME 04469
Zoom registration is also available.
Saturday, October 15, 2pm EST
The American Labor Museum (virtual)

In honor of National Arts and Humanities Month, the American Labor Museum is hosting a virtual book talk with Edvige Guinta, Mary Anne Trasciatti, editors, and May Chen, Michele Fazio and Annie Schneiderman Valliere, authors of Talking to the Girls: Intimate and Political Essays on the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. Learn more and register.
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Books and Authors in the Media
Ecoart in Action contributor Mary Mattingly in the New York Times
The New York Times Style Magazine has run a feature on ecoartist Mary Mattingly, contributing author to Ecoart in Action! The article explores how Mattingly's projects address current and future urban and environmental crises, and gives deeper insight into her life. Read the full article here.
Review of Placemaking with Children and Youth in Children's Geographies
We commend Barry Percy-Smith's insightful review of Placemaking with Children and Youth for the scholarly journal Children's Geographies. Percy-Smith writes, "What is really special about this text is its ethos rooted in extensive project work with children, but reflecting a humility and humanity in appreciating the valuable contribution they are able to make, an openness to learning and strength of belief in these approaches."
Tipping Point for Green Schoolyards!
Green Schoolyards America held a launch webinar for the new California Schoolyard Forest System, an initiative they created with the California Dept of Education, the California Dept of Forestry and Fire Protection, and the nonprofit Ten Strands. California also passed $150 million in the state budget for GREEN SCHOOLYARDS, so many schools will be looking for resources like Sharon Danks' seminal and comprehensive book—Asphalt to Ecosystems: Design Ideas for Schoolyard Transformation. Learn more at greenschoolyards.org (under forests tab.)

And… on the federal level, we are thrilled to announce the Living Schoolyard Act of 2022, which Sharon Danks worked closely on with the office of Senator Heinrich of New Mexico! Here’s the news release about it. (Sharon is quoted!) Brava, Sharon Danks!!

See our additional resources for eco-educators below:
New Recordings of Authors
Aviva Rahmani on Savage Minds Podcast
Divining Chaos author Aviva Rahmani discussed the new book on the podcast Savage Minds this week. Rahmani's interview touches on a multitude of ecoart related topics, including what differentiates ecoart from land art. Listen to the full episode here.
Mary Anne Trasciatti at the Ethical Culture Society
Don't miss Mary Anne Traciatti's rousing lecture for the Ethical Culture Society of New York on the legacy of the Triangle Shirtwaist fire and the continuing fight for labor rights. She is a labor rights scholar and the coeditor of Talking to the Girls. Watch here.
Forthcoming Titles!
In the Camp of Angels of Freedom:
What Does It Mean to Be Educated?

Through her evocative paintings and narrative, author Arlene Goldbard has portrayed eleven people whose work most influenced her—what she calls a Camp of Angels. She sees each as a brave messenger of love and freedom for a society that badly needs “uncolonized minds.” Readers will learn about the author’s own self education, issues of formal higher education and its discontents, and the damage done by a society that prizes profits over people. Goldbard asks readers to consider the impact of credentialism on U.S. society and what we can do to set it right.

January 24, 2023. Original Paperback, 224 pages, 15 color illustrations
"I now know what it means to be educated in Arlene Goldbard’s In the Camp of Angels of Freedom. It is a story circle of gentle radical thinking that celebrates clear sight and truth-based compassion. I discovered more of my own story in its embrace, and my courage grew on every page. This book inspires and empowers with the forthrightness of the telling and the beauty of the stories told. Arlene is a master artist in the medium of the possible."
— Eric Booth, Founder, International Teaching Artist Collaborative, author of Tending the Perennials: The Art and Spirit of a Personal Religion and six other books
Art in a Democracy: Selected Plays of Roadside Theater, Volume 1: The Appalachian History Plays, 1975–1989
Edited by Ben Fink
March 14, 2023
Art in a Democracy: Selected Plays of Roadside Theater, Volume 2: The Intercultural Plays,
1990–2020
Edited by Ben Fink
March 14, 2023