Overcoming Speechlessness

Overcoming Speechlessness PDF

Author: Alice Walker

Publisher: Seven Stories Press

Published: 2011-01-04

Total Pages: 82

ISBN-13: 1609800788

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In 2006, Alice Walker, working with Women for Women International, visited Rwanda and the eastern Congo to witness the aftermath of the genocide in Kigali. Invited by Code Pink, an antiwar group working to end the Iraq War, Walker traveled to Palestine/Israel three years later to view the devastation on the Gaza Strip. Here is her testimony. Bearing witness to the depravity and cruelty, she presents the stories of the individuals who crossed her path and shared their tales of suffering and courage. Part of what has happened to human beings over the last century, she believes, is that we have been rendered speechless by unusually barbaric behavior that devalues human life. We have no words to describe what we witness. Self-imposed silence has slowed our response to the plight of those who most need us, often women and children, but also men of conscience who resist evil but are outnumbered by those around them who have fallen victim to a belief in weapons, male or ethnic dominance, and greed.

All Things Censored

All Things Censored PDF

Author: Mumia Abu-Jamal

Publisher: Seven Stories Press

Published: 2001-06-05

Total Pages: 340

ISBN-13: 9781583220764

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More than 75 essays—many freshly composed by Mumia with the cartridge of a ball-point pen, the only implement he is allowed in his death-row cell—embody the calm and powerful words of humanity spoken by a man on Death Row. Abu-Jamal writes on many different topics, including the ironies that abound within the U.S. prison system and the consequences of those ironies, and his own case. Mumia's composure, humor, and connection to the living world around him represents an irrefutable victory over the "corrections" system that has for two decades sought to isolate and silence him. The title, All Things Censored, refers to Mumia's hiring as an on-air columnist by National Public Radio's "All Things Considered," and subsequent banning from that venue under pressure from law and order groups.

The Color Purple

The Color Purple PDF

Author: Alice Walker

Publisher: Open Road Media

Published: 2011-09-20

Total Pages: 299

ISBN-13: 1453223975

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The Pulitzer Prize– and National Book Award–winning novel is now a new, boldly reimagined film from producers Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg, starring Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, and Fantasia Barrino. A PBS Great American Read Top 100 Pick Celie has grown up poor in rural Georgia, despised by the society around her and abused by her own family. She strives to protect her sister, Nettie, from a similar fate, and while Nettie escapes to a new life as a missionary in Africa, Celie is left behind without her best friend and confidante, married off to an older suitor, and sentenced to a life alone with a harsh and brutal husband. In an attempt to transcend a life that often seems too much to bear, Celie begins writing letters directly to God. The letters, spanning 20 years, record a journey of self-discovery and empowerment guided by the light of a few strong women. She meets Shug Avery, her husband’s mistress and a jazz singer with a zest for life, and her stepson’s wife, Sofia, who challenges her to fight for independence. And though the many letters from Celie’s sister are hidden by her husband, Nettie’s unwavering support will prove to be the most breathtaking of all. The Color Purple has sold more than five million copies, inspired an Academy Award-nominated film starring Oprah Winfrey and directed by Steven Spielberg, and been adapted into a Tony-winning Broadway musical. Lauded as a literary masterpiece, this is the groundbreaking novel that placed Walker “in the company of Faulkner” (The Nation), and remains a wrenching—yet intensely uplifting—experience for new generations of readers. This ebook features a new introduction written by the author on the 25th anniversary of publication, and an illustrated biography of Alice Walker including rare photos from the author’s personal collection. The Color Purple is the 1st book in the Color Purple Collection, which also includes The Temple of My Familiar and Possessing the Secret of Joy.

Now Is the Time to Open Your Heart

Now Is the Time to Open Your Heart PDF

Author: Alice Walker

Publisher: Random House

Published: 2004-04-20

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13: 1588363961

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The Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Color Purple, Possessing the Secret of Joy, and The Temple of My Familiar now gives us a beautiful new novel that is at once a deeply moving personal story and a powerful spiritual journey. In Now Is the Time to Open Your Heart, Alice Walker has created a work that ranks among her finest achievements: the story of a woman’s spiritual adventure that becomes a passage through time, a quest for self, and a collision with love. Kate has always been a wanderer. A well-published author, married many times, she has lived a life rich with explorations of the natural world and the human soul. Now, at fifty-seven, she leaves her lover, Yolo, to embark on a new excursion, one that begins on the Colorado River, proceeds through the past, and flows, inexorably, into the future. As Yolo begins his own parallel voyage, Kate encounters celibates and lovers, shamans and snakes, memories of family disaster and marital discord, and emerges at a place where nothing remains but love. Told with the accessible style and deep feeling that are its author’s hallmarks, Now Is the Time to Open Your Heart is Alice Walker’s most surprising achievement.

Sarjan – An Historical Novel

Sarjan – An Historical Novel PDF

Author: Jennifer Browne

Publisher: Palmer Higgs Pty Ltd

Published: 2013-12-02

Total Pages: 827

ISBN-13: 0980605458

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Sarjan is an Historical Novel that spans twenty-five years and two cultures, as it weaves a tale of the establishment of the Swan River Colony in Western Australia. It follows the lives of two young settler siblings, Sara Jane (Sarjan), William (Willem) and an Aboriginal boy (Yeddi) brought together in tragic circumstances. The adventures of these characters transport the reader from the 1829 arrival of Captain James Stirling and Thomas Peel with the first white settlers, to skirmishes with Aborigines (culminating in the Pinjarra massacre), to South Africa’s Cape Colony and back to the mother country in England, and a detour to the Victorian Goldfields, before returning to Fremantle. Sarjan is a story of pioneering spirit, hardship, adventure, fulfilment, heartaches and love, of the trials faced by those of conflicting cultures, and of the bonding that can occur despite different backgrounds. It has been described as ‘the best book ever read’ and ‘better than Thorn Birds’. Read it and you will understand why.

The Chicken Chronicles

The Chicken Chronicles PDF

Author: Alice Walker

Publisher: New Press/ORIM

Published: 2011-05-10

Total Pages: 115

ISBN-13: 159558689X

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A “life-affirmative and eccentrically inspirational” collection from the National Book Award– and Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Color Purple (Kirkus Reviews). In these glorious, offbeat, and compassionate tales, one of America’s preeminent authors shares her experiences raising and caring for a flock of affectionately named chickens. Walker addresses her “girls” directly, sometimes from the intimate proximity of her yard, other times at a great distance, during her travels to Bali and Dharamsala as an activist for peace and justice. On the way, she invites readers along on a surprising journey of spiritual discovery. Both heartbreaking and uplifting, The Chicken Chronicles lets us see a new and deeply personal side of one of the most captivating writers of our time. In turn, Walker has created a powerful touchstone for anyone seeking a deeper connection with the natural world. “Heartfelt, thought-provoking ruminations on sustenance from perspectives of both giver and receiver.” —Library Journal “Walker’s sage, compassionate memoir is meant to be savored and contemplated.” —Kirkus Reviews

The Way Forward Is with a Broken Heart

The Way Forward Is with a Broken Heart PDF

Author: Alice Walker

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Published: 2012-02-01

Total Pages: 211

ISBN-13: 0307816966

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"These are the stories that came to me to be told after the close of a magical marriage to an extraordinary man that ended in a less-than-magical divorce. I found myself unmoored, unmated, ungrounded in a way that challenged everything I'd ever thought about human relationships. Situated squarely in that terrifying paradise called freedom, precipitously out on so many emotional limbs, it was as if I had been born; and in fact I was being reborn as the woman I was to become." So says Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alice Walker about her beautiful new book, in which "one of the best American writers today" (The Washington Post) gives us superb stories based on rich truths from her own experience. Imbued with Walker's wise philosophy and understanding of people, the spirit, sex and love, The Way Forward Is with a Broken Heart begins with a lyrical, autobiographical story of a marriage set in the violent and volatile Deep South during the early years of the civil rights movement. Walker goes on to imagine stories that grew out of the life following that marriage—a life, she writes, that was "marked by deep sea-changes and transitions." These provocative stories showcase Walker's hard-won knowledge of love of many kinds and of the relationships that shape our lives, as well as her infectious sense of humor and joy. Filled with wonder at the power of the life force and of the capacity of human beings to move through love and loss and healing to love again, The Way Forward Is with a Broken Heart is an enriching, passionate book by "a lavishly gifted writer" (The New York Times Book Review).

American Dissidents [2 volumes]

American Dissidents [2 volumes] PDF

Author: Kathlyn Gay

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2011-12-12

Total Pages: 730

ISBN-13: 1598847651

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Anarchists, civil rights advocates, dissidents, and political pundits have all played key roles in shaping our nation. Examining modern-day individuals like WikiLeaker Bradley Manning and conservative video prankster James O'Keefe as well as those of prior decades like César Chávez, this book profiles controversial figures across history. The two-volume American Dissidents: An Encyclopedia of Activists, Subversives, and Prisoners of Conscience is a work that is as interesting as it is important, spotlighting men and women who are heroes to some, outlaws and villains to others. The 150 individuals profiled in this encyclopedia represent diverse ethnic, racial, and religious backgrounds, as well as various movements and ideologies. They are authors, anarchists, civil rights advocates, communists, entertainers, environmentalists, government officials, labor organizers, libertarians, military personnel, pacifists, political activists from the left and right, religious leaders, and suffragettes—all of whom have labored to change the social, economic, and political landscapes of the United States. Each of the profiles of 2,000 words or more offers not only biographical data but also information to help readers place the individuals within the context of events that surrounded and influenced their activities. Because objectivity is a key consideration of the work, entries include both praise and criticism.

Beloved

Beloved PDF

Author: Toni Morrison

Publisher: Everyman's Library

Published: 2006-10-17

Total Pages: 362

ISBN-13: 0307264882

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Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Toni Morrison’s Beloved is a spellbinding and dazzlingly innovative portrait of a woman haunted by the past. Sethe was born a slave and escaped to Ohio, but eighteen years later she is still not free. She has borne the unthinkable and not gone mad, yet she is still held captive by memories of Sweet Home, the beautiful farm where so many hideous things happened. Meanwhile Sethe’s house has long been troubled by the angry, destructive ghost of her baby, who died nameless and whose tombstone is engraved with a single word: Beloved. Sethe works at beating back the past, but it makes itself heard and felt incessantly in her memory and in the lives of those around her. When a mysterious teenage girl arrives, calling herself Beloved, Sethe’s terrible secret explodes into the present. Combining the visionary power of legend with the unassailable truth of history, Morrison’s unforgettable novel is one of the great and enduring works of American literature.

Silenced Voices

Silenced Voices PDF

Author: Bartolo Natoli

Publisher: University of Wisconsin Pres

Published: 2017-08-15

Total Pages: 245

ISBN-13: 0299312100

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Examines speech loss across all of Ovid's writings and the ways that motif is explored, developed, and modified in the poet's work after his exile from Rome.