Books

Freedom Voices is pleased to anounce the release of Sugaree Rising.

"Sugaree Rising is a remarkable first novel, intelligent, sensitive, thoughtful, perceptive. It is the story of a small, tightly knit, interrelated group of South Carolina Blacks who established their own community after the Civil War. They bring with them the traditional beliefs of their slave ancestors, the old ways and the old gods. In the South Carolina of the 1930 their descendants still honor the traditions of their African forefathers, living their days in essentially parallel universes, the everyday and the spiritual, both real, both shifting back and forth like a kaleidoscope. It is an extraordianarily exhilarating way of perceiving the world."

— Shirley Ann Grau
Winner of the 1965 Pulitzer Prize For Fiction

New exhibition date:

September 15 – November 9, 2012
Richmond Art Center
2540 Barrett Avenue
Richmond, CA 94804
Hours: Wed - Sat 11am - 5pm

 

Hobos to Street People offers a comparison of the culture and politics of homelessness as seen through artwork since the Great Depression. The book is based on the touring exhibition of the same name that first opened in early 2009-the time of the greatest economic downturn since the 1929 Stock Market Crash. As the numbers of people living in poverty continues to swell, this book looks to the past for lessons for today. A wide range of artists have brought attention to the issue, including historical figures such as Rockwell Kent, Fritz Eichenberg, Jacob Burck, Dorothea Lange and contemporary artists Kiki Smith, Sandow Birk, Eric Drooker and many more. The text, written by artist and curator Art Hazelwood, places the artwork within the history of social and political responses from the New Deal, through McCarthyism, to the rise of modern homelessness in the 1980s. Sections of the book focus on different aspects of homelessness including day to day life, displacement, rural poverty and political struggle. Emphasis is also given to the means by which artists have been able to get their message out whether through publications, government programs of the New Deal, street posters, exhibitions, or alliances with activist groups. 

A portion of the proceeds from the sales of the books will be donated to homeless advocacy groups. Donors can direct the donation using the comment box above. (enter: WRAP, COH or Spirit)

The book is based on the traveling exhibition of the same name.The exhibition is on tour until 2012 and began at the California Historical Society in San Francisco in February of 2009. California Exhibition Resources Alliance (CERA)  is the touring company. The next exhibition date for the tour is below.

The exhibition images can be seen online at Western Regional Advocacy Project.

Reviews of 'Hobos':

The Never Ending Tale: Images of Despair and Hope from the Great Depression to the Great Recession
by: Paul Von Blum on November 29th, 2011
Tikkun Daily

Hobos to Street People: Artists’ Responses to Homelessness from the New Deal to the Present
by: Harvey Smith

Hobos to Street People: Artists Uncover Hidden History of Poverty
by: Margot Pepper, on September 1, 2011
Street Spirit

Homelessness in Art from the New Deal to the Present
by: DeWitt Cheng on September 1, 2011
Street Spirit

“Clif Ross is among the most highly respected activists of the Left Coast… His own poetry, a generation of works, is here warmly presented in the context of a maturation of tone and voice that is quietly remarkable--and very much like himself. Ross is a fusion of a lyric realism and the power of metaphor. His voice isn't of the plosive kind. He writes an organic lyric, resisting any attempt on the part of the "Poet" in himself to overcome himself by a kind of verbal oblivion. His poems are expressions of his determination that friendship triumphs through beautiful communications that make one feel solidarity without feeling one's being indoctrinated or recruited.”
Jack Hirschman
Poet Laureate of San Francisco
from the introduction to the English edition.

This collection of poetry and prose tells the story of one man's liberation. Reading it, we join him as he spirals outward from the sound of the word, to the sound of the street, from a story of everyday life, to the inner magic of creative transcendence. His love of language and of people vibrates almost musically on each page. Stuart finds himself always out of sync. Offbeat. . . articulating hope in a place where sleeping on the streets is as common as being housed.

ISBN: 0-9625153-5-3
60 pages
Perfect bound paperback $9.95

Piri Thomas, who reached millions of readers with his bestselling autobiography, Down These Mean Streets, now gives readers of all ages a vivid slice of the life in El Barrio—a place where people face their problems with energy, ingenuity and love. He draws vivid stories from his past experiences and makes us feel what it means to be poor and proud and generous; to be streetwise and full of bravado but frightened, too; to struggle to go straight; to be ashamed of being ashamed; to dream. Speaking in the voice of the streets and from his heart, Piri captures the spirit, the laughter and the hope of his people.

Reviews
“Stories From El Barrio is a crystal clear reflection of the general facet of Piri Thomas’s literary power. It is tender, powerfully compassionate, humanely provocative.”
Claude Brown, author of Manchild in the Promised Land