Popular Education Bookshelf - 0

For some time now I've been trying to figure out a way both to frame and to share the many resources available (electronically and otherwise) for practicing, studying and otherwise using popular education. This blog is, in fact, one solution to this challenge. And, while i've shared some links to good resources i've wanted to be more systematic about it for some time. This is a tricky task, as popular education is something of a moving target. Which is part of its pedagogical/political appeal as a strategy of resisting unjust uses of power or, in a word, oppression. As such a strategy popular education is a dynamic interweaving of theory and practice or, in a word, praxis. Unfortunately there is a tendency to reduce popular education to a mere bag of tricks for better facilitating meetings and doing education work that is more fun and easy. This is a naive interpretation that, though useful at times, is often dangerously misleading.

The english word "popular" is, no doubt, partly to blame for this. In english the word "popular", in the first instance, means well and widely liked or appreciated. But in spanish, from which we adopt the phrase popular education, the word is more closely associated with its root meaning going back to the Latin populis meaning "the people." I, as well as many educators, have chosen to stick with the term popular education, despite its contradiction in english, as an act of solidarity with the context that created the term, i.e. latin american resistance to colonial, elitist and authoritarian education that had as one of its central objectives the maintenance of the massive inequality between rich and poor. (Paulo Freire, one of the most significant practitioner/philosophers of popular education, is one of the most notable personalities in this history of radical resistance to oppression.)

It has been a challenge to sustain a critical awareness of the radical (and even revolutionary) disposition of popular education as we have applied and developed it in Canada and the US during the past 30 years. And, while there are numerous reasons for this that are worth exploring, i want to call attention to one for the moment. And that is the tendency to interpret (and reduce) popular education to better group process. "Better", of course, means many things to many people but here i'm referring to things such as friendlier, more cooperative (even non-conflictual), democratic, anti-authoritarian, fun, engaging, participatory and more. And, while i believe that popular education does support such better group process, this is merely the tip of a very large and subversive iceberg. Popular education has no monopoly on better group process and a search of the literature will quickly find many very useful resources from the fields of sociology, cognitive psychology, conflict resolution studies, corporate (i.e. private sector) human resources training, leadership studies, community development and more. And i'm a firm believer in 'stealing' what's useful. I recommend excluding nothing from popular education practice without examining it first for potential adaptation and application. After all, all these fields that i mention have long-since been 'stealing' and adapting to suit their own purposes.

But, as i've said, popular education is more than mere techniques and bags of tricks, as desirable and necessary as these things are for educators, activists, trainers and others. Popular education is about changing the political, social, economic, cultural, personal, familial (and so on) worlds such that they are more just, more equitable, more peaceful (though peace does not mean eliminating conflict), more compassionate, more kind and even more competitive (if by competitive we eschew war in favour of that competition that is perhaps better termed contest and which is a necessary and vital form of engagement for play and growth and even intimacy).

Popular education is a praxis, a tricky and contested term. Its meaning starts with its greek root meaning, simply, practice. But the word comes to us across time and space having passed through the hands of numerous philosophers from Aristotle to Hegel to Marx and, finally, for our purposes, Freire. Popular education claims (as well as advocates) to unite theory and practice in a dynamic relationship: theory informing practice and practice informing theory. In Pedagogy of the Oppressed (chapter 3) Freire argues that theory (he refers to "the word") without action is mere "verbalism" which is "idle chatter" and "alienated and alienating 'blah.'" He adds that action without reflection is "activism", "action for action's sake" and which "negates true praxis and makes dialogue impossible." (While i agree wholeheartedly with Freire's critique here, i prefer the term activistism to name what Freire means by activism.)

So, praxis, in Freire-speak can be summed up as action-reflection-action which is a cycle that goes on and on. I quite like the following definition from the Pakistan-based Sindh Education Foundation:

Praxis is a complex activity by which individuals create culture and society, and become critically conscious human beings. Praxis comprises a cycle of action-reflection-action which is central to liberatory education. Characteristics of praxis include self-determination (as opposed to coercion), intentionality (as opposed to reaction), creativity (as opposed to homogeneity), and rationality (as opposed to chance).

I have two critiques of this definition and one thing to add. My first critique is to bring Marx's take on praxis to bear on the notion of "individual": Marx's point about praxis is that it is social classes that are the actors in praxis and not individuals. My second critique has to do with the supremacy we grant rationality as a value and ethic but i'll save this for another day. More importantly for now, i think it is important to add something to what we mean by praxis. And this, perhaps, leads to a compromise between Marx's notion of social classes and the above definition's use of "individual." Along with action-reflection-action that changes the world i would add the process of critical self-reflection or, more accurately, a process of ethical self-transformation. While this might be implicit in some uses of the term praxis, i believe it central enough to require being made explicit. And my use of the term "self" does not refer to the individual (that supposed stand-alone, fragmented, separated-from-all idea) but rather the individual-in-relation (as in Martin Buber's notion of the I/Thou) or, to go back to the pre-17th Century definition of individual (see Raymond Williams' Keywords) which meant "indivisible."

Thus, popular education praxis is the activity of critically conscious, social actors (individuals, groups, social classes in relation with and amongst each other) that seeks to resist injustice, oppression, violence and tyranny and bring into existence a world with more love, more justice, more compassion or, as Grace Paley says in her poem The Responsibility of the Poet:

It is the poet's responsibility to speak truth to power as the
Quakers say
It is the poet's responsibility to learn the truth from the
powerless
It is the responsibility of the poet to say many times: there is no
freedom without justice and this means economic
justice and love justice

So, all this to say, that when i am sharing resources, some of those so-called techniques that we can fill our bags of tricks with or toolkits as some call it or skill-sets to use some contemporary jargon, there is an indispensable context of history, politics, theory and praxis the ignoring of and exclusion of which will lead at best to a contradictory practice of popular education and, at worst, hypocrisy and co-optation - popular education, with all its revolutionary potential would become its opposite and cease to be a force for liberation.

This blog post is the first of many "Bookshelf" entries, each of which will feature links (and perhaps annotations or even reviews though i make no promises) of resources that i think good for popular education praxis.

And because i love Grace Paley so much i'll give her the last word with the continuation of The Responsibility of the Poet:

It is the responsibility of the poet to sing this in all the
original
and traditional tunes of singing and telling poems
It is the responsibility of the poet to listen to gossip and pass it
on in the way story tellers decant the story of life
There is no freedom without fear and bravery. There is no
freedom unless
earth and air and water continue and children
also continue
It is the responsibility of the poet to be a woman to keep an eye on
this world and cry out like Cassandra, but be
listened to this time.

Georgia in Toronto: Darbazi

Over ten years ago a Georgian choir got started in Toronto. Called Darbazi, i had a few friends in the choir and saw a few of their first performances. It's been a while and i've heard occasional word of their performances and travels. I'm reminded of them now, not surprisingly, due to my recent travels. The Darbazi History page has a nice account of their origins as well as a couple of their trips to Georgia - lotsa nice photos as well. They also have a recordings page that has six mp3's on it - worth listening to:

From the CD:

• GURULI MAQRULI - This wedding song from the province of Guria features the intricate Gurian yodeling technique krimanchuli: "We are the bridal party! We are bright, and we are beautiful! Open the door to the wine cellar!"
• KEBADI - An example of Georgian Orthodox lithurgy from Guria. "From the rising of the sun..."
• AZAMAT - A dance song from the province of Abkhaseti. On this recording you will hear chonguri, two panduri and bani panduri.

From an recording for the CBC Amateur Choir Competition:

• TSMINDAO GHMERTO - Georgian Orthodox hymn from the province of Kartli. "Holy God, Holy Almighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy upon us."
• ADILOI - A horse riding song from the province of Imereti. "I am sitting on my black horse, well-seated in the saddle. I kicked the dust off my boots and rode to Tbilisi."

From an amateur minidisc recording of a 2003 Darbazi concert:

• IMERULI SATRPIALO - A love song from Imereti. "... woman, love of my heart, why don't you return my love? You set me on fire, my murderer, my close neighbour. Woman, I'll come to you, embrace you. The country's eyes are on you, Kristina with the beautiful eyes. Hear my prayer for you."

The Istanbul i didn't get to see

As i flew back to Canada from Georgia, my co-worker from Kazakhstan (and very skilled facilitator named Tanya) flew home to Almaty through Istanbul - a circuitous route, but she got to spend the day in that most ancient of cities. Ahhh... perhaps someday i'll get to see Istanbul firsthand. Meanwhile Orhan Pamuk's Istanbul is on my reading list. This photo is one of the images Tanya sent me from her day there - the beach along the Sea of Marmara. (Thanks, Tanya!)

So, just what the heck was i doing in Georgia?

Now that i'm home i actually have time to think about the week i've just spent in Georgia. I came home to a week of catching up which has slowed down my blogging. So it goes.

The meeting, Combating Violence Against Women in the South Caucasus, was organized and facilitated by Equitas-International Centre for Human Rights Education, a human rights education organization based in Montreal who do an annual human rights training program (IHRTP) and who have excellent human rights educational materials. My role was primarily to support the lead facilitator, a highly skilled woman (Tanya) from Almaty, Kazakhstan (and alumnus of the IHRTP) and the Equitas programme officer. It was a rare opportunity for me simply to observe facilitation in action. And Tanya was great.

Now, for the most part, i remain quite ignorant about the region i was just visiting - the southern Caucasus, in this case referring to Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia. The meeting in Tbilisi involved representatives from a number of women's and human rights organizations who convened to share stories, explore common ground (for possible collaboration/coalition), and meet with and learn from the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women (so they could take better advantage of the support that the UN provides).

The groups included: from Georgia: Georgia Young Lawyers Association (GYLA, the local host of the meetings, their english site here), Anti-Violence Network of Georgia, Sakhli, Women's club "Peoni", Women's Center, Union of Azerbaijani Women of Georgia, Women Information Centre, People's Harmonious Development Society, Saphari. From Armenia: NGO Center - Civil Society Development Organization, Women's Rights Center, Hope and Help, Ajakits, Armenian Charitas, Society Without Violence. And from Azerbaijan: Yuva Center, Baku Association of Azerbaijan Women, Clear World HR GO.

Given how little i know of the region it was hard for me to imagine what these womens groups had to contend with on a daily basis. One of the common issues frequently referred to was trafficking - not something we hear a lot about in Canada (though there was an interesting TV drama about it last year - i can't remember if it was CBC or CTV, but i found it compelling). Working in multiple languages (with Russian-English translation) and dealing with the post-Soviet realities of these relatively new states. One fascinating consequence of this post-Soviet time is that the commonality of russian language is lessening. Anyone over 30 speaks russian, but this is not the case for the under-30, many of whom are learning english. And the presence of english is everywhere in Tbilisi.

I was very impressed to meet Professor Yakin Ertürk, a Turkish sociologist at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara. Professor Ertürk told me of her recent report on the standard of due diligence in which she articulates a notion of "cultural negotiation" that i found quite compelling. In her report she writes:

At the community and family level, the human rights discourse needs to be complemented by an approach based on “cultural negotiation”. Such an approach complements the empowerment approach discussed above, in that it allows the root causes of violence to be confronted and raises awareness of the oppressive nature of certain practices pursued in the name of culture. This requires, (a) drawing on positive elements within culture to demystify the oppressive elements of culture-based discourses; (b) demonstrating that culture is not an immutable and homogenous entity; and (c) identifying and contesting the legitimacy of those who monopolize the right to speak on behalf of culture and religion. In this context, hegemonic interpretations of culture must be challenged by uncovering the power dynamics that underlie these. The process of cultural negotiation through campaigns, information and media can become an important counter-discourse for the transformation of discriminatory values, institutions and power structures.

We only had the briefest of conversations about this over dinner - but i am anxious to learn more about this notion which seems to hold much promise for our so so complicated post-colonial world where we seem to swing back and forth from western hegemony (as the new global common sense) to the cultural relativism of live-and-let-live which all too easily leads to fatal inaction.

The entire week spent in Tbilisi has left a strong impression on me and it has also left me with many thoughts to ponder.

Another Tbilisi Chruch

I thought Quebec had a lot of churches. Quebec's got nothing on Tbilisi. This is the church on the mountain overlooking the city centre. A nice walk in the early morning.

Early Morning in Tbilisi

Just went out for an early morning walk about Tbilisi - quiet streets, kids walking to school and everyone seems to stop and cross themselves when they pass a church, even if the church is a kilometre away. The image above is a synagogue. beyond it you can see the mountain with a walled-in church which is hidden by the buildings on the left. See the next post for the mountain church.

Ahhh, the secret is in the grape

This little fellow is titled, according to the plaque, "Tamada" which is a type of host who is responsible for, amongst other things, making a series of toasts when revellers are about to imbibe . Georgia, i have learned is extremely proud of its wines (which, sadly, i still haven't tried). Apparently, wine has been made in this region going back several thousand years (7000 according to some). And this statue is a copy of a 7th Century BC find in western Georgia. He is holding a ram's horn which i'm sure many of you will recognize as a most ancient wine cup. According to one city guide booklet i have, many historians believe the word "wine" originated in Georgia. I'm for believing it.

This reminds me of a chapter from Eduardo Galeano's Book of Embraces:

On his deathbed, a man of the vineyards spoke into Marcela's ear. Before dying, he revealed his secret:

'The grape,' he whispered, 'is made of wine.'

Marcela Pérez-Silva told me this, and I thought: If the grape is made of wine, then perhaps we are the words that tell who we are.

I found this text on the New Internationalist site where you can read more excerpts from Galeano.

"If I can't dance....

... then i don't want to be part of your revolution," said Emma Goldman. Now why do you think i think of something like that in this former Soviet republic? Hmmmm... Just got in from the local Irish pub - there was a "tap" for Guiness but they only had bottles, alas. Had a great day of meetings with the human rights advocates from Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia. Most of the meeting is in russian with english translation for the sake of the UN Special Rapporteur and those of us from Canada. Amazing to hear all these languages spoken - how i crave being able to speak them as well.

Not sure what this statue is about though the sentiment is obvious.

St. George and the Dragon - eternally at odds

This is a statue of St. George and the Dragon in Freedom Square, not far from where i'm staying. Not surprisingly, St George is the patron saint of Georgia (as he is of Canada, Moscow and a fair number of other places). Last September i was asked by a friend at the local Waldorf school to assist with an annual celebration that centres around the story of St. George and thus had to re-familiarize myself with this ancient legend. I'm rather fond of dragons and, especially, of dragon stories. I'll have to look more deeply still into this old tale. Ad i'm closer to where this tale originated than ever before seeing as George was from what is present-day Turkey.

I found this wee Georgian tale on Wikipedia:

An example of folk tale about St. George: Once Jesus Christ, prophet Elijah and St. George were going through Georgia. When they became tired and hungry they stopped to dine. They saw a Georgian shepherd man and decided to ask him to feed them. First, Elijah went up to the shepherd and asked him for a sheep. After the shepherd asked his identity Elijah said that, he was the one who sent him rain to get him a good profit from farming. The shepherd became angry at him and told him that he was the one who also sent thunderstorms, which destroyed the farms of poor widows.

After Elijah, Jesus Christ himself went up to the shepherd and asked him for a sheep and told him that he was the god, the creator of everything. The shepherd became angry at Jesus and told him that he is the one who takes the souls away of young men and grants long lives to many dishonest people.

After Elijah and Christ's unsuccessful attempts, St. George went up to the shepherd, asked him for a sheep and told him that he is Saint George who the shepherd calls upon every time when he has troubles and St. George protect him from all the evil and saves him from troubles. After hearing St. George, the shepherd fell down on his knees and adored him and gave him everything. This folk tale shows the veneration of St. George in the Middle Ages provinces of Georgia and similar tales are told in the northern mountainous parts of the country.

Scenes, Sounds & Smells of Georgia

As i type this i can hear beautiful singing coming from the neighbourhood below my hotel balcony. A handful of voices (mostly male) singing what sounds like a folk melody. At first i wasn't sure if it was Georgian but then i could hear some of the characteristic polyphonic dissonances that are so captivating in the music of this part of the world. The evening is cool and as lovely as spring gets. I've just come in from a walk up to Freedom Square and along Rustaveli Avenue with my human rights colleagues. We crossed one street through an underpass in which a young woman was singing something truly angelic - her soprano voice was true and the melody was something plaintive and bittersweet. She was arm-in-arm with a much older woman who wore dark glasses and who was holding out a cup for change. I could not pass this without giving some money. It is a strange city of contrasts. Much of the russian signage has given way to english and a startling number of young people speak english. I'm told that the commonality of russian can no longer be depended on. This seems a bittersweet thing. We passed the national museum which is advertising a show called "The Russian Occupation 1921-1999" and is illustrated with the faces of sad-looking children. I don't know enough to know how reactionary this might be, but for all the soviet union's imperial rule, i can't believe it was all bad. Nor is any place such as Georgia all innocent (as implied by the images on the museum). After all, Stalin was Georgian. The bells have just rung midnight and it's time for me to rest. A couple of other images before i go: cab drivers smoking while driving their fares; being given sticks of gum as change; driving in from the airport along George Bush Street (oy).

Yet another way to eat bread and cheese

We went out for dinner last night and found a restaurant Ria (my Equitas colleague) had eaten at on a previous trip. The restaurant was on the cliffs over the river (the Mtkvari - get your tongue around that) looking up the mountain at an old church surrounded by yet older battlement walls. I was introduced to kachapuri - yet another way to eat bread and cheese - it's a kind of fried dough in which is sandwiched a sharp feta-like cheese. As addictive as pizza. And eating that left little room to add some of the seasonal stewed lamb dish (something quite georgian, i was given to understand). The lamb came in a soup of tarragon which is more tarragon than i've eaten in the last couple of years. We had a lovely walk back to our hotel, having been joined by the facilitator from Kazakhstan. We stumbled across a section of town called Shardeni made up of about four or five narrow streets, filled with cafes and bistros and art galleries. Very hip. Tables and comfy soft chairs crowded the street and many people were wrapped in blankets that we included with the chairs. On one street a baby grand piano sat unattended. The people were almost exclusively youngish (20s to early 30s) and clearly the urban hipster crowd. There is a lot of development going on to expand this section that runs adjacent to the river. It made this ancient country feel kind of young which, in a way, it is. The image above is of a charming cafe behind our hotel.

Almost hidden delights

One of the things i like about walking slowly is the opportunity to notice detail - the sound of a bird i've never heard before, a strange mechanical sound that, i swear, is the same one the TARDIS makes (okay you Dr. W. fans - you know who you are); and these tiles pictured here. I almost walked by them, despite my sauntering pace. I've seen wee tiles or lines of tiles in the oddest places - they almost always look as if they've been placed as an afterthought. But someone has cared enough to place them and that is lovely. They are an interesting mix of whimsy and reverence and care. Notice all the bunches of grapes in these tiles (as well as on the gate in the previous image if you pay close attention) - by all accounts georgian wine is excellent (i'll let you know how my research goes). All over the old town that i was walking around today you could see little touches of beauty and care that people add to their homes, many of which seem more collaged together than planned and built.

Walking about Tbilisi

Beside the hotel i'm staying in is a church originally built in the sixth century. What remains of the original after 12th, 17th and 20th century restorations i could not tell. My colleague that i'm working with this week can read the russian on the plaque but it lacks details. Inside it is very dark and simply loaded with icons and candle stands. There was one person inside lighting candles and praying, another visiting, as we were, and reading the inscriptions on what looked like grave stones set into the floor. It certainly felt like it could be the sixth century once inside. It seems that the georgian population is quite religiously observant. In the few minutes i stood outside of the church virtually everyone that i saw walk by would stop in front the arch that you see pictured here. They would pause for a good 30 seconds to a minute (perhaps reciting a prayer) and then they would cross themselves and carry on where they were headed. Walking around the old town we passed by at least five churches and in the courtyards of all but one i could see priests sitting on benches actively engaged in conversation with each other and lay folk. The iconography (paintings, statues, symbols carved into stone and more) is abundant and beautiful.

Tbilisi in the springtime

I arrived in Tiblisi in the middle of the night (3:00 am) and had a magical drive in from the very, very new airport (opened in February). I had tantalizing glimpses of medieval buildings, distant lights on the mountains surrounding the city. The hotel i'm staying in is on the edge of the old town which i'm about to go walking in. Above is a view from my balcony (it seems like balconies and spiral staircases are de rigueur here). The telecommunications tower you see in the image is lit up like a christmas tree at night, with different parts spinning like crazy tops. The hotel is right on the river whose name i've yet to learn. And it seems like many of the people here, not surprisingly, speak russian (which means that i can at least say please, thank-you and yes and no). My goal this week will be to learn a few complete sentences in russian, georgian, armenian and azerbaijani. Hmmm, too ambitious? It is a perfectly beautiful spring day here - spring seems about a week further along than in Toronto. Gotta go exploring now.

Ethics for Activists - 15

What Heaven & Hell Look Like
A man died and found himself before the gates of heaven. He was relieved. But curious. So he asked the gatekeeper, “Would it be possible to see Hell before entering Heaven?” “Sure,” said the gatekeeper and in a flash they stood before the gates of Hell. The gates opened and there before their eyes was an endless table. On it was piled the most amazing and abundant array of food, drink, dessert. Every imaginable delicacy was to be seen. As soon as the man thought of a food he noticed it somewhere on the table. And along both sides of the table were seated people as far as the eye could see. He turned to the gatekeeper asking, “This is Hell?” “Look again,” he was told. He did so and saw that each person had four-foot wooden spoons attached to their wrists and elbows. So no matter how hard they tried they could not bring the food to their mouths. “Ah, yes,” said the man. “This is Hell. I am ready to enter heaven.” In a flash he was once again before the gates of heaven. They opened and he was surprised to see an endless table heaped with the same abundance of wonderful food and drink. On each side of the table for as far as the eye could see were seated people with four-foot wooden spoons attached to their wrists and elbows. “This is Heaven?” asked the man of the gatekeeper. “Look again,” said the gatekeeper. And he did. Now he saw that all the people seated at one side of the table were using their four-foot spoons to feed everyone on the other side of the table. “Ah, now I see,” said the man. “This is heaven.”

I've just podcast this story as well, if you'd like to listen.

Pete Seeger for Nobel Peace Prize

I'm just sitting here in Terminal 1 at Pearson airport about to fly to the other side of the planet to work on a consultation between armenian, azerbaijani and georgian human rights workers and the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and a friend just e-mailed me the information about a campaign for Pete Seeger to be given the Nobel Peace prize. I've known Pete Seeger's music since i was a teen and i wonder about the choices i've made in my life and all the many and varied influences that have lead me to this place now where i work on human rights and social justice and peace and more. It's hard to credit any one influence as being definitive, of course. But i think that it is fair to say that the quality of my commitment to a more just and peaceful world is, in part, a consequence of Pete Seeger's influence. If the quality of my commitment (which is just a narrow and rationale way of talking about my soul) is a tapestry of colours then some of those colours are because of Pete. If the quality of my commitment were a musical score, then many of the fugues within it are those i learned from that merry minstrel.

If you're interested in signing the petition you can find it here.

(Thanks to Lorne for passing this on to me)

Another Freire Tale

Inspired by yesterday's reminiscences of Freire, i've asked my friend Clara if i could blog this story she sent me some years ago for one of my occasional 'zines. Clara and i were neighbours on the Plateau in Montreal for a number of years and together explored some of the shape and depth of popular education and Freirian praxis. I also had a wonderful room-mate, Heather, who was the CUSO education officer in Quebec and whom i assisted in organizing a number of popular education workshops over a few years. But the 80s turned into the 90s, Clara moved to back Spain, Heather moved back to Nova Scotia and i made that long trip down the 401 to Toronto.

Clara's father, José Maria Valverde, was one of Spain's great 20th Century poets. And when Paulo visited Spain he asked to meet with José Maria. Clara sent me the following:

Paulo Freire meets my Father (José Maria Valverde)

They are both dead now.

But before they left, the two frail-looking men met. “Teacher,” “philosopher,”
“liberation theology intellectual,” “communist,” “theoretician,” “writer” and
“wise man.” They both carried the same labels without letting them get to their
white-haired heads.

Paulo requested a meeting while visiting Barcelona and his entourage arranged for it. It was to be a breakfast meeting. The living room was packed with expectation: family members and admirers wishing to witness the meeting of the two Old Masters.

Freire walked in, wearing his sailor’s hat, quiet, timid. They smiled, shook hands and exchanged brief words in Spanish and “Portunhol.” They sat, each sinking their bony bodies into their armchairs and they grinned at each other like children, recognizing each other, not needing to utter any of the many sentences written in their long list of published books.

They were pleased, comfortable, sharing a few observations about the world, exchanging a couple of jokes, silences, complicity.

The entourage watched, some still expecting the “The Truth” would be uttered, some knowing that it already had.

Paulo left. He left me two things: his sailor hat and his words in a book: “To Clara, with so much clarity...”

Remembering Freire, Reinventing Freire

Just spent the afternoon at OISE at the Freire conference and it was quite good. I have a learned skepticism about conferences and thus set the bar rather low for what i expect. But i didn't need to deploy the lowered expectations. It was a lovely event. Not least because of the remarkable diversity of people from the various generations of activists who have encountered and/or worked with Freire and/or his ideas, to young people, folks from afar (across Canada and from beyond Canadian shores), women and men, literacy workers, trade unionists, health workers, artists, poets, students and more. And it was a roomful of stories - more than could be told. So here's one of my wee Freire stories:

It was sometime around 1999 or 2000 and i had just finished being interviewed by George Stoney for a film he was working on about Paulo Freire. Nita Freire was in town and she stopped by George's apartment. It was a briefcase or a shoebox, i can't recall, that Nita put on the table. Out poured dozens of photos of Paulo's life. The table was inches deep in images from across decades. Nita handled them gently as we sorted through them, making choices about what might work best in the film. She showed George and i and photo when she was a girl in school and a so-very-young Paulo was a new teacher. She told us so lovingly of their life together. As i sorted through the treasures i found a few copies of a bookmark shaped profile topped with a photo of a very young Paulo. In the photo he is very thin and his eyes have an intensity that made me wonder if he had some sense of the future that lay before him. And then there were his ears... Nita let me keep one of the bookmarks.

The Phonemes - May 5th

Alas, but i am gonna miss this show as i will be out of town (way out of town; i wonder if they have blintzes in T'blisi). So, if you're in Toronto and wanna catch one of my fave indie bands, check 'em out and let me know how the show goes. Here's what Liz has e-mailed about the show:

there's something we've been meaning to do and we're doing it next saturday may 5th at the whippersnapper art gallery with bob wiseman and jason trachtenburg and also, we are doing this specifically with many friends like justin stayshyn, mez, katie crown, john tielli, paige gratland and cab williamson from hank, gentleman reg, james anderson and shayna stevenson from the singing saws and others. we will also be showing 2 videos. one is for the song "porcupines" (jeff woodrow made it) and one is for the song "oh sleep" (rose bianchini and richard made it). this thing we are doing is a celebration of our new cd so it's sort of important to us. you know? that's why the flyer is pink and grey.

Ethics for Activists - 14

Escape
Once there was a Sufi who was captured by the police and accused of theft. Despite his protests of innocence he was convicted and sentenced to three years in jail. He had a loving wife who visited him every day. One day she was allowed to bring him a carpet on which he could pray. Three times a day he would unroll the carpet and, kneeling and bowing down, would pray. Weeks and months passed in this manner. One day he the intricate pattern of the carpet’s weaving caught his notice. There was something unusual about it. Still, day after day, he prayed and gradually the intricate detail of the carpet began to make sense to him. As the days passed and he continued to pray the pattern resolved until one day it was clear to him. The pattern in the weaving was the design of the lock on his prison door. Using his knew knowledge he picked the lock and escaped.

Bill Moyers Journal

Okay, i'm a fan. The first two episode of this new PBS series are excellent. The Buying the War episode brings together quite nicely much of the criticism of the American mainstream mass media's complicity with the Bush administration's war on Iraq/terror. Not that the Canadian mass media should be lauded - i wonder what an analysis of the Canadian media would demonstrate in terms of US aggression, (especially given Linda McQuaig's new book Holding the Bully's Coat: Canada and the US Empire)? As much as i've been critical of mass media for the past 27 years, having started out at the McGill Daily in Montreal where we knew with that certainty (both a privilege and flaw of youth) that we could change things, still i was and am amazed at the american mainstream mass media's numerous failures in covering the elections of Bush, the bombing of the World Trade Centre, the "war on terror", the invasion of Iraq and more. Moyers show goes some way to exposing these failures, even if understanding them remains a more complex (and necessary) task than a one-hour TV show can be expected to do. One of the implicit themes of the Buying the War episode is the media's resistance (or inability?) to admit that they were wrong. The show is a good indictment. But, of course, this is only one aspect of addressing the problem. And, ironically, Moyers show itself acts as a kind of (hegemonic) mea culpa showing that however rare it might be, the media yet includes the capacity to be critical of itself, of not apologize.

The second episode includes a very good interview with John Stewart - one that increases, once again, my respect for Stewart. And there's also a good piece about the blog Talking Points Memo.

Their wesbite is impressive as well, with video of the full episodes available as well as transcripts, a blog of their own and a podcast. They're on the ball when it comes to taking advantage of internet capacity.

How Popular Education Works - 5

Or at least, the zen of it....

I've loved this zen story for a long time:

A student asked Soen Nakagawa during a meditation retreat, "I am very discouraged. What should I do?"

Soen replied, "Encourage others."

from Essential Zen edited by Kazuaki Tanahashi & Tensho Devis Schneider (Castle Books, NJ, 1996)

Ethics for Activists - 13

It is said that Tetsugen, a Zen monk in 17th Century Japan, wanted to publish the sutras which, at that time, existed only in Chinese. His plan was to publish 7000 copies from carved woodblocks. This would be very expensive and he set about collecting money from anyone who would donate to his project. Occasionally he would meet a rich patron who would give him a hundred gold coins, but mostly he would be given only a few small coins. In this way, after ten years, he had enough to set about publishing the sutras. But as it happened, at that time, the Uji River burst its banks, causing much havoc. There followed famine and much suffering. Tetsugen used the money he had collected to relieve people's suffering, to save people from starvation.

Again, Tetsugen set about collecting the money he needed. And after many more years he was once again able to begin his publishing project. But there was an epidemic that struck the land and once again, Tetsugen used the money he had collected to aid the people.

Once more Tetsugen began to collect funds and finally after twenty years he was able to realize his dream and to publish the sutras. The woodblocks can still be seen in Obaku monastery in Kyoto.

The Japanese tell their children that Tetsugen produced three sets of sutras and that the first two are invisible and surpass the third.

(based on a version found in Zen Flesh, Zen Bones compiled by Paul Reps)

I'm podcasting again

It's been a while, but i've finally untangled my technology enough to begin podcasting once again. I've just loaded up episode 7 of my Comeuppance podcast which is part of RPN, the Rabble Podcasting Network (which is worth checking out for a variety of other shows). Episode 7 is inspired by Earth Day which is ending even as i blog this.

This one always cracks me up

I just picked up a new copy of Essential Zen by Kazuaki Tanahashi and Tensho David Schneider (i know, i know... how shocking that i would buy a book - and this is my third copy of this one, having given away the other two). Well, it's full of real gems (and the "Essential" series is quite good, thought the notion of essential is questionable). Anyway, as i say, full of gems. And here's one that was an instant favourite:

One day Maurine Stuart was having tea with friends at her home in Cambridge when the telephone range.
"Do Buddhas wear toe-nail polish?" a seven-year-old caller wanted to know.
"Are you wearing toe-nail polish?" Roshi responded.
"YES!? shouted the little girl and hung up.

Glass Magic and Thanks

This remarkable glass lamp is the work of Brad Sherwood, a glass artist, who came to my attention, in part, through another remarkable thing he makes with glass: marionettes. You've got to see them to believe them. This lamp is a gift with which some very clever people surprised me and for which i am deeply grateful. You can see another view of the lamp here. Brad teaches at glassblowing at Sheridan (scroll down this Sheridan page and you'll catch a glimpse of one of his glass puppets).

The lamp images are photos that Brad took and sent me.

Popular Education Workshops and more - in Toronto

There's a number of popular education and related events coming up in the next few months. I've already mentioned the Freire conference on May 2nd in a previous post.

You can find a selection of events being offered at the Transformative Learning Centre 2007 Summer Institute. These include popular education events with Christine McKenzie (a past member of the Catalyst Centre): Introduction to Popular Education on June 23rd as well as a course called Popular Education: Power, Dialogue and Social Change that runs from June 16th to June 26th.

Margo Charlton and Tristan Whiston are offering a workshop on Arts and Social Change
on June 16th and June 17th: The workshop will examine the intersection of art-making and social change. Art-making can create waves that ripple out, changing individuals and communities. Participants will share their ideas about arts and social change and creatively examine the tensions that swirl around community arts: questions of process and product; insider and outsider dynamics; aesthetics and ethics; personal and social transformation. On the second day the group will visit community arts sites in Toronto or create an arts intervention in a community setting. (This workshop is organized by the Knowing through the Arts Program of
ISIS-Canada.) Fee: $80. To register: Please email margo.charlton@gmail.com or
tristanwhiston@hotmail.com

Other TLC events include Lang Maria Liu's Capoeira, Circle of Life: Philosophy and Practice of Brazilian Art Form; Chris Fraser's Bowl Full of Stories: Women, Words, and the Transformative Power of Storytelling; and Annahid Dashtgard's Finding Freedom: Breaking Free of Body-Judgment.

On May 3rd the Ontario Council for International Cooperation (OCIC) and facilitator Zahra Murad are presenting the workshop Anti-Oppression for Organizations Working for Change. It's $25 for OCIC members and $40 for non-members - a deal at either price. There's no website with the event info on it, so here's what i was e-mailed:

Thursday, May 3, 2007 - 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Friends House (60 Lowther Avenue, Toronto)

Join facilitator Zahra Murad in a one-day anti-oppression workshop for individuals and members of organizations working for change. Using popular education and Theatre of the Oppressed methodologies, this workshop will help participants reflect upon and better understand the functions of power and oppression from personal and organizational perspectives. Drawing from personal experience, ideas and research, participants will have opportunities to develop concrete ideas, suggestions and goals to take back to their organizations.

Central themes include:

• Debunking myths of racism and oppression
• Understanding ways in which the structures of power in which we live can govern the relationships we form and the methods with which we struggle against oppression

Participants will come away with a better understanding of:

• Accessible and co-operative event planning
• Programming for and about groups
• Who is being held accountable to whom
• The balance of power in partnership relationships

Who should attend? Individuals and members of organizations working for change
To register: Please return your completed registration form to Stephanie Lemelin at admin@ocic.on.ca or by fax to 416-972-6996 by Monday, April 30^th
Participation fees: OCIC Members $25 / Non-members $40 (includes breaks and lunch)

Please make your cheque payable to OCIC and mail to:

Ontario Council for International Cooperation
344 Bloor Street West, Suite 405
Toronto ON M5S 3A7
or indicate on your form that you will bring payment with you on May 3, 2007

Earth Day Rally in Toronto

Info here or here.

The Metaphor-off between Stephen Colbert and Sean Penn

Paper Spiders & Lucky Frogs

I'd like to tell you (and brag a little, on behalf of the 17 co-authors) about a new popular education manual. Paper Spiders and Lucky Frogs aka Re:Frame is a collection of 46 annotated descriptions (plus two 'zine inserts) of popular education methods. This was the assignment for the participants of the Popular Education for Social Change i teach at York University's Faculty of Environmental Studies. This was an experimental assignment that has worked better than i had hoped.

Having taught (and, at times, co-taught) this class since 2001 i have perpetually wondered about the contradictions inherent in "teaching" popular education in a university classroom. Not to suggest something simplistic such as one cannot (nor should not) teach popular education in the university classroom. Rather, i'm interested in how a university classroom engagement of popular education participates in the history of relationships - a history which has, for the most part, taken place outside of the university and, often, in resistance to the very power relations of knowledge-production that universities have been a large part of promoting. There are, of course, many dissident spaces within universities and FES is onesuch. And the Popular Education for Social Change class is yet another. There's much that could be said about this dissidence and i don't expect you to take my brief (and probably cryptic) statements at face value. I'm currently working on a manuscript for a book provisionally called Trickster Pedagogy in which i discuss some of the complexities of dissidence in our hegemonic, post-structural and rapidly warming world.

One objective of this manual assignment was to make a contribution to the popular education community. Of course, the individuals in the course may well go on to become popular educators or otherwise advocates and supporters of popular education. But the individualistic nature of university experience means that there's little if anything that can hold people to account for how they apply (or not) their learning. So, what people do with their learning has more to do with individual ethics than with collective ethics. And, while many individual ethics are just fine, they are also disorganized from the point of view of building community. So, it occurred to me that if we could collaborate on a material project such as a manual, it would enhance the community-building aspect of popular education for both the participants of the course and for the popular education community(ies) around the world.

Having been inspired by June Jordan's Poetry for the People class that she taught at Berkeley i got the idea of producing a book together as part of our experience of the popular education class. Each year that June did her class she would have the students produce a book of the poems that they had written and they would do a public performance/launch as well. I've loved June's writing for over 20 years and when i learned about Poetry for the People i immediately wanted to see something like it in Toronto. That dream persists though i've done little about it (and there are a number of writing projects in Toronto that are excellent - projects with immigrant women, with literacy and/or ESL learners, and more). Meanwhile, using June's work as a model i thought that it might work to have participants of the pop ed class research the methods of the work, try some of them out, write them up so that others could replicate and adapt them and annotate these descriptions with their own practitioner reflections as well as some critical discussion of how these methods fit in the theories of popular education. The result is remarkable. And good enough to brag about. As well as sell. I've proposed that we sell this manual for $20 (to be confirmed) and that the proceeds be donated to the dian marino fund. I'll keep y'all posted about this. And we'll probably do some kind of launch at the beginning of the Fall semestre at FES.

The beautiful cover artwork, which i've included with this post, is by Shuxia Tai, a student in the MES program who is, as you can see from her work, very talented. It was also Shuxia who proposed the title for the book which refers to some origami that was shared during the course and stories about frogs.

Ravens, Ravens, Ravens and Landscapes and more

Nicole Bauberger has a website now. Nicole is a painter, poet, singer, friend and more. And i'm a huge fan of all her work. One of her raven paintings graces my bookshelf now. Check it out.

Origami Enchantment

A friend just sent me a link to some of Robert Lang's origami wonder (thanks, Rebecca). Lang is one of the most gifted origami artists in the world and i've been challenging myself with his designs for years. The New York Times has a video of Lang's origami US flag. Check it out. And the New Yorker published an excellent piece on Lang's work as well a couple of months ago. The image above is a polar bear i made from one of Lang's designs.

Ishmael Beah in Toronto Next Week

Some of you may have heard about Ishmael Beah who, as a boy of 10, was recruited as a child soldier. He's written about his journey in A Long Way Home: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. I've yet to read it though i've followed the media coverage of it for some time. And there's no question that it is a moving and important account that should be read widely. The horrors of war and our inhumanity to each other are numerous. Stories of survival and the winning back of stolen humanity are, sadly, more rare. Beah was interviewed on the Daily Show a few months ago - worth watching. Here's the info about next week's event:

ISHMAEL BEAH, Author of A Long Way Gone
Wednesday, April 18th, 2007 at 7:30 PM
St. Barnabas Anglican Church
361 Danforth Avenue (see map of location)
Closest TTC station: Chester Station (Bloor-Danforth line)
Tickets are $5, available at the U of T Bookstore
214 College St (http://www.uoftbookstore.com/online/store_info.ihtml)
Further information: 416-640-5836

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. 1922-2007

Such a great writer! I know he's a huge favourite of a number of friends. He was on the Daily Show earlier this year and it's worth watching this brief appearance. Slaughterhouse Five was the first novel i read by him i was 16 and believed the bombing of Dresden was merely part of the science fiction of it all until years later i met soldiers who, like Vonnegut, had survived that horrific event and were part of the aftermath. The Sirens of Titan is a long-time favourite of mine. And i've many still to go. He will be missed.

I have also loved, for a long time, Vonnegut's advice to writers. In Bagombo Snuff Box: Uncollected Short Fiction (New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons 1999), 9-10, Vonnegut writes:

1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.
2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.
3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.
4. Every sentence must do one of two things—reveal character or advance the action.
5. Start as close to the end as possible.
6. Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them—in order that the reader may see what they are made of.
7. Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.
8. Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.

The greatest American short story writer of my generation was Flannery O’Connor (1925-1964). She broke practically every one of my rules but the first. Great writers tend to do that.

My Favourite Curmudgeon Environmentalist

I feel both lucky and privileged to have been able to study with and learn from John Livingston. He was in his last years of teaching when i was a student in the Faculty of Environmental Studies. And we hit it off quickly. I'm not sure why. He had a somewhat fierce demeanor - of the "not suffer fools gladly" type. But i know that i instantly appreciated and loved his passion and clarity of feeling about the problematic relationship between the human built world and the natural world. His work challenged the common sense about environmentalism in ways that i feel we (both society at large and the environmental movement specifically) have yet to embrace.

An article in this week's Toronto Star by a graduate of FES is aptly titles The Greatest Environmentalist You've Never Heard Of. Louise Fabiani writes:

While Livingston was no Luddite – he benefited from hi-tech medicine and central heating as much as the next person – he hated the human sense of entitlement that enables us to perform the most unspeakable acts of cruelty and waste. Sport hunting, vivisection and habitat destruction filled him with a despair that dogged him for most of his life.

But despair is not nearly as sustainable (or, sad to say, acceptable) as rage – not for the average male, anyway. Initially, I joined many fellow students in tiptoeing around John's temper. His oratory style alternated between measured and combative. He snapped at unsupportable statements. He interrupted himself in mid-lecture to sputter indignation at some memory that assaulted him out of nowhere. He did not suffer fools gladly – though, to listen to him, fools got whatever they deserved.

I recommend John's writing as essential reading for all those of us who would fancy calling ourselves environmentalists. Check out The John Livingston Reader. Worth it.

Storytexts on the Internet

The internet amazes me more and more. There are now numerous texts available from various on-line libraries. For those of you who grew up with the "coloured" fairy books, almost ALL the texts are on-line. You can find them here.

And Joseph Jacobs collections are on-line as well. These are excellent sources for beginning and seasoned storytellers. Two of my favourites are: English Fairy Tales and More English Fairy Tales.

The very first story i told at the 1,001 Friday Nights of Storytelling was Tamlane from Jacobs' collection and it remains a favourite of mine still. I recall the night i dared to get up on that wonderful "stage" way back in 1990. Alice Kane was there that evening and i sat beside her. Joan Bodger was there as well. Bright lights of storytelling both of 'em (both gone now though they live on in their stories, may they both rest well). I was a wee bit nervous and was following someone whom i thought to be both a very good teller and much much better than i. So when i sat down again after telling my modest version of Tamlane i was overwhelmed when Alice leaned over to me to say that she didn't much like the telling that had preceded mine, but that she very much liked my telling. It's a moment i will never forget.

Comics have come a long way

Coincidental with refreshing my love of Corita Kent's abundant creativity, is my reading of Bryan Talbot's newest comic book Alice in Sunderland. And what a comic book it is. Hard to classify, for sure. While it is an exploration of the roots of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland; it is also a discussion about art, imagination and creativity; it is a meditation about context and meaning; it is a wild collage of images sketched, painted, colored, photoshopped; a playful linking of relationships in a six-degrees-of-separation kinda way.

It is both a truism and good advice to writers to say that we write what we know. And Talbot is making a most excellent case for the truth of this in Carroll's case. I've read both Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass a number of times, but i've never bothered to look very deeply into Carroll's inspirations for the figures and ideas that permeate our modern world (our euro-american one, at least) so thoroughly. I am startled to note how influential are these two fantasy adventure books. (This happens to me all the time with Shakespeare as well.) Talbot does a remarkable job of drawing links - some speculative if persuasive - between the geography of Sunderland and that of Wonderland. And he creates a very ricj and thick description of a world long gone of which Lewis Carroll was a product, participant and, ultimately, a legacy.

The best works of art, i think, are those that fill you with the urge to create your own. Kundera's Unbearable Lightness of Being is like that. As are Corita's serigraphs, dian marino's earthblankets, Ursula LeGuin novels, Raymond Carver's short stories, Mary Oliver's poems, Nick Bantock's collages, and more. And now i add Alice in Sunderland to that list.

The Beguiling (my local favourite comic book shop) is co-sponsoring a talk with Bryan Talbot on April 16th at 7:00 pm at the Merrill Collection of the Toronto Public Library. Can't wait.

Ethics for Activists - 12

Nature
Once there was an old man who meditated every morning under a large tree on the bank of the Ganges. One morning the old man opened his eyes after his meditation to see a scorpion floating helplessly in the water. As the scorpion passed the man under the tree it grabbed hold of a thin strand of root that floated in the water. The scorpion struggled to pull itself along the root but the river current was too strong and the old man could see that the scorpion would soon be pulled back into the water. The old man reached for the scorpion. But as soon as his hand was within reach, the scorpion’s tale whipped over its body and stung him. The man jerked back his hand, balanced himself, and again reached out for the scorpion. But every time he came within reach, the scorpion stung him. His hands swelled up and his face distorted with pain. Just then, a woman walking by saw the old man trying to rescue the scorpion and she shouted, "Hey, old man, only a fool risks his life for the sake of such a useless and thankless creature. And it looks like it’s doing it’s best to kill you?" The old man looked calmly at the woman and said, "Friend, because it is the nature of the scorpion to sting, should I give up my own nature to save?"

Cheap Art Manifesto

I remember the small of straw the most. There was also a summer mix of dust, sun-heated asphalt, car exhaust, pine, freshly cut (and trampled) grass. And the press of hundreds, if not thousands of bodies, as we milled about the Vermont countryside to watch the many puppet shows that made up Bread & Puppets Annual Domestic Resurrection Circus - something i had been attending religiously since 1982. It was probably 1986 or 1987 when i discovered the cheap art bus for the first time. I don't know if i'd simply missed it previously amidst the over-stimulation of this annual puppet carnival. But i'll always remember squeezing into that old school bus for the first time and seeing the "cheap" art. I'm sure i bought an armload. There were posters painted on cardboard and 'zines and more. But more than the items i took away, i walked out of that bus a different person, for i had seen the truth of the manifesto that you can read here (click on the image to see it bigger). That i am a huge fan of Bread & Puppet is not news to those that know me. But as i think back on my journeys of the 1980s it seems more and more to me like my own odyssey across a mythic landscape. From the dimly remembered land of my childhood in Acadia and Montreal (which seems more mythical than real) to the voyage to the edge of the world to see a land held by the tyrant Baby Doc, to the catacombs of the McGill Daily newspaper where i toiled not unlike Theseus trying to find his way out of Daedalus' treacherous labyrinth, to the magical land of Peter Schumann who, like Circe, transformed humans into all manner of beasts (i was a unicorn once), to the presence of all manner of goddesses who gave me many gifts. Hmmm. Rich years that live in me still. Odysseus took ten years to travel home - i wonder where i'm headed. Regardless, it is a great trip and this manifesto has been one of the steady guides to my imagination for over 20 years now. I like manifestos. They are a special kind fo poetry. And this one is as fresh now as when it was written and i share it with the growing world of art activism.

Rules? for Art

Yep, art needs rules. Play needs rules. Or, put another way, art and play needs structure. Producing meaning is, ultimately, a crafty alchemy of wildness, play, inclusion and exclusion, limits and, hopefully, passion. And there are ways to go about this that we call rules. Some of which are best respected, some stretched and negotiated and, of course, some broken. I learned of Corita Kent's rules from dian marino and found them listed in Learning By Heart (p176). And i think they're pretty cool. They're actually titled "Immaculate Heart College Art Department Rules." And, since learning them, i have always combined them in my mind and heart with Bread & Puppet's Cheap Art manifesto (see next post).

Rule I: Find a place you trust and then try trusting it for a while.

Rule 2: General duties of a student: pull everything out of your teacher. Pull everything out of your fellow students.

Rule 3: General duties of a teacher: pull everything out of your students.

Rule 4: Consider everything an experiment.

Rule 5: Be self disciplined. This means finding someone wise or smart and choosing to follow them. To be disciplined is to follow in a good way. To be disciplined is to follow in a better way.

Rule 6: Nothing is a mistake. There’s no win and no fail. There’s only make.

Rule 7: The only rule is work. If you work it will lead to something. It’s the people who do all of the work all the time who eventually catch on to things.

Rule 8: Don’t try to create and analyze at the same time. They’re different processes.

Rule 9: Be happy whenever you can manage it. Enjoy yourself. It’s lighter than you think.

Rule 10: “We’re breaking all of the rules. Even our own rules. And how do we do that? By leaving plenty of room for x quantities.” John cage

Helpful hints: always be around. Come or go to every- thing. Always go to classes. Read anything you can get your hands on. Look at movies carefully, often. Save everything it might come in handy later. There should be new rules next week.

From David Mekelburg. Corita Kent’s Rules & Hints for Students and Teachers.

A New Book about Corita Kent

I had a wonderful art teacher who had a wonderful art teacher. I never met Corita Kent, though, through my friendship with dian marino, one of Corita's students, i feel as though i know her. So, when i found out a few weeks ago that a new book about Corita's life and art was published i called the Corita Art Center in California and ordered a copy immediately. What a thrill to find it stuffed in my mailbox this week.

The book includes an essay by Julie Ault and a fine selection of Corita's many serigraphs (silkscreens) large enough to appreciate (24.5 cm 28.5 cm). Corita's work is an iconic part of the 60s with her bright, hopeful, word-filled posters. Combining word and image is something i learned from dian. And seeing where dian obviously got some of her inspiration gives me a comforting feeling of having deep roots in creative traditions of which i will never know the full extent. Something that i loved about making art with dian was the playful spirit with which dian would create. I took little urging to embrace this disposition. When i met dian i was, in part, looking for someone who could simply give me permission to play, break rules, be wild. And i owe a debt to dian, and Corita, for showing me the way to connect with that wild fire of creativity that i think is available to all of us.

Come Alive! also includes a very moving essay by poet and peace activist Daniel Berrigan.

I urge you to check out Corita's work. Especially if you're interested in community art. One of my favourite art books of all time is Learning By Heart: Teachings to Free the Creative Spirit by Jan Steward and Corita Kent (sadly, out of print). If you can find a copy it's something you should grab and hang on to. Filled with wise words and exercises and techniques for making art, it is a treasure trove. It was in this book that i came across Corita's "rules" for making art.

And, finally, i must recommend dian's book Wild Garden: Art, Education and the Culture of Resistance which also includes some exercises and techniques as well as some wonderful essays that dian wrote about art and popular and environmental education.

Ethics for Activists - 11

The Star

There was an old man who lived in a village beneath a tall mountain. The man was an ascetic whose daily devotion was to go without food and water from dawn until sunset. This he did for many years and, for as long as any of the villagers could remember, he had always been amongst them. He was loved and respected for his wisdom and kindness. One morning a villager arose early and was amazed to see that there was a star from the heavens that had come down to sit atop their mountain. That villager knew immediately, as did everyone else who saw it, that it must be a gift from the heavens to the old man who everyone loved so well. When the old man awoke and opened his door he was startled to see the entire village population standing before him. They pointed to the star and insisted that he go up the mountain to receive this gift. He said that it was enough that it was there and he had no need to climb the mountain. But the villagers insisted and, perhaps only to please them, he agreed. He fetched a small bottle of water from which he intended to drink when the sun had set, for it would be a full-day’s journey to go up and down that mountain. As he set off up the slope a young girl joined him saying she wanted to go, too. Together they traveled. After some time the girl said she was thirsty. The old man passed her his bottle of water. She said, “I’ll drink only if you drink.” Now the old man had a problem. How could he let the girl suffer? But if he drank and broke his devotion, the gift of the star would surely be gone and the villagers disappointed. He drank. And he gave the girl the bottle. She drank. Slowly the old man raised his head, for he was sure that the gift of the star would be gone. But when he looked up, there on the top of the mountain, were two stars.

The Wonder of Memory

I just came across this lovely wee rhyme below that my dad shared with me last year. Just before he went in for heart surgery which proved to be quite the ordeal, and from which he was recovering at this time last year. It was a hard passage with many scary moments. And he had recovered well enough to spend a few weeks in England and Scotland last summer. Amazing. More amazing still is the way memory works and that he should recall this charming ditty from his childhood.

Three little ponies
Didn’t like their hay.
Said to one another,
”Let’s run away.”

The first one said, “I’ll cantor.”
The second one said, “I’ll trot.”
The third one said, “I’ll run,
If it’s not too hot.”

So they all ran away
With their tails in the air.
But they couldn’t jump the fence,
So they’re all still there.

Popular Education Around the World

For some time now, i've been wanting to survey popular education around the world. No small task. Especially if you consider that there are many groups out there that are practicing various forms of emancipatory, anti-authoritarian, participatory, democratic educations (and pedagogies) that are popular education in all but name. While jargon helps us make connections and delimits a field in helpful ways, it can also exclude and cause us to overlook things. So... today i'm starting a new section on my blog called "The World of Popular Education" (see the right hand column of this blog) listing groups that are committed to popular education praxis. I'm gonna start with those groups that use the term "popular education" and consider how to include others in time. I also include Theatre of the Oppressed in the popular education world. I plan to profile these groups, given what i already know and what i learn. And my dream is that sometime in the next couple of years we might find the financial and material resources to bring us all together to meet, compare notes, celebrate.

Here's a beginning:

• Catalyst Centre - Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  
• Highlander Research and Education Centre - New Market, Tennessee, USA
  
• The Freire Centre - Sao Paulo, Brasil
  
• Centre of Theatre of the Oppressed - Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
  
• Popular Education for People's Empowerment - Quezon City, The Philippines
  
• Trapese - UK
  
• Escanda - Spain
• Centre for Adult and Continuing Education - Cape Town, South Africa
• Umtapo - Durban, South Africa
  

And now, a story

For the show i wrote about the Stop the Spadina Expressway struggle i wove in a number of relevant wisdom tales. Here's one:

I love the story of the dining hall at Oxford. The ceiling of the hall had been made from great oak beams that after 400 years were falling apart. Oxford wanted to preserve the architecture and so sought for oak beams that would replace the aging ones. But they were told that there were no oak trees large enough – due to logging – from which to make the needed beams. It was then that one of the carpenters noticed the stand of ancient oaks right beside the dining hall. They were huge and could provide the beams that were needed. And then they realized that the builders of the dining hall 400 years earlier knew that one day the hall would need repaired. And thus had planted the oaks that they knew would one day be used to maintain their work.