We activists like to paraphrase the legendary labour activist Joe Hill by saying “First mourn, then organize”. Larry Kramer, who died yesterday at the age of 84, defined the phrase. He taught a generation — he taught an entire culture — how to use grief as fuel, how to channel anger
Continue readingTag: obits
wmtc: toni morrison, rest in power
I was so shocked and saddened to learn of Toni Morrison’s death. I’ve been reading her work since a university creative writing teacher recommended The Bluest Eye in 1979. I’ve read all her novels. Although Beloved is her masterpiece, most of her work is phenomenal, and every book is worth
Continue readingwmtc: harry leslie smith — rest in power, and thank you
Harry Leslie Smith, who sometimes called himself “the world’s oldest rebel,” died in late November 2018. I was unable to acknowledge his passing on wmtc at the time. Smith, a writer and an activist, was a steadfast critic of neoliberal policies, especially the austerity agenda. He spoke out constantly and
Continue readingwmtc: rip philip roth
I was literally reading this article in The New York Times about Philip Roth when I heard he had died. It’s a wonderful story: an 85-year-old celebrated author who has come to the end of his career with no regrets, is grateful to wake up every morning, and is now bingeing
Continue readingwmtc: rip barry crimmins: call me lucky to have known him
In late 2015, I blogged about a remarkable documentary: “Call Me Lucky,” about the life and times of Barry Crimmins. Barry died last week at the age of 64. Describing Barry as a comedian somehow seems wrong. He was a social critic who used biting humour and righteous anger to
Continue readingwmtc: rip fred bass, who gave nyc a priceless gift
Is there a New Yorker alive who hasn’t spend time in The Strand? A New York City tourist who didn’t thrill to their first visit to The Strand? The man who gave NYC this unique gift died recently at the age of 89. Although his father founded the store, Fred
Continue readingwmtc: rip tom petty
The death of Tom Petty is terrible, shocking, dare I say heartbreaking news. From the moment I heard those unmistakeable first notes of “American Girl,” I was hooked. I was a teenager when Petty first fought the battle to hold down the price of records. (Archival story about that here.)
Continue readingwmtc: hail hail rock ‘n’ roll: rip chuck berry
To mark the death of rock legend Chuck Berry, everyone should watch “Hail Hail Rock ‘n’ Roll,” Taylor Hackford’s movie chronicling two concerts that celebrated Berry’s 60th birthday. If you want to know what all the fuss is about, if you need historical context to understand what Chuck Berry meant
Continue readingwmtc: fidel castro, 1926-2016
More than any ruler I can think of, Fidel Castro defies our insistence on seeing leaders as solely either good or evil. As this excellent assessment in Social Worker (UK) puts it, “History must judge him both as the freedom fighter whose defiance humiliated US imperialism and as the ruler
Continue readingwmtc: the greatest, forever. rest in power muhammad ali.
Revolutionary thought of the day, from a revolutionary American.Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go ten thousand miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated …
Continue readingwmtc: rest in power, daniel berrigan and michael ratner
The world lost two great fighters for peace and justice this past week.Daniel Berrigan was a lifelong peace activist, a man who was ready and willing to put his body and soul on the line. He was a writer, a thinker, a pacifist, an idealist, a pragmatis…
Continue readingwmtc: in which the death of a rock legend makes me think about how our world has changed
When this came out, I hung the cover on my bedroom wall. Sharing memories of David Bowie, as so many of us were after his too-early death this week, led me to think a lot about the world I lived in when I was a big Bowie fan.My world thenI saw Bow…
Continue readingwmtc: thoughts arising from the death of a defender of free speech
This week’s obituaries included the last living link to two landmark moments in the history of freedom of expression. Al Bendich was just two years out of law school when he wrote the brief that is credited with the victory in the famous “Howl” obscenity case. In 1957, Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Continue readingwmtc: bobby keys, 1943-2014
Terrible news for the music world this week, and for the world of unabashed, unrepentant, hard partying rock-and-roll. I have loved Bobby Keys for as long as I’ve known of his existence, which is to say a very long time. If you read Life, Keith Richards’ memoirs, you know a
Continue readingwmtc: rest in peace, canine with a brave rebel heart
When I blogged about him a few years back, he was called Kanellos, the Greek rebel dog. Somewhere along the way, English-language media dubbed him Riot Dog. He was also called Louk, short for Loukanikos. Louk, Kanellos, and also Thodoris may or may not have been the same dog. Whatever
Continue readingwmtc: thank you, charley richardson! your legacy lives on
On Labour Day, I happened to see this on Twitter: I am on my union’s labour-management committee, the group that meets monthly with management to discuss members’ concerns and try to resolve issues. I was intrigued and followed the link that Rank and File had posted. To my surprise, the
Continue readingwmtc: depression is to sad as cancer is to pimple (a few thoughts after the death of robin williams)
Reading a news story about Robin Williams’ death, I saw a tweet from Jimmy Kimmel. It said, in part: “If you’re sad, tell someone.” Depression is “you’re sad” the way cancer is a pimple. And telling someone doesn’t make it go away. For severe depression telling someone is… well, it’s
Continue readingwmtc: nadine gordimer, 1923-2014
Nadine Gordimer was a great writer, and a steadfast voice for justice. Gordimer, a white South African, was a member of the African National Congress when the organization itself was illegal. Several of her novels, which explored the affects of apartheid on those who lived it, were similarly banned. Gordimer
Continue readingwmtc: tommy ramone, and how can it be the ramones are gone from this world?
Back-to-back obituaries again. Obits are taking up a large percentage of wmtc real estate these days, yet another indication of how little I’m writing. The passing of Thomas Erdelyi this week, better known as Tommy Ramone, brings an uncomfortable reminder of mortality for people my age and younger: the last
Continue readingwmtc: charles barsotti, 1933-2014
Two obituary posts in a row, and I didn’t even mention Tony Gwynn. My favourite cartoonist, Charles Barsotti, has died from cancer at the age of 80. My favourite Barsotti character is, of course, The Pup. The Pup often saw his therapist. And sometimes lawyers were involved. But Barsotti had
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