| Title: | Undoing the Silence |
| Subtitle: | Six Tools for Social Change Writing |
| Author: | Louise Dunlap |
| ISBN-13: | 978-0-9766054-0-9 |
| Publisher: | New Village Press |
| Distributor: | Consortium |
| Pages: | 240 |
| Trim: | 7" x 9.25" |
| Binding: | Original Trade Paperback |
| Pub. Month: | December 2007 |
| Price: | $20.01 |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 12, 2007
Contact: Karen Stewart
510 420-1361;
www.newvillagepress.net
Proven Methods to Help Activists Unleash their Writing Voices
Undoing the Silence accomplishes what
other books on writing do not: it links writing to our beliefs, our activism
and our voice.
—Gary Delgado, President Emeritus, Applied
Research Center, Oakland
Louise Dunlap’s new book empowers citizens to change society through the written word. Her book shows how to unearth the power of personal voice by exploring the writing process and through lessons from the writing struggles of activists of all kinds—peace workers in California, labor organizers in South Africa and community organizers in Boston, who rise above the silencing ghosts of their past. The author is equally skilled in guiding professionals and scholars to express themselves effectively.
The book's tools include “freewriting” techniques, strategies for reaching an intended audience, innovative exercises for giving and receiving feedback, and tactics for rethinking, editing and rewriting free-flowing drafts.
Louise Dunlap, PhD, began her career as an activist writing instructor during the Berkeley Free Speech Movement of the 1960s, and has for more than four decades been leading workshops for people in the labor, women’s, peace, racial justice, and environmental movements around the U.S. and internationally, including the 2007 U.S. Social Forum.
Undoing the Silence helps citizens influence democratic processes through letters, articles, proposals, press releases, blogs, reports and public testimony. Her work aims not just at teaching, but also at healing—both individual voices and an ailing collective voice. Her insight strengthens strategic thinking and her "You can do it!" approach makes social-action writing achievable for everyone.
“I don't know anyone who conveys more essential insights more clearly and briefly.
I can't think of a better book to recommend to people who want to make a difference.”
—Peter Elbow, Professor Emeritus, Department of
English, University of Massachusetts
“An elegant and moving book on how to find your powerful voice and understand your
audience.”
—Ann Markusen, Professor & Chair in Urban
and Regional Affairs, Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of
Minnesota
“The techniques in Undoing the Silence value the knowledge and
experience of emerging writers. The power of this work is ‘The Lifting of Every
Voice’…the basis of building a real democracy in this country.”
—Mel King, community leader; former Massachusetts State
Representative; Professor Emeritus, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
New Village Press (www.newvillagepress.net) is a not-for-profit publisher devoted to the building of vibrant communities. It is a public-benefit venture of Architects/ Designers/ Planners for Social Responsibility (www.adpsr.org). Books are distributed to the trade by Consortium Book Sales and Distribution.
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