[misc.activism.progressive] BOOK: "Walking to the Edge" by Margaret Randall

bertoldi@astro.Princeton.EDU (Frank Bertoldi) (06/16/91)

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 	*********************************
	*				*
 	*     WALKING TO THE EDGE 	*
 	*     Essays of Resistance 	*
	*				*
	*     by Margaret Randall	*
	*				*
	*  South End Press, Fall 1990   *
	*				*
 	*********************************

<from South End Press book catalog:>

In this collection of essays and photographs, Margaret Randall
draws powerful connections between three themes generally cast as
disparate -- the impact of U.S. foreign policy on the people of
Latin America, the female voice in art and literature as a
vehicle for social change, and the need to break the silence
around incest and other abuse. Making the link between the
political invasion of a nation's sovereignty and the sexual
invasion of a human body, Randall paints with bold strokes a
vision that leads to human empowerment and liberation.

	In feminism we have retrieved our vulnerability
	and our strength, with shame for neither. One
	of the most important ways in which we pass
	this among oufselves and to others is through
	the revelation of process. We will no longer
	accept the patriarchal objectification of
	ourselves as product.  We will be process.
	 	-- from "Down Dangerous Roads"

In 1985, the Immigration and Naturalization Service refused to
grant New York-born Randall U.S. residency status because of the
political nature of her writings. Last year she won her battle
against the INS, enabling her to live in the United States. In
this collection's moving lead essay, "Coming Home: Peace Without
Complacency," Randall reflects on her five-year struggle against
censorship.

Having "come home" to the United States -- a return qualified by
having spent 23 years in Mexico, Cuba, and Nicaragua -- Randall
continues to develop the unique vantage point from which she
views literature, politics, and activism. Her careful, lyrical
style takes the reader down many dangerous roads, roads which
those who care about the world must travel.

	Coming home must bring peace, but never
	complacency. ..I want to be able to place my
	anger when it belongs: squarely in the laps of
	those who, from positions of abusive power,
	would punish, stigmatize, harass and persecute.
	But I also want to remember the lessons: how
	people come together, what creativity is born
	in struggle, what faith is held in it. As I
	continue to build my bridges and walk across
	them, I am filled with the vision of the hands
	waving behind me and those reaching out to
	welcome me to the otherside.  
		-- from "Coming Home"

An essayist, journalist, poet, photographer and political
activist, Margaret Randall resides in the foothills of
Albuquerque, New Mexico. She is the author of over fifty books,
including "The Shape of Red: Insider/Outsider Reflections" (with
Ruth Hubbard), "This Is About Incest," and "Sandino's Daughters:
Testimonies of Nicaraguan Women in Struggle."

Includes photos, 220 pages,
0-9608-397-7  $12.00 paper, 0-9608-398-5  $25.00 cloth.
For a free catalog, or phone orders, call S.E.P. at 1-800-533-8478.

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