Protests against the genocide in Gaza have become intergenerational on an unprecedented scale. When I marched against the war in Vietnam,...
The New Anti-War Elder Activists
Protests against the genocide in Gaza have become intergenerational on an unprecedented scale. When I marched against the war in Vietnam, a grey-haired protester was a rare sighting. Many elders at the time shared the view of my [...]
Pat Taub
Alice Walker7
Black Women Writers Who Radicalized Me
For Black History Month I want to honor some of the brilliant African American women writers that have left an indelible mark on me. I’m particularly indebted to Audre Lorde, bell hooks, Alice Walker, Angela Davis and Lucille Clifton. I read them in the pre-internet era of the ‘80’s and ‘90’s when face-to-face communication was [...]
Pat Taub
Poetry: A Balm for Troubled Times
For poems are not words after all, but fires for the cold, ropes let down to the lost, and sometimes as necessary as bread in the pockets of the hungry. —Mary Oliver To paraphrase Oliver, poetry isn’t just an art form, but a powerful medicine. Poems are a reminder when we are hurting that there is beauty in the world, and when we [...]
Pat Taub
How I Learned to Embrace Poetry
Because of the way I was introduced to poetry, it took me awhile to develop an appreciation for poetry. In middle school I was forced to memorize classic poems like Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken.” I remember standing in front of my 8th grade class, woodenly reciting the poem, then sitting down and that was that. Frost’s poem wasn’t [...]
Pat Taub
Waking Up to Climate Change
I have to make a confession: I have been a bad climate citizen. While I have been moved to the core by this summer’s record smashing heat, wildfires and floods, in response, I have done little more than wring my hands and exchange feelings of despair with friends. This weekend I read the book, All We Can Save, which hit me like a ton of [...]
Pat Taub
The Healing Power of Poetry
Since April is National Poetry month and since this April we’re all frantic over COVID, what could be a better time to celebrate the healing powers of poetry? If you’re like me you have favorite poets that you might consult when you’ve been asked to recite a poem at a wedding or funeral, but you probably don’t read poetry as regularly [...]
Pat Taub
Black Women Writers Who Opened My Eyes
Young Black women writers are making huge inroads in literature, critical thinking and memoirs. In many ways their path was paved by the revolutionary writings of Black feminists who gained a national audience in the ‘70s and ‘80s. This was the period that shaped my feminism. I was young and newly exploring feminism. Initially my readings [...]
Pat Taub
Unforgettable Black Women Writers
For Black History Month I want to honor some of the brilliant African American women writers that have enlarged my worldview. I’m particularly indebted to Audre Lorde, bell hooks, Alice Walker, Angela Davis and Lucille Clifton. I discovered them in the pre-internet era of the ‘80’s and ‘90’s when face-to-face communication was often [...]
Pat Taub