Celebrating a free soul

Protests and a general strike

Here’s the view outside my study on this gorgeous, snowy day.

Plant c/o Dan, the greenest thumb I know.

A book you might need—I KNOW ABOUT A THOUSAND THINGS, edited by Naomi Shihab Nye and Marion Winik.

Naomi Shihab Nye and Marion Winik at their book recent book launch.

The thing I have learned from fish and love and marriage and children and horses and mules and Saint Anthony is that you never find what you are looking for…. The right things and people always find you when you were not looking at all. [Ann Alejandro]

Nye, a celebrated poet and writer, was close friends with Ann Alejandro of Uvalde, Texas. Alejandro was a salt-of the-earth writer and human, who lived as freely as she could, within long-term, chronic pain. She died before the horrendous massacre in her hometown.

Nye collaborated with writer and critic Marion Winik to compile a book of Ann’s writing and wisdom. This volume seems apt and necessary. Winik never met Ann Alejandro, but came to know her posthumously. Winik’s afterword is a stunning essay in and of itself.

Republic of Cruelty

Things I think about—(1) No matter how corny the film “It’s A Wonderful Life,” it is on us to prevent the United States from turning into Potterville. (2) Rebecca Solnit writes that in the end, it’s not institutions that will save us, but people who will. (3) Harriet Tubman risked her life every day just to stay alive, to say nothing of her grit and heroism.

We’re in this together fam, so let’s turn up the heat. There are protests and other key actions happening around the country. Protests matter. Calling Congress matters. Other forms of resistance matter. Check in with your local Poor People’s Campaign [Reverend Barber is a voice of moral authority], Indivisible Chapter, Swing Left Chapter, and find ways to contribute to our democracy.

Resistance is necessary and cool, and if that’s cringe so be it.

Once again: litigating groups that could use your dollars—Public Citizen, ACLU, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, National Immigration Law Center, Democracy Forward, GLAD, Center for Biological Diversity [n.b., the hubs works there].

I went to a protest the other day that called out the insanity of cuts to the federal workforce. I later heard on the Ezra Klein podcast that this particular protest helped divert some of Musk’s hench-boys from doing whatever they were planning to do that day. Part of protesting is giving our friends and allies the impetus to stand up with us. Some pictures—

The following is from Jessica Craven’s Chop Wood, Carry Water Substack, which is filled with useful information.

“1) House Democrats have formally established a Rapid Response Task Force and Litigation Working Group! Good! We need a committee specifically dedicated to this fight, and this one, it seems, will be.

2) There are now several big rallies or actions in the works—a nationwide protest on February 17, and a website for a General Strike. 200K people have already signed a strike card. The organizers offer a weekly Discord discussion, if you have questions about how a general strike might work. All are welcome.”

And finally, here’s a video I made this week about immigrants.

Give your loved ones a hug.

Love, Martha

P.S. ICYMI, here’s last week’s newsletter: “Literary craft and Murakami and…”

P.P.S. Happy Valentine’s Day to all who celebrate. Here’s a story on 100 Small Acts of Love. We are a note-leaving family. Dan started the tradition of leaving little notes inside luggage when one of us is traveling, and leaving notes at home when he travels, and notes for our daughters when we leave after a visit.