Books

COMMENTARY: ‘Poverty Scholarship,’ THE book to read if you care about poverty

SAN FRANCISCO BAY VIEW — As a professor with UC Berkeley’s Global Poverty and Practice Program, this is the book I have been waiting for, and that I want all of my students to read. I am so grateful for the effort that has gone into the writing and publishing of this essential book.

Published

5 years ago

March 20, 2019

Cecilia Cissell Lucas

By Cecilia Cissell Lucas

As a professor with UC Berkeley’s Global Poverty and Practice Program, this is the book I have been waiting for, and that I want all of my students to read. I am so grateful for the effort that has gone into the writing and publishing of this essential book.

In programs like the one in which I teach, we often talk about notions of “expertise” and about the need for those who experience issues most directly to be central parts of designing solutions. Too often, however, when it comes to poverty, the voices of poor people are only presented through the ventriloquism of academics, professional activists, and service providers. This book, by contrast, is an act of self-determination.

This book contains deep theory regarding the origins of poverty and current homelessness crises, as well as case studies describing solutions being designed and implemented by poor people, in collaboration with those who have access to greater material means. The word “collaboration” is key here; the solutions being modeled involve horizontal approaches, not inconsequential “participation” or “input” on strategies being determined by those with more money and more power.

In addition to theories and solutions, this book is also a work of art, full of creative writing, creative thinking, and descriptions of creative doing of all kinds. One of the subsections of the book actually focuses specifically on Art and Cultural Work, as this work is central to POOR Magazine. Other areas discussed include Media Production, Education, Healthcare and Social Work, Employment, Activism and Advocacy, Housing Provision and Community Reparations as an alternative to charity and philanthropy.

It is easy to despair at the enormity of the problems that exist. This book, however, in its description of the work being done by the authors, is hope in action.

I have also had the privilege of experiencing the teachings of POOR Magazine live, as well as visiting Homefulness, the self-determined solution to houselessness they are creating, and can say without hyperbole that the work they are doing is not only cutting-edge, it is absolutely fundamental to the kinds of personal, interpersonal, cultural, institutional and societal changes we need to make if we truly care about poverty.

I cannot overemphasize how much I urge everyone to read, learn from and be moved to action by this book. If you live in or are visiting the Bay Area, I also recommend coming to meet the authors and check out the work they are doing on the ground. But I am so grateful that this book now exists so that those who are not able to come in person can still learn from the enormous wisdom, experience and expertise of these magnificent leaders.

Cecilia Cissell Lucas is a faculty member at UC Berkeley, teaching in the Global Poverty and Practice Program and co-teaching a course on Art and Activism. She is also the co-founder of Creating Freedom Movements: more justice, more joy. She can be reached at cecilialucas@berkeley.edu.

This article originally appeared in the San Francisco Bay View.

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Activism

Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

Published

7 days ago

April 19, 2024

Oakland Post

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Book Reviews

Book Review: Books for Poetry Month by Various Authors

Picture books for the littles are a great way to introduce your 3-to7-year-old to poetry because simple stories lend themselves to gentle rhymes and lessons. “See You on the Other Side” by Rachel Montez Minor, illustrated by Mariyah Rahman (Crown, $18.99) is a rhyming book about love and loss, but it’s not as sad as you might think.

Published

1 week ago

April 17, 2024

Oakland Post

c.2023, 2024, Various Publishers

$18.99 – $20.00

By Terri Schlichenmeyer

On your hands, you have lots of time.

You can make a song, or you can make a rhyme. Make a long story, make a short one, write what you like, make it simple and fun. Writing poetry uses your imagination: you play with words, paint a picture. There’s no intimidation. Creating poetry can be a breeze, or just reach for and read books exactly like these…

Picture books for the littles are a great way to introduce your 3-to7-year-old to poetry because simple stories lend themselves to gentle rhymes and lessons. “See You on the Other Side” by Rachel Montez Minor, illustrated by Mariyah Rahman (Crown, $18.99) is a rhyming book about love and loss, but it’s not as sad as you might think.

In this book, several young children learn that losing someone beloved is not a forever thing, that it is very sad but it’s not scary because their loved one is always just a thought away. Young readers who’ve recently experienced the death of a parent, grandparent, sibling, or friend will be comforted by the rhyme here, but don’t dismiss the words. Adults who’ve recently lost a loved one will find helpful, comforting words here, too.

Flitting from here to there and back again, author Alice Notley moves through phases of her life, locations, and her diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer in her latest poetry collection, “Being Reflected Upon” (Penguin, $20.00). From 2000 to 2017, Notley lived in Paris where she wrestled with breast cancer. That, and her life abroad, are reflected in the poetry here; she also takes readers on a poetic journey on other adventures and to other places she lived and visited. This book has a random feel that entices readers to skip around and dive in anywhere. Fans of Notley will appreciate her new-age approach to her works; new fans will enjoy digging into her thoughts and visions through poems. Bonus: at least one of the poems may make you laugh.

If you’re a reader who’s willing to look into the future, “Colorfast” by Rose McLarney (Penguin, $20.00) will be a book you’ll return to time and again. This, the author’s fourth collection, is filled with vivid poems of graying and fading, but also of bright shades, small things, women’s lives yesterday and today, McLarney’s Southern childhood, and the things she recalls about her childhood. The poems inside this book are like sitting on a front porch in a wooden rocking chair: they’re comfortable, inviting, and they tell a story that readers will love discovering.

If these books aren’t enough, or if you’re looking for something different, silly, or classic, then head to your favorite bookstore or library. The ladies and gentlemen there will help you figure out exactly what you need, and they can introduce you to the kind of poetry that makes you laugh, makes you cry, entices a child, inspires you, gives you comfort, or makes you want to write your own poems. Isn’t it time to enjoy a rhyme?