Category Archives: Books & Book Reviews

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A Cautionary Tale and an Inspiration? The “Life of Quaker Service” of Annice carter

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Finishing the new book Annice Carter’s Life of Quaker Service, my first query was: What if Annice Carter had ever learned to make bagels? Could that have changed history in the Middle East?

Annice in Middle Eastern dress.

She had the training and experience. With her college degree in Home Economics, cooking, including for large groups, was one of her many skills. And she was well aware of the implications of food for building community in diverse cultural settings.

Besides being a cook, Annice was a teacher, then Jill-of-(almost) all-trades, and later Principal of the Friends Girls School in Ramallah Palestine (started by New England Friends in the 1880s, and established as an elite  school for Palestinian students).

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Arts: For Kids, Arts: Writing, Asian. American. Asian-American. & More., Black & White & Other Colors, Books & Book Reviews, Censorship, Cross-Generational Issues, Culture wars, DEI

Move Over, Ron de Book Banner —Leftie Censors Are Even Worse

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[NOTE: There’s unfortunately too much truth in this report to ignore. One implication is left unaddressed: it points to the increasing importance of independent publishing (typified but not limited to Amazon), OUTSIDE the increasingly hidebound and oppressive “legacy” publishing industry. PS. This report, alas, applies as well to much of Quaker publishing.]

From The Bulwark.com

The Book Banners on the Left

A substantial read: A major report warns that progressive activism is contributing to a chilly climate in publishing.

CATHY YOUNG — AUG 28, 2023

WHETHER THERE EXISTS in American culture a left-wing illiberalism that threatens freedom of thought and expression under the cover of social justice has been a subject of heated debate in the past decade. At a time when right-wing authoritarian populism is on the rise, many people have viewed warnings about illiberal progressivism as a distraction.

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Quaker Book Giveaway: Turning the Page on Florida Censorship

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Florida Quakers give away hundreds of Black-history books

By

Special to the Beacon

BOOK GIVEAWAY A SUCCESS — Members of the DeLand Quakers stand in front of a portion of the books on Black history collected to be distributed at the recent rescheduled Juneteenth celebration. In front, from left, are Kathy Hersh, Heba Ismael, Carol Reed and Bill Brennan. In the back row, same order, are Jim Cain, Beverly Ward, John Heimburg and Bill Kwalwasser. PHOTO COURTESY KATHY HERSH

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From Politico: Under the Radar, Many DC cops are Coup-sympathizers, or Worse —Politico

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“Is it good?” An Asian-American Writer Stands Up for Imaginative Freedom

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From: “Rebecca F Kuang: ‘Who has the right to tell a story? It’s the wrong question to ask’”

The Guardian, May 20, 2023

“If I were a debut writer, I wouldn’t have dared to write this book,” Rebecca F Kuang says from her home in Boston. Then again, she wouldn’t have been able to. Her new thriller, Yellowface, could only have been written by an author familiar with the idiosyncrasies of the publishing industry: its petty politics, its bad faith, its best intentions gone hilariously awry. Continue reading “Is it good?” An Asian-American Writer Stands Up for Imaginative Freedom →