Robert Bly, a poet, knew that college students protesting against the Vietnam War needed support. They organized teach-ins in the spring of 1966 to educate their peers about the war. In 1970, he told a reporter that if he went to a crowd at the time, “I would say 90 percent of them would be in favor.”
Robert Bly, a poet, recognized their need for support as college students protesting the Vietnam War organized teach-ins to educate their peers about the conflict in the spring of 1966. In 1970, he told an interviewer,” If you went to an audience at that time, I’d say 90 % would support the war and 10 % would be against it.”
He organized a “read-in” with the poet David Ray at Reed College in Portland, Oregon, to support their endeavors. They decided to go more after the event, which brought poets, veterans, and students up to read and recite anti-war poetry, was so powerful that they eventually planned hundreds of protests for authors who were committed to ending the war. This group evolved into American Writers Against the Vietnam War under the direction of Bly and Ray.
They used their platforms ( in Bly’s case, his$ 1,000 prize money from winning the 1968 National Book Award ) to free draft resistors from prison and raise support for the anti-war movement. Their members and allies included literary figures from the 20th century like Adrienne Rich, Allen Ginsberg, and Grace Paley. Their contributions to the groundswell of opposition that weakened support for the Vietnam War are still remembered as a classic illustration of the special role that artists can play in times of war.
In the days following October 7, Ari Brostoff, a senior editor at Jewish Currents, found himself reflecting on that position as his inbox was overflowing with empty letters and petitions expressing support for Palestine. A quick wave of criticism came after several of these letters. After instantly closing author Viet Thanh Nguyen’s reading in response to his participation in an open letter calling for a ceasefire, 92NY, which was formerly known as the Young Mens Hebrew Association, lost staff and speakers. David Velasco, one of the highest-ranking art editors in the magazine industry, was fired soon next month for publishing a letter urging social institutions to show support for the ceasefire and solidarity with Palestine. The letter was signed by thousands of artists. The publication Artforum is currently experiencing a boycott by well-known artists.
Brostoff and a growing number of other creatives realized that writers required some sort of central hub from which to address the backlash and support for organizing against the war. They founded Writers Against the War on Gaza ( WAWOG ) after taking their cues from American writers against the Vietnam War. They, like their namesake, are protesting the war through social organizing, which aims to mobilize artists through means such as petitions, rallies against social objectives, and boycotts. That piece of work is currently causing a stir in the media. Jazmine Hughes and Jamie Lauren Keiles, two letter signatories who worked for the New York Times Magazine, apparently faced management’s demands for their resignations. The dangers of speaking out against the war were highlighted by their departures.
They have won the support of influential media and Hollywood figures, including Game of Thrones author George R. R Martin, New Yorker Jia Tolentino, and poet Ocean Vuong, as they gain support for a historical boycott of Israel that forces their industries to secede from Jewish institutions and condemn the war on Gaza.
The objectives remain essentially the equal: putting an end to war through culture and art, even though social organizing in 2023 looks different from how it did in 1966. In our conversation, Brostoff and I talked about solidarity costs, social boycotts, and WAWOG’s goal of creating” a new social front for a complimentary Palestine.”
How did Writers Against the War on Gaza come to be?
Because there were so many available letters going around after October 7, that’s when we first met. It became obvious that those letters would n’t get very far without infrastructure, whether it be an organization or a network of allies that can help support and sustain our voices. There was such an urge for writers and artists who were horrified by what was happening to speak and to do that collectively.
Our initial discussions concentrated on a dozen objectives. Second, we wanted to compile all the letters and engage everyone who was working on them in dialogue. In order to establish a central hub for collective response, we even wanted to gather information about the repression occurring, David Velasco’s firing, the events at 92NY, and the New York Times. Lastly, we wanted to gather writers and artists.
Cultural organizing: What is it?
I define historical organizing as the practice of organizing among social workers. People who write books, produce films, fashion, media, or produce art fall under this category. These are all the individuals who create culture and language. They aid in our comprehension of the world. We can target social institutions and hold them accountable for actions like, in this case, endorsing war crimes through historical organizing.
Describe the members of this coalition for me. How some people take part? Where in the world are they located? What kind of cultural work do they engage in?
Our organizing committee consists of about 30 people. At least twice as many people are constantly taking part. We meet once a week, but there are currently several committees and very active group chats, but generally conversations and work are happening every day. Although some people in New York are also meeting in person, we are meeting nearly.
Additionally, we are in a couple different cities. Given that New York is home to the US culture industry, it makes sense that some people are concentrated there. However, we have people all over. People live in Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles, the Bay Area, and Canada. Locals have organized on their own to collaborate with local artists. engage in ground combat. For instance, in LA, people are beginning to discuss how to push for a social boycott in the film industry, which would be very significant. First discussions are also being held about the needs of the fashion and art industries. The ultimate objective is for our members to unite around local historical production.
A social boycott is what? And what does it mean to boycott Israel historically?
The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions ( BDS ) movement, which began about 20 years ago to mobilize international opinion and demonstrate that Israel is an apartheid state, is the source of the concept of a cultural boycott of Israel. Prior to this point, musicians and performance artists who have decided not to perform in Israel have been the primary conduit through which the historical boycott has manifested itself. One illustration is Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters. Although the wave has been developing for a few decades, WAWOG is more recent in its efforts to convince social institutions to join the boycott.
A consumer boycott and a social boycott both follow the same logic in some ways. You want to make it difficult for people to consume goods produced under apartheid. But perhaps more significantly, a social boycott goes against normalization’s logic. If you disagree with it, it is because you are racist and rejects the notion that Israel’s actions are typical.
It’s crucial to note that this is not a personal boycott. It is a protest against Israel’s government and institutions that receive funding from Israel. Additionally, there are numerous Jewish institutions because part of the normalization process is to maintain Israel’s reputation as the sole democracy in the Middle East through its culture. One illustration is the overall pinkwashing phenomenon, or the notion that gay people can thrive in Israel in a way that is unheard of in the Middle East. Or perhaps in TV shows like Fauda, which promotes the notion that democracy must be suspended in order for “real” democracy to prevail, similar to programs like Homeland in the US. This boycott initiative is essentially attempting to change that logic. Our objective is to persuade as many social institutions as we can to support the boycott of culture. And a number have in recent weeks, including magazines like Hammer &, Hope, and Parapraxis as well as social hubs like The Poetry Project. And in the coming week, we anticipate at least a dozen more signing on.
Some well-known journalists and writers have lost their jobs or been fired over the past month for expressing their support for Palestine. Have WAWOG employees ever been bullied or targeted at work?
The most crucial thing to note is that people are currently being incredibly courageous. There are some individuals who work at left-wing organizations within the organizing core of WAWOG where they are less likely to experience repression. Some people work for themselves. Finally there are artists who signed the Artforum letter who are being shunned by collectors and threatened by gallerists. Additionally, there are members of our coalition who are currently putting a lot on the line and work for well-known social organizations. Although I do n’t believe anyone can be guaranteed protection from retaliation for making such a speech, I believe the underlying principle is that work must be done because it is absolutely crucial.
The repression people are experiencing for speaking out in support of Palestine really speaks to what writers and artists are capable of through political speech, which is what makes this moment interesting. It differs greatly from what we are accustomed to. I’m not sure if there has ever been a time in my life when it seemed probable for an enormous number of people to fundamentally alter the logic of culture. Furthermore, it is no new for people to be oppressed in support of Palestine. Since the beginning of the Arab liberation movement, that has been happening. Of course, that taboo has been broken in the past, but then something unique is taking place. Zionist social and ethnic logic is beginning to crumble at the firmament. And the fact that this war is not one that is well-liked makes that clear. You can see it in Joe Biden’s declining popularity and the large protests occurring all over the world.
In times of political and social upheaval, what part do you think culture plays?
I frequently reflect on two traditional occurrences where culture fundamentally altered society. The first is the late 1920s and early 1930s movement known as the” Cultural Front.” It brought communist and socialist artists who were attempting to create a culture for and in support of working-class struggles up in the US. That movement produced the majority of the work we then consider to be Americana. artists like Diego Rivera, Richard Wright, Paul Robeson, and Pete Seeger. They were working on this initiative to create a working-class culture while rejecting the notion that capitalism was unavoidable.
The alternative illustration is ACTUP. ACT UP was undoubtedly working in the social sphere as well, but they were also creating innovative cultural forms. In part because queer people were important to the culture industry and were most damaged by AIDS in the 1980s and 1990s, they were involved in social work. They had access to those levers, and they resisted being expelled from society. They changed the culture rather than operating or hiding through the logic of the closet. They expressed their experiences through writing plays, art, and photography. It did n’t concentrate on making a broad acceptance or recognition request. It was about presenting the world with a completely unyielding, unreserved view of queer life. After that, the historical logic surrounding queerness did change. They took action for which we are also incredibly grateful.
National Writers Against the Vietnam War is an example of this. A significant component of the growing resistance to the Vietnam War at the time came from the musicians, writers, artists, and young people who were cultivating culture. They contributed to the development of the phrase” we reject this royal war.” This is certainly our war; we are the people.
What do you anticipate accomplishing in the upcoming month?
The social boycott is crucial. We will have completed our task if we can make adhering to the boycott a requirement for organizations on the left and begin making actual inroads into more mainstream culture, such as the fashion industry, Hollywood, the art world, and so forth. Additionally, we’re attempting to persuade major media outlets to alter their coverage of Israel and Palestine. We are not foolish. We operate inside and outside of these institutions. They do n’t want to change, as far as we know. People are currently being threatened, fired, and placed on a blacklist. However, it is still unclear whether this type of repression will be effective. Because even though it is intense, I do n’t think it’s functioning all that well. More than ever before, people are still speaking up. Robert Bly, a poet, recognized their need for support as college students protesting the Vietnam War organized teach-ins to educate their peers about the conflict in the spring of 1966. In 1970, he told an interviewer,” If you went to an audience at that time, I’d say 90 % would be in favor of the war.
Robert Bly, a poet, knew that college students protesting against the Vietnam War needed support. They organized teach-ins in the spring of 1966 to educate their peers about the war. In 1970, he told a reporter that if he went to a crowd at the time, “I would say 90 percent of them would be in favor.”
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2023/11/petitions-group-chats-and-resignations-inside-the-artists-fight-to-stop-the-war-on-gaza/
