NWU-Tucson Faces Dual Crises of Covid and Racist Police Brutality

As the coronavirus rampaged across Arizona, setting new infection records almost daily, the Tucson Police Department revealed that its officers had contributed to a young Latino man’s death by pinning him to ground until he died. The three officers involved in the death resigned on June 19 after being informed they would be fired. But by […]

NWU Wins Cheaper, Easier Copyright Registration for Online Writing

In response to a proposal initiated by the NWU almost four years ago, and later endorsed by nine other national organizations of writers, the U.S. Copyright Office today issued new regulations that will allow a writer to register copyright in up to 50 short-form works published on one or more websites or online platforms within […]

Erased

Every day, I get glimpses of the erasure of Americans of color. My May 8 New York Times arts section (“For a Great Escape, Try a 1940s Musical”) describes the era when White movie stars like Fred Astaire and Shirley Temple danced in blackface to tap and jazz, trained by African-American dancers, who were allowed to appear […]

Juneteenth 2020: Notes from the Field

We all have a stake and so much to gain in the rooting out of white supremacy. This is a moment for holy uprising. We have all been the beneficiaries of Black women’s brilliance and grace, whether we know it or not. —Women’s March webinar Understanding and Transforming White Womanhood June 10, 2020 Trent Willis, […]

Updates on Non-Payment Grievances

Consumers Digest: On June 2, a judge finally granted our Motion for Default Judgment after Consumers Digest failed to obtain new counsel to Appear on its behalf.  This case has dragged on for almost two years as deadbeat publisher Randy Weber seeks to avoid paying our 17 freelancers the $65,000 he owes them. Another hearing […]

2 Poems By Zigi Lowenberg

Hamsa (Eye of Fatima): Sheltered in Place My Kurdish comrade, journalist all of twenty-five with the soulful eyes of fifty We meet again in a grid, half a dozen video boxes and I see you from my treelined reflected window, afternoon sparkles the roofs of Oakland I see your window grow dark in Brooklyn as […]

NWU’s Lorraine Currelley Named Bronx Beat Poet Laureate

On May 20, the National Beat Poetry Foundation, Inc. named Lorraine Currelley the 2020-2022 Bronx Beat Poet Laureate. The foundation selects international poet laureates, recognizing them for their public role in continuing the movement begun by the Beat Generation authors of the 1940s and ’50s.  Currelley’s activism in her historic home borough continues year round as she organizes free […]

Traitors Against Democracy

Los Angeles-In the past several years there has been a renewed interest in what has been called the glorification of the “lost cause” of the confederacy. This interest continues today, as protestors take to the streets and on the grounds of local government offices to protest the coronavirus government policies. Some of these demonstrators are […]

DC/VA/MD NWU Chapter

Our chapter has been meeting via zoom every Sunday in response to the urgent and fast-moving events of the pandemic.   Each week we have been inviting a member to share their work. We were delighted by Paul-Newall Reaves’ presentation on long poetry, and an excerpt from author Charlotte Malerich’s soon-to-be-released fantasy novel. We also enjoyed […]

Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: Trump, Covid, Poverty and Racist Terror

The cold-blooded racist murders of Ahmaud Arbery while jogging near Brunswick, GA, Breonna Taylor while asleep in her bed in Louisville, KY, and George Floyd while in police custody and handcuffed in Minneapolis, MN, have set off a firestorm across the US and around the world. The fearless unity of people across race, age, gender, […]