The New
Settler
Interviews
Vol. 1:
Boogie
at
the Brink
edited by
Beth Robinson
Bosk
(Chelsea Green;
2000; 289pps;
$22.95)
 |
A few years back, a friend gave me a copy of the New Settler, a newspaper zine published in northern California focussing on the pioneers, visionaries and activists involved in creating a new sustainable culture. I was impressed to find out that there were no articles, only lengthy interviews, in-depth, personal explorations of the presented topic(s). Wow! what hard work... to transcribe an interview or two per issue is tedious enough let alone 6-7 per issue. To transcribe tape after tape for a publication that only prints 2500 copies is truly remarkable and exemplifies the commitment Beth Bosk and friends have given to this publishing endeavor. And, she’s been doing this for 15 years! This book is Volume 1 of The New Settler Interviews.
In this book, we discover interviews with such famous people as Julia Butterfly (in fact, Beth’s interview with Julia was the first one of its kind before the mainstream press got a hold of her incredible story).
If you want to learn more about what folks are doing in the heart of the logging industry and in the heat of the battle to save the ancient redwood forests as well as green building pioneers (cob, straw), the solar engineering architects, poets, tree living communities, alternative land owning... check this book out. Especially with Beth Bosk as your intelligent guide to these positive futures (she allows the interviewee to go into all sorts of areas that are profound as well as ecstatic), you will not only feel encouraged but it might even inspire us to walk our talk, more and more and more....
Bob Banner
