Since the beginning of 2016 we’ve been commemorating the hundredth anniversary of the Easter Rising and the leadership of James Connolly. This effort has taken us to Northern California, Ireland and New England to participate in the many events dedicated to the purpose. While this will not be the last we hear of Easter Week, James Connolly, revolution or socialism, it does bring to close a major chapter for all of us who participated in a wonderful project. From its inception in late 2010 to our final concert at the Left Forum in New York City, May 21, 2016, Songs of Freedom has been an inspiring collaboration involving many people from diverse backgrounds and locales. The book and the cd remain to testify to that fact but it is to thank, once again, all those who contributed that I write these words, now. It’s especially important to mention here the musicians whose enthusiasm at the start were the impetus for the project in the first place. Joe McHugh and Alan Burke from Ireland. Shirley Grimes, Wolfgang Zwiauer, Sam Baur, Stefanie Aeschlimann, and David Brühlmann from Switzerland, Shannon Callahan from the U.S. and, above all, Yvonne Moore, who did so much not only in performing music but in fund-raising and organization. Thank you all.
Already the next projects are lining up. I finally completed my book on San Francisco in the Sixties. It’s called: The Explosion of Deferred Dreams and it will be published by PM Press in January 2017. I’ll be touring next year to promote the book so keep an eye on this and PM’s websites for dates and times of appearances.
Meanwhile, I’m finishing work on another book entitled: Radical Perspectives on Intellectual Property. This is a group effort of which I’m the lead author/editor. Once all the material is in I’ll make a more formal announcement. For now, I just want to say that a stellar group of researchers are joining in an effort to make a sustained critique of Intellectual Property. Chapters on subjects as varied as agriculture and access to knowledge, music and piracy, law and international treaty will make this book a useful tool for anyone seriously engaging the subject, especially those who oppose current IP regimes. -Stay tuned!