Actor and author Jeffrey Tambor recently exalted the effect of authors reading their books out loud in a bookstore. “It’s theater,” he remarked in a New York Times interview. “Different venues – same goal – as E.M. Forster wrote, ‘Connect! …Only connect.’”
 
The connection between author and readers can be powerful and transformative. I’ve presented my biography of the early woman physician and political radical Marie Equi for dozens of gatherings. Each time I feel that I’m performing with the words, phrases and rhythms that survived a steady stream of  revisions.
 
I get an extra charge from knowing I’m presenting the life of a remarkable but little-known woman. Audiences often allow me privileged access to their own inner lives – their appreciation for my protagonist or their disinterest, their sharing a laugh with the person next to them or their close following of the obstacles my character encountered. Sometimes I witness eyes widening, smiles broadening, and heads nodding with affirmation.
 
Often the Q and A is the best part of an author event. This is a time when the connection between author and reader becomes more immediate, spontaneous, and personal. I can embellish my story-telling, and I gain insight into what intrigued listeners. I often wait for a question never before asked. At my most recent reading, an older woman inquired how I felt as a man writing the biography of a woman and why I was drawn to do so. In my response, I disclosed more about myself, how I identified with Marie Equi’s outsider status and her overcoming many obstacles. My connection with listeners and readers became more intimate and powerful.
 
I look forward to more book readings with their draw of theater and performance and the chance to connect.

Mother Jones just published a lengthy profile of the most senior member of the Senate (and the second wealthiest), Dianne Feinstein. The article is titled, "The Lioness in Winter." (Feinstein is 83 years old or is the reference to OUR Winter of Discontent?) The piece is definitely timely what with the calls to "primary her" for a more progressive, more Trump-resisting replacement. The story is also provocative with details on the challenges in her personal life, but the third paragraph stopped me:

"I am old enough to remember what it was like before" Roe v. Wade, she said, recalling how, as a member of the California Women's Parole Board in the 1960s, she had sent women to prison for 10-year sentences for terminating pregnancies. "And they still went back to it because the need was so great."

Granted the times were different, very different, but still. The interviewer did not record whether Feinstein expressed regrets now or debated whether to protest then.

Feinstein's work on the CIA's torture methods might have changed the future of the country if the details from her Senate Intelligence Committee discoveries were ever fully revealed.

The take-away question for me is what political and personal risks is she willing to take before she faces voters in 2018? More specifically, what can the resistance movement do to encourage,or demand, Senator Feinstein to be not just the most senior and 2nd-most wealthy but to be the most powerful member determined to rescue the nation from the existential threat of Trump and his cronies?
Mother Jones just published a lengthy profile of the most senior member of the Senate (and the second wealthiest), Diane Feinstein. The article is titled, "The Lioness in Winter." (Feinstein is 83 years old or is the reference to OUR Winter of Discontent?) The piece is definitely timely what with the calls to "primary her" for a more progressive, more Trump-resisting replacement. The story is also provocative with details on the challenges in her personal life, but the third paragraph stopped me:
"I am old enough to remember what it was like before" Roe v. Wade, she said, recalling how, as a member of the California Women's Parole Board in the 1960s, she had sent women to prison for 10-year sentences for terminating pregnancies. "And they still went back to it because the need was so great."
Granted the times were different, very different, but still. The interviewer did not record whether Feinstein expressed regrets now or debated whether to protest then.
Feinstein's work on the CIA's torture methods might have changed the future of the country if the details from her Senate Intelligence Committee discoveries were ever fully revealed.
The take-away question for me is what political and personal risks is she willing to take before she faces voters in 2018? More specifically, what can the resistance movement do to encourage,or demand, Senator Feinstein to be not just the most senior and 2nd-most wealthy but to be the most powerful member determined to rescue the nation from the existential threat of Trump and his cronies?
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/04/dianne-feinstein-versus-donald-trump

On June 3, 1916, Portland, Oregon observed National Preparedness Day with the largest parade in the city’s history. Fifteen thousand people marched along forty blocks downtown with their shoulders squared, heads held high, and spirits soaring. Hundreds carried banners with a one-word message – Prepare – while brass bands played martial airs and a dozen divisions marched in formation, group by profession and interest. A contingent of four hundred doctors and medical students, three hundred young men of the Athletic League, and five hundred suffragists – all stepped out for patriotism and readiness. It was a time of unit with the thrill of shared purpose and resolve.
 
Equi was of a different mind. Earlier that day, she had motored around the city with an opposite message, daring for its difference. Then she steered her way in to the parade route and approached the jubilant, patriotic crowd. She had mounted an American flag at the front of her automobile, but strapped on the side was a white banner that warned,” Prepare to Die, Workingman – J.P. Morgan & Co. Want Preparedness for Profit – Thou Shalt Not Kill.” With brazen courage, she rolled into the march behind the Knights of Columbus and the local bar association, two contingents known for their preparedness fervor. Quick and fierce, the marchers attacked. According to Equi, the attorneys struck first, yanking the banner from her and striking her with it.
 
A mob of 50 angry men surrounded and taunted her
 
“I was scratched and bruised, and my hand bled,” she said. “They tore the banner to shreds and stomped on it.” At one point, a mob of fifty angry men surrounded and taunted her, yelling, “That’s what we do to your banner, now here’s ours.” The men thrust the American flag into her hands, daring her to rip it. Equi later admitted to tearing two strips from it saying, “Your flag is no protection to me.” She put up a fight until the police intervened and arrested her and two of the men.
 
Excerpted from MARIE EQUI: Radical Politics and Outlaw Passions, available at bookstores and online. For more info: michaelhelquist.com 
--------------
Author’s Note:
What impresses and inspires me about this incident is Marie Equi’s courage and passion. Three years earlier police arrested her for protesting in a labor strike. At the station, the police brutally interrogated her.  She knew she could not count of police to protect her in another street fight. She knew men might beat her up again. But she pushed her way into the parade, one dissenter among 15,000, because she believed strongly in the anti-war cause. 

From the blog of the Oregon State University Press: 

The specter of the European War had darkened everyday life in the United States for many months. Americans had marched in Preparedness Day extravaganzas a year earlier. A minority of dissenters had rallied to protest what they regarded as an imperialistic adventure of capitalists who were ready to carve out spheres of influence with the bodies of working-class soldiers and sailors. A coalition of peace organizations had struggled to halt the false notion of “preparedness,” believing war-readiness would demand engagement in the conflict. But war now seemed inexorable.
 
The day before, April 4, 1917, the U.S. Senate ended twelve hours of debate to adopt a resolution that a state of war exists between the U.S. and Germany. The final vote was 82 to 6, with 3 Republicans and 3 Democrats opposing the measure. Crowds crammed into the Senate galleries, and US House members stood in the rear of the room witnessing the event. After the decision was announced, senators and spectators emptied the chambers in a somber silence.
 
On April 5, 1917 the U.S. House of Representatives voted 373 to 50 in favor of the war resolution. Their debate continued for 17 hours, with a decision coming shortly after 3 am in the morning. The only woman serving in the U.S. Congress, Jeannette Rankin of Montana, reluctantly voiced her opposition. She was quoted saying,” I want to stand by my country but I cannot vote for war.”

For the first time, a comprehensive list of Oregonians arrested for Sedition during the World War One era has been compiled. It will appear here at michaelhelquist.com in mid-April 2017.
 
My research into how Oregon aggressively embraced the federal Espionage and Sedition Acts documents the individuals who were charged, their alleged offenses, and the outcome of their prosecutions.  Who were the two physicians arrested for sedition and why? How many women were arrested and who was the one woman convicted? You might expect political radicals to be under suspicion but the postmaster of the small town of Ten-Mile in Oregon? Was the University of Oregon in Eugene a hotbed of dissension and resistance?
 
On Wednesday, April 19, 2017 from 7pm – 8:30 pm I will present my research at the Oregon Historical Society in Portland. It’s free and open to the public. The program includes Michael Kazin, a professor of history at Georgetown University and award-winning author, will discuss his new book War Against War: The American Fight for Peace 1914-1918.

More information at the OHS website 

 I hope you can join us. Also check here for summaries of the OHS presentations. 
​
Marie Equi: Radical Politics and Outlaw Passions, Michael Helquist, Oregon State University Press. 

How do you stay committed to the struggle when political assaults occur almost daily? Marie Equi kept up a steady stream of dissent and protests for seven years. During strikes, free speech fights, demands for women’s rights, and peace, she persisted and fought for justice. How did she manage to stay engaged maintaining a profession and a personal life?

“Marie Equi: Radical Politics and Outlaw Passions” tells it all. Selected as a 2016 Stonewall Honor Book for Nonfiction by the American Library Association. Available at bookstores and online.  

I wrote the biography of Marie Equi because I was drawn to her passion for justice, her status as an outsider (she was working class and a lesbian), and her determination to live independently. If you’re new to her story, check out the book video and my website, www.MichaelHelquist.com.

Authors love to hear from their readers, and I’m happy to share a few recently published reviews of my biography, Marie Equi: Radical Politics and Outlaw Passions. Available in bookstores and from online outlets.  These four readers all gave the book Five Star ratings – as did 26 others -- on Amazon.
 
“Five Stars”
“An extraordinary history that belongs in every American history and history of medicine curriculum.”
- Mike  

“A great read about a great activist”
“I loved learning of Marie Equi, such a brave and exciting character. Mr. Helquist provides full support for his commentary on her life and relationships. His research feels so solid. I loved reading her intimate lesbian relationships during a time when any inkling of such was so dangerous. I was inspired by her dedication to the rights of the poor and disadvantaged, her fight for access to birth control and family planning and her support for the rights of workers. A lot was crammed into her life and we are fortunate that her life has been told in this very readable book.”
- Carolyn Confer
 
“But is it good for the nonhistorian?”
“Yes it is. I planned to read it over several days but finished it in two. Equi’s story is compelling from the start, and remains continuously eventful – or so it comes across in Helquist’s straightforward and authoritative telling.”
- David Hathwell  

“Must read for radicals in the Pacific Northwest”
“Read this book while travelling from Idaho to Portland. It was amazing to visit the locations that Equi lived. We were even able to find where she whipped her partner’s boss. Highly recommend this book for people interested in radical politics and queer politics, especially in the Pacific Northwest. Although primarily a historical text, it reads like a novel.
- Bob Goise

One of the milestones in gaining global awareness of the HIV/AIDS pandemic was the launching of the annual World AIDS Day observance on December 1, 1988. Every year since, communities around the world recognize the progress with HIV prevention and services while acknowledging the persistent gaps in research and treatment options. Jim Bunn, one of the key players in implementing World AIDS Day, tells the story of how it all came about in this first-person report:
 
“How What Happened in San Francisco Led to World AIDS Day,” November 29, 2013 for KQED News.
 
Within the last few weeks and months, the ABC-TV series “When We Rise” and the new book “How to Survive a Plague” by David France have illuminated the struggle and enormous loss during the fight against AIDS in the United States. It’s essential to get this history right – for the public record, to inform future activism, and to inspire activists and agitators for justice in health care.
 
I had the privilege to work with Jim Bunn while he served as the Communications Director for the United Nation’s Global Programme on AIDS. At the time I was stationed in Washington, DC while helping develop the U.S. AIDS Communication Project for developing countries. I appreciated Bunn’s strong voice for AIDS awareness, his journalistic expertise, and his down-to-earth, cut-through the crap maneuvering through the UN bureaucracy continually pushed the needle forward for effective activism.