Reading and Writing are Political Acts

So. Hi. We haven't posted in a while.

Pub Crawl is not a political website. We're a website about reading, writing, and the publishing industry.

But reading and writing are inherently political acts. Some people are urgently searching for something to do in the wake of the American presidential election, and one of the things I choose to do is embrace the political power of reading and writing.

Reading I am committed to becoming a better listener. As someone with enormous privilege it's easy for me to be blind to realities that are painfully obvious to other people. Listening to marginalized voices and amplifying them is one political action that I can easily take every single day.

It's a little early to start making New Year's resolutions, but I have already decided that in 2017 I am going to exclusively buy and read books written by marginalized authors. That means I'll be reading books written by people of color, people with disabilities, LGBTAQ people, and people from other marginalized or underrepresented groups. Buying and reading books written by marginalized authors and then recommending some of those books to others is one achievable way to directly support these people.

Another way I can make reading a political act is to subscribe to reliable, credible news sources. We are all aware of the struggles that print journalism faces. I can do my part to support the freedom of the press by subscribing to newspapers and magazines or donating to public news organizations.

Writing I can write fiction that is diverse, well-researched, and above all respectful. I can write social media posts in support of vulnerable populations. I can write to my representatives at all levels of government and make sure my voice is heard. I can write checks to organizations that do work I believe in. I can write privately in a journal to examine and work to dismantle my own privilege and prejudices. I can write texts to my friends who are most at risk and ask them how they are, and make it clear that I stand with them. I can write signs to hold up in protest.

These are small, but concrete actions. There is so much more that I can and will do, but these are easy things that literally anyone can do now, today. We can all buy books written by marginalized authors. We can all write to our representatives and demand better. Change begins with us.