Publisher's Synopsis
This book is like a majestic table around which are gathered an extraordinary, international assembly of people who share stories about the nature of their daily work-and even more importantly-they bear witness to their experiences struggling against systems of local and global oppression. In a single location, SHIFTING THE UNIVERSE brings together the voices of 18 unlikely companions: fishing folk who make their livelihood in the Arabian Sea off the coast of India-members of Indigenous communities protecting the Amazon Rainforest in Ecuador-a Salvadoran janitor who cleans skyscrapers in Los Angeles-a Muslim midwife in Atlanta-a master puppeteer from Silesia-an Appalachian coal miner-an Egyptian spinner and weaver, an African American teacher in Washington DC-track workers in New York City's subway, father and son surgeons in Cuba-a sailor on a ship carrying munitions to the Vietnam War-among many other contributors. SHIFTING THE UNIVERSE is the product of Storyteller Candace Wolf's epic international quest to track down and record the firsthand testimonies of folks who participated in acts of resistance while toiling at a variety of physical, mental and artistic labors. The people who generously shared their personal histories with Ms. Wolf have wrestled with urgent contemporary problems: the savagery of war and racism, the absence of respect and dignity in the workplace, abusive healthcare practices, poisoning of irreplaceable ecologies, suppression of cultural identity and destruction of community. SHIFTING THE UNIVERSE seeks readers interested in biography and memoir, radical history and activism, the social sciences, and working class studies. The book can serve as a valuable resource in high school and college classrooms. Above all, it is intended for a multigenerational audience interested in learning about the richly complex worlds of working people and the ingenious ways they have devised for challenging injustice. The idea for the book grew out of Ms. Wolf's work with an intergenerational oral history initiative she developed as a storyteller-in-residence at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC. Over thirty years collecting and telling stories as a professional storyteller, 15 years working at the grassroots level as an oral historian, and a lifelong dedication to social justice activism prepared Ms. Wolf to record and present the testimonies of these principled individuals. Their words come to life in vibrant storytelling that conveys courage, commitment and solidarity.
