Howard Zinn (1922- 2010)
"To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness." - HZ
read a tribute to Howard Zinn written by Brian Jones
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"Don't you wonder: why is it necessary
to declare me dead again and again?"
KARL MARX
Marx is back! The premise of this witty and insightful "play on history" is that Karl Marx has agitated with the authorities of the afterlife for a chance to clear his name. Through a bureaucratic error, though, Marx is sent to Soho in New York, rather than his old stomping ground in London, to make his case.
Howard Zinn, best known for his book, 'A Peoples History of the United States', introduces us to Marx's wife, Jenny, his children, the anarchist Mikhail Bakunin, and a host of other characters.
Brian Jones, an African American actor and activist, has been performing this engaging one-man show across the country since 1999.
Marx in Soho is a brilliant introduction to Marx's life, his analysis of society, and his passion for radical change. Zinn also shows how Marx's ideas are relevant in today's world.
click here to read the reviews
about Howard Zinn
Howard Zinn (1922-2010) is the author of the classic 'A People's History of the United States'. Zinn received the Lannan Foundation Literary Award for Nonfiction and the Eugene V. Debs Award for his writing and political activism. Zinn and Anthony Arnove published an anthology of primary documents to serve as a companion to 'People's History', under the title, 'Voices of a People's History of the United States'. Zinn grew up in Brooklyn and worked in shipyards before serving as an Air Force bombardier in World War II. Zinn was chair of the History Department at Spelman College, where he actively participated in the Civil Rights Movement, before taking a position at Boston University. Obituaries for Howard Zinn are posted here.
more books by Zinn
about Brian Jones
Brian Jones is a teacher, actor and activist in New York City. His commentary and writing have been featured on GritTV, SleptOn.com, SocialistWorker.org, and in the International Socialist Review. Jones has also lent his voice to several audiobooks, including Noam Chomsky's Hegemony or Survival, Voices of a People's History of the United States, and Howard Zinn's one-man play, Marx in Soho (forthcoming from Haymarket Books).
watch Brian discuss Howard Zinn's legacy on GRITtv
(updated 2/7/10)