(From Greg Bem)

Hey folks.

Given the nature of the book I thought you would appreciate knowing that:

Foray for The Arts in Spokane will be holding a poetry memorial for Renee Good this coming Tuesday on the Spokane River at 7pm. It will feature statements of love, resistance, and defiance. It will be antifascist in nature. It will be a vigil. It will include Renee’s celebrated poetry. It will honor the poets around the globe who have been murdered, harmed, and oppressed throughout the era of capitalism.

My blood boils as I type this, weaving anger and sorrow nearly minute by minute. This is exactly how I felt in 2020, and before that during Occupy, and before that during Iraq, and before that during Afghanistan. My blood burns as I know this timeline is cursed with the narrative of violence the greed, which the majority of anti-violent structures were created in response to.

Walking in the snow today, I admire the snow. The snow is not a response to violence. The snow is. I pondered a variety of Buddhist lessons as I thought about the AI-powered security cameras watching me stare at the snow and not working.

On Tuesday there will be a memorial. It will not be the last, but it will be alongside the stones and the water that are.

I am sending love to you in solidarity. Winter in America (Still continues to approach us, and continues to be incredibly fucking pertinent. It is important work and I’m glad it exists for us right now, in this blood boiling and blood burning fever dream.

From Spokane, with love, resistance, and defiance,

Greg