cover image Fire and Ink: An Anthology of Social Action Writing

Fire and Ink: An Anthology of Social Action Writing

, . . Univ. of Arizona, $32.95 (460pp) ISBN 978-0-8165-2793-9

While the editors of this generous anthology of fiction and nonfiction describe social action rather dryly as “a form of critical inquiry and an act of social responsibility,” the passionate pieces making up the collection elevate it into a meditation on the sanctity and wonder of each life. It's that overarching sensitivity that gives these diverse creative voices their moral and political force—and is echoed in the Buddhist “mindfulness” practiced by Vietnamese monk and social worker Chân Không, or the “small things” that make sense of the greatest transformations for novelist-activist Arundhati Roy, or the alertness to “the trauma of being different” in editor García's own migrant labor camp recollections. It comes as a refreshing antidote to the obfuscating abstractions clustered around the most pressing issues of the time—including those that become thematic categories in the anthology, such as war, the environment and labor. The general quality of writing, among both better and lesser known writers of conscience, ensures the collection is as timeless as it is timely. (Oct.)