University of California Press Blog

The Radical Jack London: Writings on War and Revolution

As Professor and Chair of Communication Studies at Sonoma State University, author and editor, Jonah Raskin puts Jack London's revolutionary writings into context in his latest book, The Radical Jack London. Furthermore, you can read more about Jonah and his book on his website, The Radical Jack London. Among other books, he is author of American Scream: Allen Ginsberg's Howl and the Making of the Beat Generation (UC Press, 2004) and For the Hell of It: The Life and Times of Abbie Hoffman (UC Press, 1997)

The Radical Jack London in 1968

By Jonah Raskin

Had Jack London lived until 1968 he would have been 96 years old - not a biological impossibility. After all, his close friend, Upton Sinclair, lived until ‘68 and the ripe old age of 94. It’s tempting to imagine London ’68, the year that changed America and the world, and that London would have loved because upheaval inspired him, and engaged his deepest sympathies.

London was always young – he died in 1916 at the age of 40, and even at 40 there was something boyish about him, as his friends noted. He would have fit in with the youthful students who stormed college campuses in ’68, and he would have been attracted to the youth-orientated culture of the 1960s. In 1905, along with Upton Sinclair, London founded the Intercollegiate Socialist Society, an organization of radical students, and the forerunner of Students for a Democratic Society, the Sixties group that opposed the war in Vietnam. An extremist almost all his life, London wrote about war and revolution, and it’s likely that he would have written about the war in Vietnam and the cultural revolution that created hippies, Yippies, feminists and Black Panthers. He smoked hashish, rejected the sexual mores of his time, went back to the land and was drawn to Asian spirituality.

1968 was a pivotal year for me. It was the year I was arrested as a protestor, went to jail for the first time, and began to write for underground newspapers. I was not then a big fan of Jack London’s work but I knew about it and him. I admired his 1908 novel The Iron Heel, which describes the coming of a brutal dictatorship to the United States. At times in 1968 it seemed like the United States was headed in that direction, especially when the police attacked demonstrators at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. London’s prescience couldn’t have been more in evidence.

What London didn’t share with the radicals of 1968 was a sense of outrage about racial injustice. In fact, at times he would be downright racist himself. He identified himself as a white man, praised the white race and looked down at people of color. That’s the part of him I like the least, and it’s the part of him that his biographers andcritics have for the most part declined to explore, much less condemn. When I began to write The Radical Jack London I knew I would have to tackle the issue of race and racism. I think I have done it in a level-headed way and I’m proud of my approach. It’s not the first time I have written about that subject. I did it in my first book, The Mythology of Imperialism, which I wrote in 1968, and in many ways The Radical Jack London is a continuation of my own scholarship as a young man aiming to describe the links between culture and politics, which the academic world of that era was eager to deny. Without a big stretch of the imagination, I can see Jack London with us in ’68, marching, chanting defying the powers-that-be.

Baseball's Color Line

In commemorating the 60th anniversary of baseball's Jackie Robinson Day on April 15th, 2008, author Adrian Burgos, Jr. blogs about how Latinos were subsequently effected by Jackie Robinson's breaking of the color barrier. Baseball Musings posted the article on April 18th. The University of California Press published Playing America's Game: Baseball, Latinos, and the Color Line in 2007.

Taking Liberalism Back

A 2008 Presidential victory for Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton will be a triumph for the Democrats, and will offer an opportunity to rebuild the image of the Democrats as progressive pioneers. Tom Waldman’s timely book Not Much Left (forthcoming in late April) chronicles the history of American liberalism, from its Gilded Age of championing peace and civil rights to its recent struggles with defeat and disenchantment. Not Much Left discusses how political setbacks and waning liberal sentiment have stranded the Democrats in a wasteland, and their best hope for escape is to make a sharp left turn.

"...In this important, revisionist, smart and funny history of liberalism since it's been down and out, Tom Waldman tallies its lasting achievements and argues that Democrats can't achieve a lasting resurgence unless they embrace their inner liberals."—Harold Meyerson, Executive Editor, The American Prospect and columnist for the Washington Post

"Tom Waldman's book is extremely interesting and gives us a lot to think about, particularly at this moment in our nation's history."—Congressman Henry A. Waxman

Exploring the Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

As we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., we'd like to encourage everyone to explore his legacy through his writings.  The University of California Press, in a unique ongoing partnership with the Martin Luther King Papers Project, is the publisher of the Martin Luther King Papers–the definitive record of the most significant correspondence, sermons, speeches, published writings, and unpublished manuscripts of one of America's best-known advocates for peace and justice. The series currently includes six volumes of published papers that cover various chronological periods in the life of Dr. King. Volume VI of the papers was published in March of 2007 and covers Dr. King's never before published sermon file that covers the entire period between September 1948 and March of 1963.

UC Press Author, Peter La Chapelle, on Merle Haggard's Politics

In Proud to Be an Okie, author Peter La Chapelle explores the political and cultural history of the Los Angeles country music scene, illuminating the evolution of politics and musical expression from the early songs of the liberal Woody Guthrie to the later conservative views of Merle Haggard and his "Okie from Muskogee" anthem. Merle Haggard is now making headlines for penning his recent song "Hillary," which seems to endorse Hillary Clinton for President. Could Haggard be serious? La Chapelle examines the debate:

Just as my book Proud to Be an Okie was beginning to hit the store shelves, country music legend Merle Haggard, one of the central figures I write about, was making headlines with a new song titled "Hillary."

Often cast as a working-class conservative for such patriotic anti-counterculture numbers as "Okie from Muskogee" and "Fightin' Side," Haggard appears to endorse Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential bid in the new song, which argues it is time to "put a woman in charge."

The brouhaha that followed resembled in an inverse way the original uproar that broke out over "Okie from Muskogee," his seemingly pro-war, hippie-bashing anthem, in 1969.

With "Hillary," fans on the Right voiced confusion, disappointment, and a sense of betrayal. Fans and bloggers on the Left either applauded it or criticized Haggard, who has been unabashedly opposed to the Iraq War, for endorsing one of the few Democratic presidential candidates who has not officially renounced an earlier pro-war stance.

In 1969, left-wing country-rock fans and critics of the Vietnam War expressed a similar disappointment at "Okie," while right-wing audiences turned out in droves at places such as the Anaheim Convention Center Arena to cheer and sing along.

The one through-line between "Hillary" and "Okie from Muskogee" may be a question of interpretation: Is Haggard singing these songs at face value or are they to be understood as statements of irony?

Haggard's intent has always been a difficult item to nail down. In 1969, even academic folklorists were unsure if "Okie" was meant to be sarcastic, while many longtime fans will swear to this day that Haggard was really lampooning his own small-town boot-wearing narrator.

Although the New York Times blog that brought "Hillary" to light claimed Haggard was serious, longtime fans writing on his website swear it is a lark.

If Haggard is indeed serious, then this, along with the Dixie Chicks' multiple honors at the Grammy Awards, suggest that the earlier liberal populist trend I describe in the book has not completely trailed off in country music--even if today's mainstream country remains dominated by a more-or-less conservative outlook.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Honored by UC Press, Stanford

Some thirty-nine years after his tragic death, Martin Luther King, Jr. remains a central force in the American battle for equality and peace. This Monday, the nation paused to celebrate his birthday. But the celebration doesn’t end with a day off from work.

The University of California Press and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project at Stanford University are in their fifteenth year of collaborative celebration through the publication of King’s Papers. Volume VI of the series, subtitled Advocate of the Social Gospel, gathers the preacher and peacemaker’s sermons and ecclesiastical notes, unveiling the scrawled beginnings of the preacher’s renowned orations.

On Thursday, January 18th, the co-editors of the book will introduce the volume at a celebration on the Stanford campus with a talk on King’s current relevance as a religious leader. All are welcome to attend.

Last Holler for Coal Hollow

Don’t miss your last chance to see the photography exhibit Coal Hollow, on view now through October 29 at the Southeast Museum of Photography in Daytona, Florida.

The exhibit consists of arresting black-and-white photos and oral histories of the coal-mining legacy in southern West Virginia. On October 25, the museum will hold an open house and reception to meet the exhibiting artists, Ken and Melanie Light. The evening will include a lecture by Ken at 7:00 p.m. The following morning, the Lights will hold a seminar and open-classroom session entitled “History, Journalism and Documentary Photography.”

The book accompanying the project, Coal Hollow: Photographs and Oral Histories, includes nearly one hundred glossy photographs, along with forewords by former Labor Secretary Robert Reich and Orville Schell, Dean of the School of Journalism at UC Berkeley.

Bringing the work full circle, the Lights recently received a grant from the Open Society Institute to distribute their documentary photographic project in an alternative way: They have created multimedia kits— containing the book and DVD versions of Coal Hollow, along with laminated text and image panels—which will be given to targeted public libraries in West Virginia. In due course, this project will allow people all over West Virginia to access information about this hidden catastrophe.

Tanya Erzen on Fresh Air

This Monday, October 9, Tanya Erzen, author of Straight to Jesus: Sexual and Christian Conversions in the Ex-Gay Movement, was interviewed on NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross along with former ex-gay Shawn O'Donnell who discussed his time in Exodus International, the ex-gay network of local activist groups and ministries.

In her book, Erzen, an Associate Professor at Ohio State University, looks at New Hope Ministry, a place where gay and lesbian men and women go to change their homosexual orientation in a twelve-step-like manner combining therapy, prayer, and bible study. One of the group's co-founders, Frank Worthen, was also a founding member of Exodus International North America, the group with which Fresh Air guest Shawn O'Donnell was affiliated.

On September 23, an organization called Focus on the Family hosted an ex-gay conference, "Love Won Out," in Palm Springs, California. The gathering saw over a thousand people in attendance and drew protests from local residents. Focus on the Family has planned another controversial "Love Won Out" conference for November 4 in Atlanta, Georgia that will include speakers from Exodus. More protests are also likely.

Where Politics and Music Mingle

The recent release of the historical documentary film The U.S. vs. John Lennon , on FBI surveillance of the beloved Beatle, has propelled Jon Wiener's Gimme Some Truth: The John Lennon FBI Files into the limelight.

The book chronicles the 14-year legal battle to win release of the FBI files, which revealed the Nixon Administration's attempts in 1972 to "neutralize" John Lennon’s antiwar activity. In the last few weeks, some major media outlets have interviewed Wiener or published his comments: The New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, and NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross have all utilized the author’s expertise. The John Lennon FBI files document an era when rock music had a real political force, when youth culture challenged the status quo in Washington, and when the president responded by mobilizing the FBI to silence the man from England who sang "Give Peace a Chance."

Gimme Some Truth also tells the story of Jon Wiener's campaign to win release of the Lennon files under the Freedom of Information Act, and the story of the ways the Reagan, Bush, and Clinton administrations fought to preserve government secrecy in a case that went all the way to the Supreme Court.