Despite acing AP US History, taught by a very liberal teacher in the heart of Massachusetts — in a former factory town! — I‘m just now learning about the suffragette slogan “Bread for all, & Roses too!” which is inextricably linked to the Lowell Textile Mill Strike.
My soul is consumed; I need the words framed immediately.
Read the linked poem, then the context in the comments below:
https://www.zinnedproject.org/materials/bread-and-roses-song/
monalyisha It meant “that women were fighting for not just physical needs but also music, education, nature, art, leisure, and books…for pleasures as well as necessities, and the time to pursue them, the time to have an inner life and freedom to roam the outer world.” 6d
monalyisha In a 2022 interview with The Nation about her tagged book (referenced in my current read), Solnit said, “We all know what ‘bread‘ is: food, clothing, shelter; the bodily necessities, which can be more or less homogenized and administered from above. But ‘roses‘ was this radical cry, in a way, for individualism, for private life, for freedom of choice — because my roses and your roses won‘t be the same roses, you know?”![[tagged book]](https://image.librarything.com/pics/litsy_webpics/icon_taggedBook@3x.png)
Orwell's Roses 6d
Orwell's Rosesmonalyisha “Bread for All, and Roses too!” recognizes that “people are subtle, complex, subjective creatures who need culture, need nature, need beauty, need leisure.” 6d
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TheKidUpstairs I love this. It reminds me of the quote from the depths of the AIDS crisis “We buried our friends in the morning, we protested in the afternoon, and we danced all night.“ A reminder that so many social justice movements strive for more than just the basic needs of the body, but the necessities of the soul 💗 because what is life without joy? 3d
monalyisha @TheKidUpstairs YES! Did you read the tagged? There‘s a powerful essay about queer joy, clubs, dancing, tragedy, & community. I think it might be the one “about” yeti crabs.How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures 3d
How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea CreaturesTheKidUpstairs @monalyisha I have not read it, but I do have it stacked (probably from your review!) I'll have to bump it up the TBR! 3d
monalyisha @TheKidUpstairs I feel confident that you‘ll love it. If you don‘t, IOU. I don‘t know what. But something. 😅 3d
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