Nick Meynen's Blog - Posts Tagged "environment"
UK tour to launch "Frontlines. Stories of Global Environmental Justice"
Excited! London 3/12. Norwich 4/12. Durham 5/12. Edinburgh 6/12. Oxford 7/12. My UK tour to launch "Frontlines. Stories of Global Environmental Justice" is taking shape (1) Also making a second trip in February, for a seminar together with a big source of inspiration for me: Prof. Tim Jackson
I've spent 10 years working towards my first book, which came out in 2009. Then I've been laboring another 10 years towards this book, which can now be read by people all over the world. Now I need to finish that job by making it known.
When writing I'm driven by idealism. I want to tell a story which I believe is my little contribution to the debates which I believe matter a lot. #environmentaljustice #postgrowth #degrowth #transition #extinction #rebellion
But writing books ain't romantic, heroic, or moneymaking at all. At least not for me. It's more about being stubborn for years in a row. It is a lonely, sometimes even boring and tiring job rewriting text a dozen times, while working less time for money and instead for your ideals. And when that's done you're kindly told by your publisher (in his case Zero Books) that writing is half the work. Selling the book is the other half. Therefore: please be informed that pre-orders are now possible, reviews on goodreads are appreciated https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4... and if you're in Brussels for a hand-to-hand sale: do let me know)
But then once in a while, a reader emails you that he started with a movement to plant trees right after and because of reading your book (David Demets). Or another one sends you a picture of himself reading the book in the middle of snowy mountains (Piotr Barczak) while wasting no opportunity to talk about it to his friends. And it also feels great to obtain the opportunity to talk to students and others about the rise of a global movement for environmental justice and the sometimes inspiring ways that the characters of my book find for getting us out of this mess - as well as what this all means in terms of fixing a broken economic system.
Let there be no doubt. There's a global movement trying hard to rise up to the biggest challenges of our times (Code Rood / Ende Gelände / Parkveld blijft natuurlijk / Free the Soil / Hambacher Forst Besetzung / Zad de Haren - No prison / Catapa / Youth For Climate / Climaxi / University Divestment Belgium / 350.org / Het Open Veld / Extinction Rebellion / South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People and 1000s and 1000s more). This movement is connecting the dots from the local to the global. It is taking things in their own hands with often risky real-life actions. It doesn't always win every battle, but I do believe it can win this war (on the environment) and create the alternatives this world needs. Either way, it is already changing the course of our history. Let's all be a Frontlines: Stories of Global Environmental Justicepart of this movement, in one way or another.
With hope,
Nick
(1) For the time being I'm still assuming that come December, the Dude from Downing Street hasn't sealed the UK off in Tibetan early 20th century style, so I can travel there.
PS: as several people have pointed out in the comments: the book is also available in the original Dutch version, which is called "Frontlijnen Een reis langs de achterkant van de wereldeconomie." Published by EPO Uitgeverij - en ja, ik geef ook nog lezingen in het Nederlands, graag zelfs. Dit jaar nog 2 keer op de Hogeschool VIVES in Kortrijk bijvoorbeeld. Ik sta open om nog lezingen te doen dus als je iets wil organiseren, je weet me te vinden :-) Details op https://nickmeynen.wordpress.com/
I've spent 10 years working towards my first book, which came out in 2009. Then I've been laboring another 10 years towards this book, which can now be read by people all over the world. Now I need to finish that job by making it known.
When writing I'm driven by idealism. I want to tell a story which I believe is my little contribution to the debates which I believe matter a lot. #environmentaljustice #postgrowth #degrowth #transition #extinction #rebellion
But writing books ain't romantic, heroic, or moneymaking at all. At least not for me. It's more about being stubborn for years in a row. It is a lonely, sometimes even boring and tiring job rewriting text a dozen times, while working less time for money and instead for your ideals. And when that's done you're kindly told by your publisher (in his case Zero Books) that writing is half the work. Selling the book is the other half. Therefore: please be informed that pre-orders are now possible, reviews on goodreads are appreciated https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4... and if you're in Brussels for a hand-to-hand sale: do let me know)
But then once in a while, a reader emails you that he started with a movement to plant trees right after and because of reading your book (David Demets). Or another one sends you a picture of himself reading the book in the middle of snowy mountains (Piotr Barczak) while wasting no opportunity to talk about it to his friends. And it also feels great to obtain the opportunity to talk to students and others about the rise of a global movement for environmental justice and the sometimes inspiring ways that the characters of my book find for getting us out of this mess - as well as what this all means in terms of fixing a broken economic system.
Let there be no doubt. There's a global movement trying hard to rise up to the biggest challenges of our times (Code Rood / Ende Gelände / Parkveld blijft natuurlijk / Free the Soil / Hambacher Forst Besetzung / Zad de Haren - No prison / Catapa / Youth For Climate / Climaxi / University Divestment Belgium / 350.org / Het Open Veld / Extinction Rebellion / South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People and 1000s and 1000s more). This movement is connecting the dots from the local to the global. It is taking things in their own hands with often risky real-life actions. It doesn't always win every battle, but I do believe it can win this war (on the environment) and create the alternatives this world needs. Either way, it is already changing the course of our history. Let's all be a Frontlines: Stories of Global Environmental Justicepart of this movement, in one way or another.
With hope,
Nick
(1) For the time being I'm still assuming that come December, the Dude from Downing Street hasn't sealed the UK off in Tibetan early 20th century style, so I can travel there.
PS: as several people have pointed out in the comments: the book is also available in the original Dutch version, which is called "Frontlijnen Een reis langs de achterkant van de wereldeconomie." Published by EPO Uitgeverij - en ja, ik geef ook nog lezingen in het Nederlands, graag zelfs. Dit jaar nog 2 keer op de Hogeschool VIVES in Kortrijk bijvoorbeeld. Ik sta open om nog lezingen te doen dus als je iets wil organiseren, je weet me te vinden :-) Details op https://nickmeynen.wordpress.com/
As the first UK tour ends, plans are already brewing for tours 2, 3, 4, …
The rebellion against the current war on nature is global. Extinction Rebellion is a great new kid on the block but it doesn’t happen in splendid isolation, neither is this a white class hobby project. The truth is rather the opposite. Here are 3000 “rebellions” https://ejatlas.org/ from all over the world and people such as prof. Joan Martinez-Alier call this proof of the existence of a global movement for environmental justice. Some of these cases inspired me to dig a bit deeper into the stories at the frontlines, where protectors are doing all the hard and risky work for all of us. The book based on these stories is called “Frontlines. Stories of Global Environmental Justice“.
As I was traveling around the UK to present my book in 8 events in 5 cities in 5 days, I was reminded through the responses how much I share with the views of Extinction Rebellion, even though my book was largely written before XR became public. Especially my book lecture in Scotland was one where I felt in the right place. The Edinburgh folks that decided to spend their Friday evening listening to my presentation and then engaging in a good debate were truly awesome. The Lighthouse bookshop claims to be the ‘radical bookshop’ of Edinburgh and I couldn’t imagine a better bookshop than this one to present this book. I counted 26 people squeezed together and fully surrounded by 1000s of inspiring books from people such as Vandana Shiva and Saskia Sassen. Some in the audience were scientists, others were extinction rebellion activists, some were both and most just seemed to have an honestly interested look on their face. For me, just a modest writer, it was amazing to notice that the majority went home with a book in their bag. All this was made possible thanks to big support from Lisa Hough-Stewart from the WEAll – Wellbeing Economy Alliance, the kind folks at the Lighthouse – Edinburgh’s Radical Bookshop and Phoebe Cochrane from Scotlink. Most of my events were in universities and of course it’s an honour to get a bit of speaking time at a conference in the History Faculty of Oxford University but the radical bookshops are for sure THE kind of environment where I thrive well.
Taking the train to and around the UK is not something I can afford doing every month but vague plans are already being made to do 3 more trips: in February, June and November. If you have a suggestion for a lecture in the UK in 2020: most welcome to contact me. The one common goal with the book and the lectures is simple. Inspire people to join the global movement for environmental justice, one way or another. Let’s be united in our multitude of struggles for justice. Let’s rebel together and strive for a world in which nature and humans can thrive together. We need to #ActNow to make history before we’ll be history.
See you at the frontline!
PS: if you already read and hopefully liked the book, the next thing to do is to join the movement. If you wish to help me then there’s one little thing you can also do: rate and review the book on Goodreads and/or Amazon.
As I was traveling around the UK to present my book in 8 events in 5 cities in 5 days, I was reminded through the responses how much I share with the views of Extinction Rebellion, even though my book was largely written before XR became public. Especially my book lecture in Scotland was one where I felt in the right place. The Edinburgh folks that decided to spend their Friday evening listening to my presentation and then engaging in a good debate were truly awesome. The Lighthouse bookshop claims to be the ‘radical bookshop’ of Edinburgh and I couldn’t imagine a better bookshop than this one to present this book. I counted 26 people squeezed together and fully surrounded by 1000s of inspiring books from people such as Vandana Shiva and Saskia Sassen. Some in the audience were scientists, others were extinction rebellion activists, some were both and most just seemed to have an honestly interested look on their face. For me, just a modest writer, it was amazing to notice that the majority went home with a book in their bag. All this was made possible thanks to big support from Lisa Hough-Stewart from the WEAll – Wellbeing Economy Alliance, the kind folks at the Lighthouse – Edinburgh’s Radical Bookshop and Phoebe Cochrane from Scotlink. Most of my events were in universities and of course it’s an honour to get a bit of speaking time at a conference in the History Faculty of Oxford University but the radical bookshops are for sure THE kind of environment where I thrive well.
Taking the train to and around the UK is not something I can afford doing every month but vague plans are already being made to do 3 more trips: in February, June and November. If you have a suggestion for a lecture in the UK in 2020: most welcome to contact me. The one common goal with the book and the lectures is simple. Inspire people to join the global movement for environmental justice, one way or another. Let’s be united in our multitude of struggles for justice. Let’s rebel together and strive for a world in which nature and humans can thrive together. We need to #ActNow to make history before we’ll be history.
See you at the frontline!
PS: if you already read and hopefully liked the book, the next thing to do is to join the movement. If you wish to help me then there’s one little thing you can also do: rate and review the book on Goodreads and/or Amazon.
