Jose Maria Sison: At Home In The World - Portrait Of A Revolutionary / Conversations With Ninotchka Rosca

by Ninotchka Rosca, Jose Maria Sison

This political biography/autobiography offers a unique look into the political beliefs and motivations of Professor Sison, renowned revolutionary leader, writer, poet and founder of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CCP). This collaboration between Sison and American Book Award winning novelist, Ninotchka Rosca, goes far to illuminate the political climate and history of the United States' role in Filipino politics. In the frank exchange between Sison and Rosca regarding the Filipino revolutionary movement, the issues of women's rights and empowerment within the CCP, as well as ethnicity, class, age and education, are also addressed. In light of the upcoming US presidential election and the controversy surrounding terrorism and the Bush Administration, Jose Maria At Home in the World - Portrait of a Revolutionary is a book that can offer the "other side" of the story, chronicling the life of a Filipino revolutionary, his political party and his country, untouched and unfiltered by outside political propaganda.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

260 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2004

About the author

Ninotchka Rosca is an outstanding contemporary writer, human rights activist and feminist. She is the author of six books: her short story collections include Bitter Country and Monsoon Country; her two novels are State of War and Twice Blessed which earned the 1993 American Book Award for excellence in literature; and her books of non-fiction are Endgame: The Fall of Marcos and Jose Maria Sison: At Home in the World - Portrait of a Revolutionary. Rosca's short stories have been included in several anthologies, among them, the 1986 Best 100 Short Stories in the U.S. compiled by Raymond Carver and the Missouri Review Anthology. She is a two-time recipient of the New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship and a frequent contributor to Ms. Magazine, The Nation, Village Voice, Q and other U.S. and European periodicals.

Rosca is an internationally-known activist for human rights. A political prisoner under the Marcos regime in the Philippines, she was forced into exile when threatened with a second arrest. Rosca has participated in numerous world forums and conferences for human rights. She serves on the board of the Survivors Committee, a network of former political prisoners and human rights activists. She has also been in leadership positions with Amnesty International and the PEN American Center.

Rosca was a founder and the first national chair of the GABRIELA Network (AF3IRM/GABnet), a Filipina-American women’s rights organization in the United States. She is the international spokesperson of GABRIELA Network's Purple Rose Campaign against the trafficking of women, with an emphasis on Filipinas. She is also a board member of The Sisterhood Is Global Institute and the initiating committee of Mariposa Alliance.

She was active in planning the UN Conference on Women which took place in Beijing, China. Rosca is particularly concerned with women's human rights focusing on the issues of sex tourism, trafficking, the mail-order bride industry, and violence against women.

For her achievements, Rosca has been designated as one of the 12 Asian American Women of Hope by the Bread and Roses Cultural Project. These women were chosen by scholars and community leaders for their courage, compassion and commitment in helping to shape society. They are considered role models for young people of color, who, in the words of Gloria Steinem, "have been denied the knowledge that greatness looks like them."

Source: Speak Out

Reviews

[Levi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sison's responses are interesting in their sharpness and terseness, but they were dug by Ms. Rosca's penetrating questions. Awesome read.

[Juan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is essential reading for anyone engaged in the struggle to build a more just world. In At Home in the World: Portrait of a Revolutionary, Ninotchka Rosca brings along the reader into an intimate and thought-provoking conversation with Professor José María Sison, offering a glimpse into the mind and life of a revolutionary. Through Sison’s experiences and reflections, we gain invaluable insight into the Filipino people’s long fight for liberation, while also learning how Filipinos have put theories, strategies, and tactics into practice. The stories told are not only about history; they also show the sacrifices, discipline, and optimism that keep people fighting together. At Home in the World reminds us that our movements are interconnected, and that there is much to learn from comrades everywhere who continue to resist oppression and imagine a better world.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I worked on the PR for this book for a year, so I'm probably kind of biased. If you are interested in the Philipines, and Filipino politics, this is a good read. It's dry, but not too hard to read because it's written in a Q&A format with Rosca interviewing Sison. I don't agree with all of the views in the book, and it's very obvious that Sison molds history to suit his story of being exiled to the Netherlands, but it's a story of a world very different from our own.

[Michael Boyte · Rating 4 out of 5]

A remarkable interview collection, ranging from the founding of the Communist Party of the Philippines and the initiation of the armed struggle, through Jose Maria Sison's capture and torture, the fall of the Marcos Regime, JMS political exile, and the events of 9/11 and the US war on the world, interspersed with some of his poetry and personal recollections. While I have some important points of disagreement with JMS, this book is a window into revolutionary leadership as a living element of struggle, deeply engaged with the lives and experiences of the people and the social and revolutionary movements. JMS possess a deep understanding of Marxism as well as an abiding love for the people and his homeland of the Philippines.

Written in the aftermath of 9/11 and published in 2004, so not an up to the moment book .

[noam · Rating 4 out of 5]

solid, nice read to learn a little bit about comrade joma and the philippine national mass democratic movement. dude is such a nut and i love him for that lol. the author asked a shit ton of questions and opened up a broad array of topics. the format/answers got more redundant as the book went on, but overall this book was cool.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deeply engaging. Sison’s wit, charm, care, and commitment to revolutionary principles shines through this series of interviews. I’m also obsessed with this tidbit from the second appendix: “he likes to do karaoke, Frank Sinatra’s ‘My Way’ in particular which he sings ‘Mao’s way.’”

[Jack Stephens · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is done in question and answer format with the author Ninotchka Rosca and Communist Party of the Philippines (MLMZT) founder Jose Maria Sison. The book covers his years as a student activist and leader, his time as a professor, his activity in the underground movement under Marcos, his imprisonment, and his time spent in exile from his homeland.

[Reden]

Been waiting for a book like this. To add to it, this book has a commentary from Ninotchka Rosca.

More than anything else, it would be something to learn what drove men like Joe Marie Sison to embrace communism and ironically in a country like ours.

[Gerry Riguera]

The life and political convictions of a Filipino ideologue.

[Joma Geneciran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Q & A format beginning with a biography of Joma Sison. Followed by selected poems. The interviewer asks an exhaustive amount of questions making this a lucid reading.