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Writing Straight with Crooked Lines
This is spiritual memoir of Jim Forest, told largely through his interaction with some of the great peacemakers of our time—Dorothy Day, Dan Berrigan, Thomas Merton, Thich Nhat Hanh. It traces his journey from the son of Communists, his rebellious enlistment in the Navy, then discharge as a CO after becoming simultaneously a Catholic and a pacifist. He was key figure in mobilizing religious protest against the Vietnam War and served two years in prison for his role in the Milwaukee 14. But his journey continued, including his work as secretary of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation, and conversion to Russian Orthodoxy. It is the story of lifetime in the service of Christ’s peace, and extraordinary companions who joined him along the way.
336 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2020
7 people are currently reading
40 people want to read
About the author
Jim Forest
52 books32 followersJim Forest is a writer, Orthodox Christian lay theologian, educator, and peace activist. As a young man, Jim served in the U.S. Navy, working with a meteorology unit at the U.S. Weather Bureau headquarters near Washington, D.C. It was during this period that he became a Catholic. After leaving the Navy, Jim joined the staff of the Catholic Worker community in Manhattan, working close with the founder, Dorothy Day, and for a time serving as managing editor of the journal she edited, The Catholic Worker.
In 1964, while working as a journalist for The Staten Island Advance, in his spare time he co-founded the Catholic Peace Fellowship, working closely with Tom Cornell. This became a full-time job for both of them in 1965, a time that coincided with deepening U.S. military engagement in Vietnam. The main focus of their work was counseling conscientious objectors.
In 1968, while Jim working as Vietnam Program Coordinator of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, Jim and thirteen others, mainly Catholic clergy, broke into nine Milwaukee draft boards, removing and burning some of the files in a nearby park while holding a prayer service. Most members of the "Milwaukee Fourteen" served thirteen months in prison for their action.
In the late sixties and mid-seventies, Jim also worked with the Fellowship of Reconciliation, first as Vietnam Program coordinator and later as editor of Fellowship magazine. From 1977 through 1988, he was Secretary General of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation, work which brought him to the Netherlands. He received the Peacemaker Award from Notre Dame University's Institute for International Peace Studies and the St. Marcellus Award from the Catholic Peace Fellowship.
In 1988, Forest was received into the Orthodox Church. Since 1989, he has been international secretary of the Orthodox Peace Fellowship as well as editor of its quarterly journal, In Communion. Jim had a long-term friendship with Thomas Merton, who dedicated a book to him, Faith and Violence. Jim also accompanied the famed Vietnamese Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh. He and his wife Nancy, a translator and writer, live in Alkmaar, The Netherlands.
In 1964, while working as a journalist for The Staten Island Advance, in his spare time he co-founded the Catholic Peace Fellowship, working closely with Tom Cornell. This became a full-time job for both of them in 1965, a time that coincided with deepening U.S. military engagement in Vietnam. The main focus of their work was counseling conscientious objectors.
In 1968, while Jim working as Vietnam Program Coordinator of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, Jim and thirteen others, mainly Catholic clergy, broke into nine Milwaukee draft boards, removing and burning some of the files in a nearby park while holding a prayer service. Most members of the "Milwaukee Fourteen" served thirteen months in prison for their action.
In the late sixties and mid-seventies, Jim also worked with the Fellowship of Reconciliation, first as Vietnam Program coordinator and later as editor of Fellowship magazine. From 1977 through 1988, he was Secretary General of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation, work which brought him to the Netherlands. He received the Peacemaker Award from Notre Dame University's Institute for International Peace Studies and the St. Marcellus Award from the Catholic Peace Fellowship.
In 1988, Forest was received into the Orthodox Church. Since 1989, he has been international secretary of the Orthodox Peace Fellowship as well as editor of its quarterly journal, In Communion. Jim had a long-term friendship with Thomas Merton, who dedicated a book to him, Faith and Violence. Jim also accompanied the famed Vietnamese Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh. He and his wife Nancy, a translator and writer, live in Alkmaar, The Netherlands.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 30, 2020
It’s my dad’s autobiography: what kind of son would I be if I didn’t give it a five-star rating?
January 15, 2022
Such a nicely written memoir. Jim Forest not only gave us a personal story of his life, he also allowed us to see into the early days of the religious anti nuclear war and peace movement. It was very beautiful to see some famous names come to life. I enjoyed reading about Jim's journey from the child of non-religious communists to his involvement with the Catholic Worker. It also doesn't get too bogged down in day to day life of a writer and activist. I appreciate how Mr. Forest shared his story without giving in to maudlin navel gazing.
January 19, 2021
In his book WRITING STRAIGHT WITH CROOKED LINES, Jim Forest winces at being described as a peace activist. Despite having been exactly that for most of his adult life.
“The problem is that I’m not by nature an activist. Perhaps there is something of Thomas Merton’s monastic temperament in me. I feel uncomfortable in crowds – masses of people drawn together by a common objective generate powerful currents and undertows that often scare me. I’m not an automatic participant – discernment is needed. When it comes to taking part in protests and demonstrations, I have to convince myself that this specific act of protest or witness really is worth taking part in and then push myself by brute force out the door while wishing my conscience would leave me alone.”
But yet, the fact is, Forest has had a remarkable life, most of it being directly involved in the peace movement. With formative roots deepened by being the Managing Editor of the Catholic Worker, under Dorothy Day’s (co-founder of the Catholic Worker movement) tutelage, when he was in his early 20s.
This connection eventually got him involved in helping to form the Catholic Peace Fellowship and working with the International Fellowship of Reconciliation and brought Dan and Phil Berrigan, Thomas Merton, Thich Nhat Hanh, Henri Nouwen, and Al Hassler into Forest’s life.
As Forest points out, being the son of left-leaning parents (both of his parents were members of the Communist Party) definitely influenced his DNA.
Forest has written several books, including a biography of Thomas Merton and books on the Russian Orthodox Church (he himself converted to the Orthodox Church from Roman Catholic.) He had proven his journalistic skills several times over before reaching the age of 30. Including serving as the press agent for five Vietnam War protestors who burned their draft cards in Union Square in November of 1965.
A few years later, Forest served in the same capacity for the Catonsville Nine Defense Committee. The group of nine had gathered to break into the Catonsville Draft Board headquarters. The participants included Dan and Phil Berrigan.
During this time, Forest worked for both the Catholic Peace Fellowship and the Fellowship of Reconciliation. And he became part of the Milwaukee 14, who broke into the adjoining offices of nine draft board in Milwaukee, stealing draft records and burning them.
“My knees shook every step of the way. The nine doors were opened, the many burlap sacks we had brought with us were filled to bursting with 1-A files – 10,000 of them, it was estimated during the trial – and dragged out to the park across the street. Napalm, made ourselves, according to a recipe found in the US Army Special Forces Handbook, was poured on the files and a match struck. The fourteen of us lined up on one side of the bonfire and prayed the Our Father and sang ‘We Shall Overcome.’”
There was a lot of traveling involved in Forest’s work. He candidly records that such prolonged absences eventually tore at the fabric of three marriages, ending in divorce.
It was later in life, when Forest was older and wiser, that he discovered his soulmate. He was working in Denmark for the International Fellowship of Reconciliation and renewed a friendship with Nancy Flier during visits home in the United States. They have been happily married for 37 years.
At the very end of WRITING STRAIGHT WITH CROOKED LINES, Forest sums up his life, offering a few powerful life lessons. This is one of them: “If I cannot find the face of Jesus in the faces of those who are my enemies, if I cannot find him in the unbeautiful, if I cannot find him in those who have the ‘wrong ideas,’ if I cannot find him in the poor and the defeated, how will I find him in the bread and wine or in the life after death? If I do not reach out in this world to those with whom he has identified himself, why do I imagine that I will want to be with him and them forever in heaven? Why would I want to be, for all eternity, in the company of those whom I avoided every day of my life?”
P.S. I had the privilege of interviewing Jim Forest in July of 2019. You can find that interview here:
https://bit.ly/3izg7T5
“The problem is that I’m not by nature an activist. Perhaps there is something of Thomas Merton’s monastic temperament in me. I feel uncomfortable in crowds – masses of people drawn together by a common objective generate powerful currents and undertows that often scare me. I’m not an automatic participant – discernment is needed. When it comes to taking part in protests and demonstrations, I have to convince myself that this specific act of protest or witness really is worth taking part in and then push myself by brute force out the door while wishing my conscience would leave me alone.”
But yet, the fact is, Forest has had a remarkable life, most of it being directly involved in the peace movement. With formative roots deepened by being the Managing Editor of the Catholic Worker, under Dorothy Day’s (co-founder of the Catholic Worker movement) tutelage, when he was in his early 20s.
This connection eventually got him involved in helping to form the Catholic Peace Fellowship and working with the International Fellowship of Reconciliation and brought Dan and Phil Berrigan, Thomas Merton, Thich Nhat Hanh, Henri Nouwen, and Al Hassler into Forest’s life.
As Forest points out, being the son of left-leaning parents (both of his parents were members of the Communist Party) definitely influenced his DNA.
Forest has written several books, including a biography of Thomas Merton and books on the Russian Orthodox Church (he himself converted to the Orthodox Church from Roman Catholic.) He had proven his journalistic skills several times over before reaching the age of 30. Including serving as the press agent for five Vietnam War protestors who burned their draft cards in Union Square in November of 1965.
A few years later, Forest served in the same capacity for the Catonsville Nine Defense Committee. The group of nine had gathered to break into the Catonsville Draft Board headquarters. The participants included Dan and Phil Berrigan.
During this time, Forest worked for both the Catholic Peace Fellowship and the Fellowship of Reconciliation. And he became part of the Milwaukee 14, who broke into the adjoining offices of nine draft board in Milwaukee, stealing draft records and burning them.
“My knees shook every step of the way. The nine doors were opened, the many burlap sacks we had brought with us were filled to bursting with 1-A files – 10,000 of them, it was estimated during the trial – and dragged out to the park across the street. Napalm, made ourselves, according to a recipe found in the US Army Special Forces Handbook, was poured on the files and a match struck. The fourteen of us lined up on one side of the bonfire and prayed the Our Father and sang ‘We Shall Overcome.’”
There was a lot of traveling involved in Forest’s work. He candidly records that such prolonged absences eventually tore at the fabric of three marriages, ending in divorce.
It was later in life, when Forest was older and wiser, that he discovered his soulmate. He was working in Denmark for the International Fellowship of Reconciliation and renewed a friendship with Nancy Flier during visits home in the United States. They have been happily married for 37 years.
At the very end of WRITING STRAIGHT WITH CROOKED LINES, Forest sums up his life, offering a few powerful life lessons. This is one of them: “If I cannot find the face of Jesus in the faces of those who are my enemies, if I cannot find him in the unbeautiful, if I cannot find him in those who have the ‘wrong ideas,’ if I cannot find him in the poor and the defeated, how will I find him in the bread and wine or in the life after death? If I do not reach out in this world to those with whom he has identified himself, why do I imagine that I will want to be with him and them forever in heaven? Why would I want to be, for all eternity, in the company of those whom I avoided every day of my life?”
P.S. I had the privilege of interviewing Jim Forest in July of 2019. You can find that interview here:
https://bit.ly/3izg7T5
December 31, 2022
A wonderful book to end the year! Both familiar to me, coming from a childhood rooted in peace activism, and enlightening, showing me parts of history I have had no encounters with before, this book was a read that was both comfortable and challenging. For those reconciling a desire for political activism and peace with the contemplative life of the Christian, I highly recommend this book detailing Jim's struggle with that invented dichotomy.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews