Customer Reviews

Undoing the Silence: Six Tools for Social Change Writing

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Louise Dunlap began her career as an activist writing instructor during the Berkeley Free Speech Movement of the 1960s. In "Undoing The Silence: Six Tools For Social Change Writing" she draws upon her more than forty years of experience and expertise to create a kind of instruction manual teaching the reader the power of a personal voice that can enable any citizen to effect change in our society through the use of the written word. Dunlap explains the writing process, using such real-life examples as the peace workers in California, labor organizers in South Africa, community organizers in Boston, and others who have use the written word as an essential instrument for social change and the redress of grievances. "Undoing The Silence' includes practical 'freewriting' techniques, strategies for reaching an intended audiences, innovative exercises for giving and receiving feedback, as well as tactics for rethinking, editing, and rewriting free-flowing drafts. Of immense and immediate value for aspiring writers wanting to effectively engage in the social, political, economic, and cultural issues of the day through the power of the written word in all of its forms and formats, "Undoing The Silence" will prove to be as informed and informative as it is instructively effective.

Louise Dunlap has done it! This is the practical writing guide that, hopefully, will make writer's block an endangered species. It is so sensible in the way the book works with our natural tendencies to achieve professional results. Even just the one chapter on The Process Tool is worth the price of admission. Such an enjoyable read, who would think I would be glued to this yesterday while waiting in the dentist's chair? I am buying 5 copies tonight for my colleagues. They are going to think I am a hero, but it's really Louise.

This book is an excellent tool for people who want to write about social issues. I found Chapter 4 to be especially helpful in suggesting a step-by-step (yet flexible and adaptable)writing process.