MILITANT FOR LIFE
Revolutionary Writings of a Political Prisoner
Marilyn Buck
Edited by Rob McBride, Jody Sokolower, and Donna Willmott
Foreword by Angela Y. Davis
Haymarket Books (25 May 2027)
Trade paper • ISBN-13: 9798888909393 • US $22.95 • 5 in x 8 in • 288 pgs
ABOUT THE BOOK:
The collected political writings of the woman the Black liberation struggle claimed as their “John Brown,” tracing Marilyn Buck’s life as a freedom fighter, a political prisoner, and a poet, and offering a model of revolutionary solidarity
Marilyn Buck spent nearly half her life in prison for aiding in Assata Shakur’s escape and other crimes, convicted of what the US Department of Justice called a “conspiracy to protest, oppose, and change policies and practices of the US government in domestic and international matters using violent and illegal means.”
This collection of Marilyn’s writing traces her political development from solidarity with the Black Panthers of the 1960s through her years underground and in prison, offering a glimpse of how she struggled to survive as an activist and as a human being while incarcerated. Moving deftly between manifestos and meditations, Militant for Life illuminates her fierce convictions while also evoking the love and loyalty she had for her fellow prisoners and freedom fighters, and the love and loyalty they had for her in return.
Decades after her death, Marilyn’s words still stand as an essential challenge to those who would accuse her, as we see for many activists today, of being a “terrorist”——and offer a spiky, irresistible archive of activist thought for those determined to defy racism and authoritarianism in our own time.
PRAISE:
“Marilyn Buck represented the very best of our cohort. Her commitment to justice, equality, and world freedom was so robust and persuasive that it continues to inspire new generations to enlarge their own political identities and to more forcefully face new and more calamitous expressions of racism and authoritarianism. This compelling collection of writings by and about Marilyn Buck will, I hope, help new generations of poets and political activists to recognize their own contributions as deeply connected to, and even enabled by, the work of this phenomenal woman.”
Angela Davis
ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
Rob McBride is a long-time anti-imperialist and supporter of political prisoners. He has taught economics, community studies, and criminal justice on campuses across the Bay Area and mentors with the Anne Braden Program for white anti-racist activists.
Jody Sokolower is a longtime anti-imperialist activist, educator and editor. Before retirement, she co-founded and co-coordinated the Teach Palestine Project at the Middle East Children’s Alliance. Previously she served as managing editor of Rethinking Schools. A founding core member of the Coalition for Liberated Ethnic Studies, she is the author of Determined to Stay: Palestinian Youth Fight for Their Village (Interlink Publishing Group 2021); lead editor of Rethinking Sexism, Gender and Sexuality (2016) and editor of Teaching about the Wars in the Middle East (2013).
Donna Willmott is a longtime anti-imperialist activist, retired teacher and organizer dedicated to antiracist political education. She is a member of Catalyst Project, focused on developing antiracist leadership of white organizers in multiracial movements, and was incarcerated alongside Marilyn at the federal women’s prison in Dublin, California.
Angela Y. Davis is Professor Emerita of History of Consciousness and Feminist Studies at UC Santa Cruz. An activist, writer, and lecturer, her work focuses on prisons, police, abolition, and the related intersections of race, gender, and class. She is the author of many books, from Angela Davis: An Autobiography to Freedom Is a Constant Struggle.
RIGHTS INFORMATION:
Please contact subagents for the following languages and territories:
| Language/Territory | Subagent |
|---|---|
| China, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam | Big Apple Agency |
| Dutch | Sebes & Bisseling Literary Agency |
| English outside North America | David Grossman Literary Agency |
| French | Deborah Druba Agency |
| German | Paul & Peter Fritz AG Literatur Agentur |
| Greek | Read n' Right Agency |
| Hebrew | The Deborah Harris Agency |
| Italian | Berla & Griffini Rights Agency |
| Japanese | The English Agency (Japan) Ltd |
| Korean | BC Agency, or Korea Copyright Center |
| Portuguese | RIFF Agency |
| Russia/Baltics/Eastern Europe | Prava I Prevodi |
| Scandinavia | Sebes & Bisseling Literary Agency |
| Spanish in Latin America | MB Agencia Literaria |
| Spanish in Spain | MB Agencia Literaria |
| Turkish | Anatolialit Agency |
For all other languages/territories, please contact Roam Agency.