Pluggin’ Away: The best of culture
by Mark Connery
Two fascinating non-fiction books crossed this reviewer’s lap in late 2004.
Songs of the Gorilla Nation by Dawn Prince-Hughes (Harmony, 2004) is a brilliant book about living with an undiagnosed autism disorder and about gorillas. In the first section Prince-Hughes describes her growing up in an eccentric family, being terrorized and bullied in school for odd behaviour and open queerness, living on the streets, and working as a stripper. She writes about her identification with the Seven of Nine character on Star Trek Voyager, “She thinks very rationally with the focus and harmony of the collective, which uses her talents for conciseness and intellectual efficiency to the utmost until she is ‘rescued’ by the captain of the Voyager. The captain is determined to ‘restore her humanity.’ The pain she subsequently endures is heartbreaking. She has no inherent understanding of social protocol, the importance of valuing the individual over the whole, or why the isolation of individuality is prized over efficiency and pragmatism. I have related to her every falter and crushing defeat. I believe we share the same brand of innocence and wisdom.”
The second part of the book describes her yen to spend time at the zoo, as she hung around and eventually found work there. As she spent time with a gorilla she started to find herself relating to another being as an equal. She learned to communicate feelings, one of the most difficult of tasks for someone with autism. “By applying the bodily and language components I had learned from the gorillas, I was beginning to have more social success; this led to less tension for me when I was in social situations, and that in turn enabled me to relax and read people better.” The final third of the book Prince-Hughes writes about finding love, getting her PhD, being diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, the pregnancy of her partner and birth of their son. It also discusses the political and ecological issues surrounding gorillas and their habitat.
It may sound like it jumps all over the place, but Songs of the Gorilla Nation is very readable. I couldn’t put it down. It’s a great introduction to the world of autism, a short primer on gorillas, a lesbian love story and a good reminder that human beings are animals.
Susan Braudy’s Family Circle: The Boudins and the Aristocracy of the American Left (Random House, 2003) is a fantastic account of an important family in the development US left wing politics. The book focuses on Kathy Boudin, a schoolmate of Braudy’s, a leader of the Weather Underground, niece of I.F. Stone and daughter of radical lawyer Leonard Boudin. Amongst Leonard Boudin’s clients were Paul Robeson, Benjamin Spock and Fidel Castro. The book is nearly 500 hundred pages and quite detailed, but also a good story. As I started it, I thought “Oh no, another attempt to make left politics a mental illness,” but Braudy brings enough facts, tact and richness of detail. It goes some way in providing the base for answers of why well educated young people with the ability to make progressive social change happen, instead dragged themselves down to the nihilistic politics of the Weather Underground. Great for anyone wanting to learn more about the American Old and New Lefts or the Weather Underground.
While not especially political, I’d like to put in a plug for Toronto hiphop artist Mindbender and his new double CD, Beautiful Mutant. The beats are rough, the MCing all over the place, and verges on falling apart, but just keeps it together enough to get through the song. Available at hiphop and indie music stores, or more easily from www.supremebeingunit.com, where you can also find out more about Mindbender.
One final plug is for Polunatic: the Journal of Polunacy, an excellent lefty blog found at http://polunatic.blogspot.com
Mark Connery is a child care worker and library enthusiast from Toronto.