Earth: A Wake-up Call
for Obama Nation
Derrick Jensen and Mickey Z.

Together for one night
April 25, 2009 — Arlington, Va.

Derrick Jensen is the acclaimed author of thirteen books, including A Language Older Than Words, The Culture of Make Believe, and Endgame. Derrick JensenAuthor, teacher, activist, small farmer, and leading voice of uncompromising dissent, he has been hailed as the philosopher poet of the environmental movement. Writes Publishers Weekly, “Jensen paints on a huge canvas an emotionally compelling and devastating critique of the intellectual, psychological, emotional and social structure of Western culture.” His premise is as profound as it is persistent: industrial civilization is inherently unsustainable. It will always require violence to biotic and human communities. And it will create a culture where trauma is normalized, where living beings become objects, and where the only relationship left is one of domination.

Jensen weaves together history, philosophy, environmentalism, economics, literature and psychology to produce a powerful argument and a passionate call for action. He guides us toward concrete solutions by focusing on our most primal human desire: to live on a healthy earth overflowing with uncut forests, clean rivers, and thriving oceans that are not under the constant threat of being destroyed. Jensen’s writing has been described as “breaking and mending the reader’s heart” (Publishers Weekly). He writes for The New York Times Magazine, Audubon, and The Sun Magazine, among many others. He holds a degree in creative writing from Eastern Washington University, a degree in mineral engineering physics from the Colorado School of Mines, and has taught at Eastern Washington University and Pelican Bay State Prison. He has packed university auditoriums, conferences, and bookstores across the nation, stirring them with revolutionary spirit.

Mickey Z. is probably the only person on the planet to have appeared in both a karate flick with Billy Blanks and a political book with Noam Chomsky. Armed with only a Mickey Z.high school diploma, Mickey Z. has spoken and lectured in venues ranging from Yale University and MIT to ABC No Rio and the Broadway Branch of the Queensborough Public Library. Newsday calls Mickey Z. a "professional iconoclast." Time Out New York says he's a "political provocateur." To historian Howard Zinn, he's "iconoclastic and bold." Sander Hicks asks of him: "How can one be so sweet and yet so fierce?" Born and raised in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens, Mickey Z. is the author of several books and his work has also appeared in more than 10 published anthologies. His novel, CPR for Dummies, was released in 2008, as was his latest non-fiction book, No Innocent Bystanders: Riding Shotgun in the Land of Denial. He can be found on the Web at www.mickeyz.net.

The regular visitors to Mickey Z.’s Web site have ordained themselves “The Expendables.” Mickey asked them to write a collective bio for his public talks. Here’s the result: "Mickey Z.’s voice is the roundhouse kick of activist literature ... profoundly mistrustful of government in all its dreadful guises, while courageously supporting all of us who stand against it. Determined to live the words, rather than simply to speak them, Mickey Z. doesn't get more readers, he just makes more friends. His blog is like a front stoop where we all gather to talk over the news, what's happening with each other, and generally enjoy each other’s company. The gentle concern for his fellow humans and the behind-the-scenes acts of kindness are surpassed only by the cuteness of his dimples.”



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