Twelve
authors have banded together under the Orwell banner:
“In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary
act.”
We
are part of the George Orwell intellectual legacy, a dozen novelists
seeking to carry Orwell’s banner forward.
The
geographical reach of our essays stretches around the globe. The journey
through the essays starts in Orwell’s home, England, and takes
you through the Americas, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and the edges
of Europe.
We
give our accounts of contemporary social justice issues ranging from
social inequality increasingly widened as political institutions become
dysfunctional, to persistent racism and discrimination against minorities,
to memories of
state tyranny and war crimes and political thugs at their games of corruption,
to intimidation and killings in sectarian strife.
Two
essays deal directly with George Orwell the writer—his refusal
to play the game of colonial empire—and his seminal role as friend
to Canadian writer George Woodcock.
Flip
that Orwell banner around and on the other side it reads:
“If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell
people what they do not want to hear.”
Official
website: www.orwellbrigade.com
Praise
“[T]he
essays are linked by echoes of George Orwell's seminal political novels
"Animal Farm" and "Nineteen Eighty-four". As the
writers demonstrate, precious little has changed since those literary
warnings appeared half a century ago. In fact we need to me more vigilant
than ever in the endlessly cross-linked 21st century.”
—The
Nation
“In
a digital age when attenuated attention spans have pretty much killed
off the long-form essay outside of academia, and when corporate interests
and Big Brother-like governments have stymied investigative journalism,
George Orwell’s belief in truthful writing as a revolutionary
act is in danger of being written off. Do not start typing the obituary
just yet, for The Orwell Brigade is an anthology of thought-evoking
essays by contemporary crime authors reclaiming his turf.”
—Jim Algie, PATA COMPASS January/February 2013