I\'m Canadian, live in Vancouver*, British Columbia. I got a BA in English Literature even though I knew full well it would be of no use in acquiring gainful employment afterwards, which proved to be the case. But just having been around the university, period, did come in handy; I ended up working at the library there.
Politically, I was always left of centre but didn\'t pay much attention. I got interested in politics as two things converged--an increasing feeling that things were going wrong, combined with an attempt to gain verisimilitude in my settings for roleplaying games. As I dug into economic and political issues the better to run my games, I got increasingly radicalized. I find it occasionally amusing that I was never particularly radical until after 30.
I sometimes think that a background in roleplaying games (Dungeons and Dragons, for you philistines who have only ever heard of one of them, not that I actually play D&D as such) can be useful in thinking about how to build a different society, just because you\'re used to envisioning different societies and playing characters who are often out to make changes to the status quo in one way or another. I remain a considerable fan of fantasy and science fiction. I love The Lord of the RIngs, and occasionally enjoy advancing the claim that Tolkien was far more radical than most critics notice. Resisting the urge to go off on that tangent . . .
I blog at
www.pogge.ca
a Canadian left wing group blog site (pogge stands for "Peace, Order and Good Government, Eh?")
I am married and have a kid of my own plus three rather older kids from my wife\'s previous marriage; all of these make me much happier than I otherwise would be given the parlous state of the world and the pathetic state of university funding. My Friday night game group makes me rather happier than I otherwise would be as well.
*For Vancouverites, I live in Port Moody.
I didn't think I'd ever have the temerity to write this article. But it really seems as if, for a future bottom-up…
All the latest from Z, directly to your inbox.
Institute for Social and Cultural Communications, Inc. is a 501(c)3 non-profit.
Our EIN# is #22-2959506. Your donation is tax-deductible to the extent allowable by law.
We do not accept funding from advertising or corporate sponsors.Ā We rely on donors like you to do our work.
You keep coming back for a reason: serious political analysis, movement reporting, and debate beyond the priorities of corporate media. Today, Z is in a precarious financial position. If Z is part of how you understand the world, help keep it going. The readers who give monthly are the reason this work survives between fundraisers.
Z is in a precarious financial position. If it’s part of how you understand the world, help keep it going.
Sustainers at $9/month or more receive the digital Z Magazine.
Already a sustainer? Click here and we won’t ask again. Thank you!
Your reading count is stored only in your browser and is never sent to us.Sound is muted by default.Ā Tap š for the full experience
Critical Action is a longtime friend of Z and a music and storytelling project grounded in liberation, solidarity, and resistance to authoritarian power. Through music, narrative, and multimedia, the project engages the same political realities and movement traditions that guide and motivate Zās work.
If this project resonates with you, you can learn more about it and find ways to support the work using the link below.
Z is a place to think beyond the limits of the present.
For decades, Z has brought together political analysis, movement reporting, debate, and visions of a different future from writers and activists around the world. That work is more than journalism. It is movement infrastructure: movements need places to develop ideas, test arguments, learn from experience, and imagine what comes next.
In the first two days of this fundraiser, 19 donors and 8 new monthly sustainers stepped up. Help us reach 1,000 donors who keep Z independent, for everyone.
For decades, Z has published the analysis, debate, and visions movements need, free of paywalls, ads, and billionaire owners. If that work should continue, Z needs your support now.
Sustainers at $9/month or more receive the digital Z Magazine.
Join the Z Community ā receive event invites, announcements, a Weekly Digest, and opportunities to engage.
