Upon researching for my ‘Handmaids Assemble’ blog piece, I came across the ‘Writers Rebel podcast’ on Spotify (which can be found here). It begins following the Writers Marathon in Trafalgar Square, which took place on the 11th October 2019 – an event in which writers and creatives came together, each reading their own writing or other’s pieces, all of which addressed the climate emergency, the environment and/or the importance of climate activism.
Salena Godden’s piece ‘Call to Action’, one of the first readings on the podcast, is a piece which stood out to me, creatively calling for support. This is just a small section of her poem, the full version however can be heard on Spotify (see below).
For me, an interesting part is the section in which she calls out for power of a new generation – to speak out about climate and the reality of it.
This poem is outstanding and I definitely recommend you watch/listen to the passion these writers put into their activism; artwork and desire for change.
She proposes the next generation of writers should write something new – ‘a better ending’ which is nothing like the disastrous results shown by Orwell, Huxley and Atwood in 1984, A Brave New World and The Handmaid’s Tale.
After listening to her poem, you will definitely feel awoken – that climate is something which will effect every aspect of humanity, including the arts, and writers should be speaking about the devastating reality and repercussions that will annihilate if a change isn’t made soon.
The Writers Rebellion calls for a fiction which appeals to the masses, Godden definitely introduces this revolutionary thinking of XR Writers.
And finally to conclude, one of my favourite sections from the piece:
‘I don’t want this world to continue to be a terrible nightmare, a blood awful adaptation of 1984, A Brave New World and The Handmaid’s Tale, rolled into one, but with a really badly written script and a cast with bad hair and shit makeup’
Oh! You Little Things 