Alicia Bay Laurel

I have visited Japan, once, in 1974, on a book tour for five of my illustrated books that were translated into Japanese. Everyone I met was hospitable and warm to me, and I wished desperately that I could converse with them!

My publisher arranged for an interpreter to travel with me. She was sweet, and I felt very fortunate, but, when I spoke, I looked at her instead of at the person to whom she was interpreting, and that was difficult for some of the people I met.

My first book, Living on the Earth, has been in print in Japanese continuously since 1974, and now I also have two music CDs released in Japan, and am about to have a third. I really would love to go back and do a performance tour. I know I will enjoy it a lot more if I can speak with the people I meet.

I’ve already spent time with a cassette course. It’s much tougher than learning a Latin language because there are no words that are even vaguely similar to ones I know in English and in Spanish. It’s strictly memorizing—lots and lots of it.

On the other hand, I don’t think I should let my lack of language skills to stop me from doing a performance tour. I’ll probably learn a lot of Japanese along the way!

I am doing two kinds of things to promote peace, justice, sustainability, creativity and diversity. Either I am taking actions directly in my own life, or I am influencing others through my example and through my media works.

In the first category are: using mediation techniques to communicate (I like Marshall Rosenberg’s system, Nonviolent Communication, which I learned from his book of the same name), voting with my pocketbook by buying from businesses that support my ideals and boycotting those that don’t, minimizing my use of petroleum, recycling, registering voters, campaigning for politicians who represent my ideals (I organized for Dennis Kucinich in 2004), writing to newspapers and to my representatives in government to express my political views, participating in street rallies, staying informed through online news services (truthout.org, grist.org, commondreams, alternet, etc.), and being as peaceful, just, sustainable, creative and open as I possibly can in my interactions with people, places and things.

In the second category, influencing others, is my writing: in my books, my blog, my song lyrics, and published articles. Other people give me courage by their willingness to stand up to the despots spoiling the planet today. I send blessings to all who speak truth to power. I am particularly encouraged by the women: Cindy Sheehan, Randi Rhodes, Barbara Boxer, Amy Goodman, Arundati Roy, Starhawk, Granny D (Doris Haddock), Molly Ivins, Arianna Huffington, Rosa Parks, Coretta Scott King, Barbara Lee, Cynthia McKinney, Medea Benjamin, Digna Ochoa, Ani DiFranco, Julia Butterfly Hill. There are many more. I will stand firm for the people who are listening to me, that they, too, will stand firm for the people who are listening to them.

What I love about painting with acrylics is that they are very forgiving. Whatever you don’t like, you can paint over—the paint is very opaque. However, you can thin acrylics with water and make them look like watercolors, too, and get those kinds of effects. Acrylics dry permanently on cloth, so they can be used as fabric paint. The colors are brilliant, the paints are cheap, and you don’t need super fancy brushes or thinners. And the whole mess cleans up with water!