“Nurturing Nonkilling” poetry book launched in Recife, Brazil
The first poetry book dedicated to nonkilling, Nurturing Nonkilling. A Poetic Plantation, was launched in Recife, Brazil, at the Associação Brasil América headquarters on July 28, one month after it was released in Honolulu, Hawai’i, on the occasion of Glenn D. Paige’s 80th birthday. Besides the author, Francisco Gomes de Matos, the Executive Director of ABA Eduardo Carvalho and CGNK’s Communication Team Leader Joám Evans took part in the ceremony, followed by a cocktail and signing of copies.
An audience of over 50 people, including local artists, academics, journalists, politicians, US consulate staff, peace activists and educators participated in the event, that received wide coverage from local and regional media (Folha de Pernambuco, Jornal do Commercio and Diário de Pernambuco). CGNK’s 9 minute promotional video was shown and a debate followed tackling the concept of nonkilling and its poetic representation.
As George Simson, Professor Emeritus of English at the University Hawai’i, explains in his preface, Francisco Gomes de Matos’ poems “both show and tell the same thing: that nonkilling thought, act, imagination, art, feeling, commitment, teaching, and career can be experienced, thought about, committed to, felt, imagined, and taught in a whole world of permutations and combinations far beyond innocence. Behind all this lurks mortality. Only in these poems mortality is celebrated, not feared. Like Glenn Paige, they demand intellectual courage with the smile of rational equanimity.”
Francisco Gomes de Matos, Ph.D. is Emeritus Professor, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil. His academic background is in languages, linguistics, and law. He was a Visiting Professor at the University of Ottawa, the Catholic University of São Paulo, and the University of Georgia, USA. Co-founder and currently President of the Board, Associação Brasil América. Co-founder and member of the Dom Helder Camara Human Rights Committee, Federal University of Pernambuco. One of the world pioneers in Peace Linguistics, he has contributed to the online “Encyclopedia of Life-support systems” (Unesco), the online “Encyclopedia of Peace Education” and has co-authored the chapter “Toward a Nonkilling Linguistics” (Toward a Nonkilling Paradigm, Honolulu, 2009), basis of the Course “Nonkilling Linguistics” at Wikiversity’s School of Nonkilling Studies. Dr. Gomes de Matos is listed in “Who’s Who in the World” and other biographical sources. He advocates what he calls the ultimate fundamental communicative human rights, namely, that every person should have the right to learn to communicate peacefully for the good of Humankind. He can be reached at fcgm@hotlink.com.br
Download “Nurturing Nonkilling” in PDF [0,2 Mb].
Order hardcopies from Lulu Marketplace (discounts available for large orders).
