Andrew Kooman's Blog, page 4

Nothing less than the eternal - Hacking Abolition (7)

The previous post in my Hacking Abolition series focused on the insatiable reading appetite of the growing middle class and how Hannah More tapped not only into their sentiment, but their willingness to use expendable income to acquire thought-provoking works. 

With marketing savvy in mind, this post returns to More's supreme concern, writing with eternity in mind.  She does so in a controversial, even shocking way, to highlight another form of rampant slavery in her time: the fashionable wo...

Spirited Words and Temporal Realms - Hacking Abolition (6)

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Bibliography

The work the original abolition movement did, over decades, took its toll.  Something to note is that the very real, spiritual battle against the evil of injustice, is not something to take lightly.

A tweet won't take down the giant of slavery, and in our day, the instant gratification of Instagram is not enough.  We need real tools to fight the real war against modern day slavery.

This post continues to explore the work of Ha...

Girls Interrupted - Hacking Abolition (5)

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Bibliography

In my last post, I focused on Hannah More's move beyond sentiment in her abolition writing, and especially through her famous poem Slavery, toward social action.

Here, I pick up where I left off, continuing the exploration of how her abolition poetry was written to urgently stimulate people, women especially, toward action.

There's some great lessons that we can glean as we look to address modern day slavery today through writing and...

Dream screens THIS FRIDAY in Red Deer, Alberta

If you're in Red Deer or area, I hope you'll join my brothers Matthew, Daniel and I as we launch the latest documentary film from our production company Unveil Studios.

Dream asks the question: if anything were possible, what dream would you build your life upon? 

It's a big question, and not always easy to answer. In the film, 9 inspiring people share their stories about success, failure, and what the secret is to finding a meaningful dream.  

We're excited to share the film for THE FIRST TIME...

More than sentiment - Hacking Abolition (4)

In previous posts in my Hacking Abolition blog series, I explored the impetus behind Hannah More's entrance into writing about the transatlantic slave trade.  One tactic she used was appealing to emotion by highlighting the great injustice of slavery against fellow human beings.

However, she didn't leave it at that.  More consciously made a move beyond emotion.  This post explores why.

More than sentiment

For More, the entire exercise of employing poetry for the abolition movement is wasted...

"Slavery" a poem that jolted the British Empire - Hacking Abolition (3)

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Bibliography

For Hannah More, slavery was sin. The acknowledgement of evil and humanity's propensity to harm others shaped her view of why slavery existed in the first place. 

Understanding this part of More's worldview is essential and challenges any modern day abolitionist to consider their view of the root causes of injustice in our age. 

In Part 3 of my exploration of Hacking Abolition, I look at the origin and advent of More's poem Slavery which jolted the Bri...

Social fiction - Infusing writing with moral morsels in Hannah More's abolition work (2)

If we aim to "hack" the original abolition movement, that is, use some of their tactics in order to move the needle toward the end of modern-day slavery, then understanding how the original movement thought and approached their work will be helpful. 

We get a glimpse of Hannah More's poetics, that is, her view and approach to writing, and her worldview, how she understood her times and the world around her, by looking at her writing about her own writing.

In the preface to the 1801 publicati...

Hacking Abolition Bibliography

Here is the full list of resources that I consulted in my MA thesis research on the writing life and impact of poet, playwright, essayist and moral reformer Hannah More: 

 

Works Cited

 

Carey, Brycchan.  “To Force a Tear: British Abolitionism and the Eighteenth-century London Stage.” Affect and Abolition in the Anglo-Atlantic, 1770-1830, edited by Stephen Ahern, Ashgate Publishing, 2013, pp 109-28.

“Cat o’nine tails.” Understanding Slavery Initiative, www.understandingslavery.com/in de...

Towards ending slavery through words and will - A look at abolitionist writer Hannah More (1)

Hannah More, playwright, poet, essayist and moral reformist, evokes complicated sentiments from scholars.

On the one hand, they have discovered that she was a “woman of far richer personality and of greater significance in the history of her time [operating within] a remarkable galaxy of men and women, who, between them, represented the different interests of the age and who sought her friendship and valued her opinion” (Jones ix).

On the other hand, she “has become the embodiment of conser...

We Are the Body at Pacific Theatre Vancouver

I'm happy to share that my post-War play We Are the Body will be performed at Pacific Theatre in Vancouver this June.

The production is an abridged performance of the full length play and will be produced by Stone's Throw Productions, the apprenticeship program of the storied Pacific Theatre.

Performance Dates are:

June 20 June 21 June 22

Learn more here: https://bit.ly/2VAKoIS

About the play

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SYNOPSIS:

Imprisoned in solitary confinement behind the Iron Curtain of post-war Romania, Elsie...