I was surprised at my emotions upon arrival at my first XR march. As the sun warmed my skin, I looked at the faces around me: I saw smiles, I heard chanting, and I sensed solidarity. So why do I feel sad? I wondered. I couldn’t escape emotions of guilt, shame and loneliness, feelings […]
Who are you? You go to work, hang out with friends, care for your family. You may have a favourite meal or song or movie or memory. You read certain books, purchase a specific newspaper, have your own affiliations, and vote in a certain way. You are you in a way no one else […]
Read More… from HOW DOLPHINS AND WHALES CAN TEACH US TO SURVIVE Rupert Read and Joe Eastoe
Recently two women threw a can of soup onto the glass protecting Vincent Van Gogh’s Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers in London’s National Gallery, and then glued their palms to the wall. Watching the YouTube video, I’m struck by how young they are. Their hands shake as they apply the glue to their palms, and […]
In July 2021, I read about an Extinction Rebellion group which was planning to walk from London to Glasgow for the COP summit. Much like the historic Camino to Santiago in Spain, the walk was intended to symbolise a path for meditation and growth, and also to connect, not just with nature but […]
“What if I got to jail?” I thought, when Extinction Rebellion Denmark asked me to speak at the opening of its week of protest. Because this is the point we’ve reached: the point where states come down more heavily on climate protest than on tax evasion. When he was jailed for his role in […]
The wildlife biologist and campaigner Raphael Coleman, known in XR as Iggy Fox, joined Extinction Rebellion as part of the Media and Messaging team in 2018. He was active in XR Youth, a beloved member of the Snowflakes affinity group, and the force behind XR’s iconic Paint The Streets campaigns. When still a zoology student, he […]
Damon Albarn of Blur and Gorillaz joined Mirabella Okri and the Capital Children’s Choir to delivered a reflective performance at Writers Rebel’s Paint the Land launch 25.06.21. Watch it here. #PaintTheLand was launched with the help of Booker prize-winning writer Ben Okri and artist-activists Ackroyd & Harvey. Okri’s message to world governments, “Can’t you hear […]
XR Co-founder, Simon Bramwell, delivered an urgent and powerful speech at Writers Rebel’s Paint the Land launch on 25.06.21. Within his speech, Bramwell reminds us why action is necessary and how art can be a powerful agent in this change. #PaintTheLand was launched with the help of Booker prize-winning writer Ben Okri and artist-activists Ackroyd […]
Read More… from Simon Bramwell’s #PaintTheLand launch speechSimon Bramwell
Co-founders of Culture Declares and renowned artist-activists, Heather Ackroyd and Dan Harvey spoke at Writers Rebel’s Paint the Land launch 25.06.21. Within their speech, Ackroyd & Harvey describe the quiet miracle of grass. Ackroyd & Harvey created a 16x4m living grass banner that was floated on the Thames at Bankside Beach on Friday 25th June […]
Read More… from Ackroyd & Harvey’s #PaintTheLand launch speechHeather Ackroyd & Dan Harvey
On Friday 25th June, dedicated activist and organiser, Kelly Hill introduced the crowd to Writers Rebel’s latest project, Paint the Land. #PaintTheLand was launched with the help of Booker prize-winning writer Ben Okri and artist-activists Ackroyd & Harvey. Okri’s message to world governments, “Can’t you hear the future weeping? Our love must save the world” […]
Read More… from Kelly Hill’s #PaintTheLand launch speechKelly Hill
Booker prize-winning novelist, poet and activist Ben Okri made a moving speech at Writers Rebel’s Paint the Land launch 25.06.21. Within his speech, Okri reminds us that love is the only thing that stands between us and extinction. Okri’s message “Can’t you hear the future weeping? Our love must save the world” was displayed on […]
Read More… from Ben Okri’s #PaintTheLand launch speechBen Okri
On 22 April, XR co-founder Simon Bramwell and six other rebels appeared at the Southwark Crown Court, charged with causing 25K worth of criminal damage to Shell’s London headquarters. In a historic ruling, six of the defendants were found not guilty despite admitting to criminal damage, and the judge indicating that the law pointed to […]
Read More… from The shaping of History: THE PEOPLE VERSUS SHELLSimon Bramwell
Tom Bullough was arrested during the September rebellion for failing to comply with a section 14 of the Public Order Act 1986. This is the statement he read in his defence at the City of London magistrates’ court. He received a nine month suspended sentence and was ordered to pay costs. I would like […]
Read More… from On behalf of myself and my children…Tom Bullough's Defence Speech: Edit
Jay, what a treat to fire you questions. As you know, I think Why Rebel is a wonder – and, really, it answers this first in itself – but all the same it is such a central question for you, for me, for so many writers: How do you square the urgency of the CEE (Climate and […]
This year for Remembrance Day for Lost Species, November 30th, Writers Rebel are bringing together 20 writers from around the globe including Margaret Atwood, Amitav Ghosh, Elizabeth Kolbert, Ben Okri, Homero Aridjis and others to each tell the story of one animal. Please join us for this free landmark event. Below, Writers Rebel member Alex […]
Read More… from READ: They All Run TogetherJoin us for On the Brink: Mon 30th Nov, 7pm GMT
To James ‘Iggy’ Fox We are nature. We are science. We turn grief into action. We protest and we sing and we play and we dance. We do so for life. We are mourning the earth. We are mourning us. We are re-inventing the city. We are the grief-stricken carnival spirit that marks […]
On 2 September 2022, Zadie Smith joined Writers Rebel at 55 Tufton Street, and delivered a speech that has already been shared and watched thousands of times. This is a defining moment in the struggle for climate justice. If you feel strongly about the climate and ecological emergency, join us and help make a […]
Read More… from Watch: Zadie Smith on grief, protest and liesZadie Smith
I remember the moment of panic on the tube as it clattered towards Waterloo. Was I really going to go through with this? I was in my mid-fifties, a grandmother to two, and I had agreed to be part of a topless protest on Waterloo Bridge. What was I thinking? Let’s begin with the easy […]
Read More… from Read: Where Are Their Cats? Jessica Townsend
Individualism and spending time alone is base-line normal for writers. We visit friends, we eat with people, we go to parties. But we work alone; get things going alone; get things done alone. Well, alone with our imaginary friends. Sometimes this makes me sad. I look at the long lists of credits at the end […]