In this landmark book, Seven Stories Press presents a powerful
collection of literary, philosophical, and political writings of the
masked Zapatista spokesperson, Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos.
Introduced by Nobel Prize winner José Saramago, and illustrated with
beautiful black and white photographs, Our Word Is Our Weapon
crystallizes the passion of a rebel, the poetry of a movement, and the
literary genius of indigenous Mexico.
Marcos first captured world attention on January 1, 1994, when he and an
indigenous guerrilla group calling themselves Zapatistas revolted
against the Mexican government and seized key towns in Mexico's
southernmost state of Chiapas. In the six years that have passed since
their uprising, Marcos has altered the course of Mexican politics and
emerged an international symbol of grassroots movement-building,
rebellion, and democracy. The prolific stream of poetic political
writings, tales, and traditional myths that Marcos has penned since
January 1, 1994 fill more than four volumes. Our Word Is Our Weapon
presents the best of these writings, many of which have never been
published before in English.
Throughout this remarkable book we hear the uncompromising voice of
indigenous communities living in resistance, expressing through
manifestos and myths the universal human urge for dignity, democracy,
and liberation. It is the voice of a people refusing to be forgotten the
voice of Mexico in transition, the voice of a people struggling for
democracy by using their word as their only weapon.
