Michael Ansara - The Hard Work of Hope

Michael Ansara was on the front lines in the eventful heady days of the 1960s and 1970s, and chronicles the hopes and strategies of the young people who created the movements that rocked the country. He traces an arc of discovery: from the hope and moral clarity of the civil rights movement to the ten-year struggle to end the war in Vietnam, with its sit-ins, marches, confrontations, and antiwar riots and takes us into the minds of the activists detailing their successes as well as their mistakes.

The Hard Work of Hope tells how he learned to become a more effective organizer and build the Massachusetts Fair Share organization and explores issues that remain urgent. How does a movement build support when large parts of the country are opposed to its goals? How do you connect with people who disagree with you? How do you build organizations that unite across racial lines? How can we make progress on the unfinished business of the hard work of hope?

Michael Ansara spent many years as an activist and organizer. At a very young age, he was swept up in the civil rights movement of the 1960s. He then became a regional organizer for Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and a leader in the effort to end the war in Vietnam. He spent many years as a community organizer. In 2009 he co-founded Mass Poetry ( ) and serves on its board. His poems have appeared in numerous literary journals. What Remains, a collection of his poems, was published by Kelsay Books in 2022. His essays have appeared in Vox, Solstice, Cognoscenti, and Arrowsmith.

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