Handler, Marisa 1976–

PERSONAL:

Born 1976, in South Africa. Education: University of California, Berkeley, B.A., 1998.

ADDRESSES:

Home—San Francisco, CA. E-mail—marisahandler@gmail.com.

CAREER:

Writer, activist, singer-songwriter, and teacher.

WRITINGS:

Loyal to the Sky: Notes from an Activist, Berrett-Koehler Publishers (San Francisco, CA), 2007.

Contributor to publications including San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Bay Guardian, Earth Island Journal, Salon.com, Alternet, Orion, Tikkun, and Bitch.

SIDELIGHTS:

Born and raised in South Africa during the height of apartheid, Marisa Handler immigrated with her family to the United States when it seemed no end to the country's political and racial inequality was in sight. She has since traveled internationally as an activist and journalist, working with justice organizations in Africa, the Middle East, Europe, South Asia, and South America. Handler's lifelong pursuit of peace and global justice been chronicled in her first book, Loyal to the Sky: Notes from an Activist. In addition to recounting the evolution of her career in activism, Handler also describes activism on a grander scale and how grassroots movements around the world are working to make change at the local, national, and global levels. Booklist reviewer Emily Cook described Loyal to the Sky as "a deeply intelligent, absorbing call to action." Jessica Lee, writing for the Indypendent, commented that the book is "the fist on the table that quiets the room full of activists quarreling over what message to put on the sign or which route to take in the march…. [Handler] speaks directly to those of us knocking our heads against the wall working for social and environmental change, feeling that with every step forward we end up three steps back." In a review for Publishers Weekly, a critic remarked that Handler describes "the histories of places many people couldn't find on a map in a lively, moving and funny voice."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, February 15, 2007, Emily Cook, review of Loyal to the Sky: Notes from an Activist, p. 30.

Publishers Weekly, January 1, 2007, review of Loyal to the Sky, p. 47.

ONLINE

Indypendent Online,http://www.indypendent.org/ (August 15, 2007), Jessica Lee, "The Revolution Within: A Review of Loyal to the Sky: Notes from an Activist."

Marisa Handler Home Page,http://www.marisahandler.com (September 3, 2007), author biography.