The Martlet

Raise Shit! That’s the mantra, and title, of a new book written in part by a UVic professor.

Published in October of last year, Raise Shit! Social Action Save Lives is a compilation of artefacts from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside (DTES). The book encapsulates back alley poetry and journals, photographs, posters, notes from early Vancouver Area Network of Drugs Users (VANDU) meetings and excerpts from significant health and media reports. It tells the story of a social justice movement which led to shifts in drug policy at the local level and to the opening of North America’s first official safe injection site.

The book is written by UVic professor Susan Boyd, Donald Macphereson, former drug policy co-ordinator for the city of Vancouver, and Bud Osborne, poet and founding member of VANDU.

The authors have been working on the book for the past five years. It started when Osborne asked Boyd if she was interested in writing a book like this.

“At first I said, ‘no, why don’t you write it? You’re the poet,’” said Boyd. “But then he pulled out these boxes of old newspapers, photographs and journals. I really wasn’t in the mood to start a book, but I couldn’t resist.”

Boyd, Osborne and Macpherson decided to collaborate. Osborne provided the poetry and Macpherson brought “humour and knowledge” to the project. For the next four years, the three authors would spend weekends in the art studio of Macpherson’s partner, “shuffling around photographs, posters and text” and documenting this story of grassroots activism.

“The book, from beginning to end, just fell into place,” said Boyd. “We enjoyed working together so much, and felt like we created something beyond our individual selves.”

The book focuses on the DTES in the early 1990s in order to not only highlight the community activism, but the reasons why the movement emerged in the first place. In 1997, the Vancouver-Richmond Health Board declared a public health emergency for six diseases; Hepatitis A, B and C, Syphilis, and HIV.

“No one seemed to be coming on board to alleviate these sky-rocketing rates,” said Boyd. “We wanted to look at what was going on before this all happened.”

Boyd said that it is a preventable tragedy that is affecting so many places around the world.

“We think this book might inspire other communities,” said Boyd. “We hope it will show that people on the ground can make a difference.”

The three authors decided to finish the whole book before showing it to their eventual publisher, Fernwood Publishing, so they could have absolute creative control. Two days after receiving the manuscript, the publishing house — which doesn’t typically print this type of book — accepted it.

“They phoned and said they read it cover to cover and loved it,” said Boyd.

The Victoria book launch for Raise Shit! is at the Solstice Café on March 4, at 7 p.m. The authors will be reading excerpts from the book and answering questions. Admission is free.