John J. Clarke
B. Jesse Clarke
Memories of J
ohn Clarke Sr. (left) as recounted by John Clarke Jr., (right) and Matt Clarke (not pictured) ; Interview and poem by Jess Clarke July 9, 2009. Posted in memory of the passing of Jack Clarke (John J. Clarke) , my uncle who died on August 3, 2010. (If you have flash installed you can see the little audio player, or you can download the file and play it as an mp3)
Obituary
John (Jack) Clarke Jr., 86 died at home on August 3, 2010. Born in the Bronx, NY he earned his BA from New York University on the GI bill. Jack was a shameless political agitator. He served as president of the Catholic Interracial Council from 1966-68. He attended the March on Washington where he met ML King. Jack actively opposed the Vietnam War and took his young family to the first peace march in Washington. He retired at age 55 from Lever Brothers Company where he was Vice President of Industrial Sales. Jack enjoyed the Brewster men's club and was an active volunteer at the Brewster Ladies Library. He was an avid reader and underliner. The car with the most bumper stickers on the Cape will go to a needy recipient. He is survived by his loving wife Joan of 62 years - his children John, Tim, and Annie, and his grandchildren, Molly, Bijhan, Colleen, Ariane, Erin and Cody. In lieu of flowers please make a donation directly to the Brewster Ladies Library or the United Negro College Fund. Burial will be private.
Jackie
By B. Jesse Clarke
When John J. Clarke was a boy,
back in 1908,
he carried buckets of suds,
warm and frothy,
the yeast still swimming through amber waves.
He’d run to the bar.
“Jackie lad,
bring us a pail” they’d shout,
from atop girders and bricks in Brooklyn.
His 12 year short legs would pump,
the bucket sloshing to the child’s rhythm,
the change jangling in his pocket
he’d keep for his pay.
Once he stole a taste.
Another time they gave him the dregs.
Warm and spit tinged,
the malt sang through,
sweet like apple cider.
He got dizzy,
climbed the sand pile and fell down.
John J. Clarke was a boy,
back in 1908.
| Attachment | Size |
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| jack-matt-jess-onjohnjclarkesr.mp3 | 7.18 MB |
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Some Information
Clarke is the founding editor of Freedom Voices Press, artistic director of Encounters in the Americas/ Encuentros de los Americas project of CENSA and editor of Race, Poverty & the Environment a journal of social and environmental justice published by Urban Habitat.
He is the co-editor with Roger Burbach of September 11 and the U.S. War, Beyond the Curtain of Smoke co-published by Freedom Voices and City Lights publishers 2002; editor of Image and Imagination, Encounters with the Photography of Dorothea Lange, 1997; and co-editor, with Clifton Ross of Voice of Fire, 1994, the first anthology of Zapatista communiqués and interviews published in English.
From 1998-2004, Clarke was editor of MediaFile a bi-monthly journal of media analysis and resources for activists published by San Francisco's Media Alliance.
A California Arts Council artist-in-residence 1999-2001 and a San Francisco Arts Commission lead artist on a project called Raising Our Voices, Clarke has been teaching writing, digital design and critical thinking in community settings for over a decade.
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