Gulgong musician Bob Campbell will launch his book, Giant’s Leap - An Activist Folksinger’s Memoir, at the Mudgee Brewing Company on Wednesday, December 11, at 7pm.
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The book is the first of a two-part memoir and history and covers the period from WWII to the end of the 70s.
Mr Campbell found himself catapulted towards left wing political causes and a quest for social justice, placing him squarely in the middle of the social movements of the 60s and 70s.
His experiences centred on trade union and Communist Party activism in the industrial city of Newcastle and the Hunter Valley region.
Events led Mr Campbell to reject rigid dogma and adopt a heartfelt conviction of the necessity of compassion towards all forms of life.
The memoir chronicles the life of the boy who suffers violence and family break-up, the juvenile who joins gangs and steals cars, the young man who educates himself and becomes the secretary of a large trade union organisation, the man who joins the Communist Party and is gaoled for inciting opposition to the Vietnam War, and the adult who travels and works at dozens of different manual jobs, playing and learning music as he goes.
MC Steve Taverner will read several stories from the book and Mr Campbell will perform several of the songs.
Special guests at the launch will entertain with musical performances.
Mr Campbell will also launch a CD featuring 12 songs and four poems from the book in conjunction will the book.