As Canadian anxieties rise due to impending tariffs and new-found political tension with their Southern neighbour, a Victoria book club is extending an open invitation to those empathizing with the Americans bewildered by the appointment of their new head-of-state.
Anne Hansen started the social-justice-oriented Not-Our-President Book Club after Donald Trump took his spot in the Oval Office in 2016, intending to meet like-minded people and read interesting books, while also making a statement on U.S. politics.
Over the past eight years, the club has read about 80 books from a wide range of authors like James Baldwin, Rebecca Solnit, Marsha Lederman, Tanya Talaga, Robin Wall Kimmerer and Tomson Highway, with Emily Carr's Hundreds and Thousands being among the highlights.
"Emily Carr wasn't particularly political, but she certainly had strong opinions," Hansen said. "She was a real trailblazer in terms of a woman who chose not to get married, who chose to be an artist; [she] didn't do the traditional things expected of her era."
Books they read aren't always necessarily about politics and activism; they're also about "people who are struggling, people who are considered to be in the minority, books about reconciliation, books about or by people who are oppressed and people who have great ideas about how we can solve some of the world's pressing problems," she said.
During Joe Biden's four-year term, the group considered changing the name, however, Hansen noted that perhaps "something ominous" told them to stick with the not-our-president name.
"We actually had a bit of an argument in book club, like, should we change our name? And I felt, I just felt that we should keep our name for historical reasons, not remotely thinking that we'd have to go through this ordeal again," said Hansen, alluding to Trump's re-election in November.
She said after Trump was elected to a second term, the club was "devastated" as many members are or have been activists and have a passion for social justice.
"I don't think you would be in a book club called the Not-Our-President Book Club if you were on the other side of the fence," she said. "It's not a prerequisite that you be an activist, but if you don't empathize with humane values and fairness, you probably wouldn't be interested in this book club."
The club meets once a month by Zoom and occasionally in person.
