Renowned anti-war activist, playwright and poet, Daniel Berrigan was the first priest in U.S. history to be arrested for nonviolent civil disobedience against war. He was arrested over 200 times for protesting, one instance of which led to an FBI “birdwatching” manhunt on Block Island, and a cover feature of both Daniel and his brother Philip Berrigan in TIME magazine. Nominated several times throughout his career for the Nobel Peace Prize, he was and is still regarded today as one of the greatest peacemakers of the twentieth century.

In an age continually filled with injustice and uncertainty, Daniel Berrigan’s Block Island: Poems, Photos, and Letters (Brown Books Publishing Group; available now) serves as an important reminder that a place of rest from one’s political sphere is necessary to perpetuate art. Berrigan often referred to Block Island as a “hammock between two words,” a place of respite for not just him, but for all that he opened his home to. His cottage on the bluff was continually a refuge for fellow protesters and members of the LGBTQIA+ community who were diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. Through his dedication to faith, contemplation and community, he led a peaceful resistance that will endure for years to come.

Block Island: Poems, Photos, and Letters is the second edition of a collection originally published in 1985. Award-winning director of The Berrigans: Devout and Dangerous Susan Hagedorn, and Daniel Berrigan’s niece Carla Berrigan, re-release this legendary work for the first time in forty years with the help of DePaul University’s Special Collections and Archives and the Island Free Library. Newly added poems, photos of Daniel and his cottage on the island, and letters written to family and friends have enriched the text with further insight into Daniel’s life outside of his activist persona.

“Daniel Berrigan was one of the most charismatic, brilliant, poetic peacemakers in modern history ... I am thrilled that my friends Carla Berrigan and Sue Hagedorn have brought back this book of poetry, which has been long out of print. It is a celebration of life, peace, and creation itself.” —John Dear, Nobel Peace Prize Nominee, American Catholic Priest, Peace Activist, and Pacem in Terris and Courage of Conscience Award Winner

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