Holly Near (born June 6, 1949 in Ukiah, California) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, teacher, and activist.
The war on drugs is a war against the communities.
The women's movement completely changed attitudes all over the world in ways we'll never be able to count.
All my life I have gone out on a limb, but I have turned the limb into a bridge, and there is cool, clear water flowing under.
My creativity and my political work are linked. I don't do this work out of guilt or out of responsibility.
My voice is my instrument. . . . It is not in the throat, from where it appears to come. It is in my feet and how they touch the floor, in my legs and how they lift and sink with the rhythm of the song. It is in my hips and belly and lower back.
To be always in a state of wonder is a kind of sensitivity that can sometimes be an extraordinary blessing and sometimes a real pain.
If you have the guts to keep making mistakes, your wisdom and intelligence leap forward with huge momentum.
Language is like songs, like food, like dance-it is the expression of what we think.
Once women are not excluded, I don't think any of us will give a damn what pronouns are used. That wasn't the point.
Leaping away from my mistakes has propelled me forward. It has great force behind it. It makes for great storytelling.
It's been important to me to be a good activist, a good thinker, a good musician, a good singer, and a good entertainer. You can't do it all, but I have walked those delicate lines as best I know how.
Part of keeping space open is not to try to choose a form - to spend more time thinking about content, and let form take care of itself.
I am not here for me I am not here to promote my ego I am here to serve the Great Spirit To be a voice for those afraid to speak To be movement for those who are stuck I am here to reveal a mystery To learn something new about myself
I am selfish. I reach for the world I want to live in. And I believe in leaving our best we can do to our children
Why do we kill people who are killing people to show that killing people is wrong?
Music can be used against us as much as it can be used for us. Muzak can put a whole nation to sleep, whereas a lullaby is intended to put a child to sleep in a sweet way.
Part of being an artist is being willing to be shocked, being willing to be surprised, being willing to be hurt.
My parents encouraged thought. You'll get through life better if you learn how to think.
In my life, the stories I have heard from my family, my friends, my community, and from willing strangers all over the world have been the true source of my education.
Poverty without a people's government looks like hopelessness, but to see poverty in organized communities is to see relief-in-progress.