LOCAL STORY ALAN BROOKS: USING ALLEGORY TO EXPLORE RACISM BY GILES CLASEN R. ALAN BROOKS has always been creative and tried to find a way to lace that creativity into his life. A few years ago, he decided to change direction and make his artistic endeavors into a career. He stopped selling health insurance and started writing comics. In 2017, Brooks published his first graphic novel, the “Burning Metronome,” and just released his second book, “Anguish Garden,” in November of 2020. Both books use allegory to explore systemic oppression. Brooks also is an associate professor of writing at Regis University and writes a comic for The Colorado Sun news site. He also presented at the TEDxMileHigh Rise event in August 2020. The following was edited for clarity and length. How has art impacted social movements today? Oppression works best when the people who are oppressed don’t get a chance to speak up about it, so people can deny it. Art has always played a role in inspiring a revolution. There’s a reason that dictators and despots work so desperately to censor it. They recognize the power in it. CREDIT: GILES CLASEN CREDIT: GILES CLASEN 8 DENVER VOICE December 2020
9 Publizr Home