Sascha Altman DuBrul, Sascha DuBrul or Sascha Scatter, (born 1974) is an American activist, writer, farmer and
punk rock musician known as the bass player of the 1990s
ska-punk
Ska punk (also spelled ska-punk) is a fusion genre that mixes ska music and punk rock music together. (sometimes spelled skacore) is a subgenre of ska punk that mixes ska with hardcore punk. Early ska punk mixed both 2 Tone (music genre), 2 to ...
band
Choking Victim
Choking Victim was an American Punk rock, punk band formed in New York City, which lasted from 1992 to 1998. They played a mix of hardcore punk and ska (sometimes known as ska-core). Following the breakup of the band, which occurred the same day ...
.
He is also the co-founder of
The Icarus Project, an international community support network and media project, which is attempting to redefine the language and culture of mental health and illness. He founded the Bay Area Seed Interchange Library (BASIL).
[A Seed Library for Heirloom Plants Thrives in the Hudson Valley]
/ref>
He divides his time between the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City.
Early life
DuBrul was raised on the Upper West Side
The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper West ...
of Manhattan, the son of Anita Altman, the founder and deputy director of the ReelAbilities
ReelAbilities is the United States' largest film festival dedicated to showcasing films by, or about, people with disabilities. It was founded by JCC Manhattan in New York City in 2007.
Overview
The Festival's Co-directors are Isaac Zablocki and R ...
: NY Disabilities Film Festival. His father, Paul DuBrul, was a journalist and speechwriter who died the night before DuBrul's Bar Mitzvah. In an interview with the Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the creat ...
, DuBrul described his childhood: "I was raised by democratic socialists
Democratic socialism is a left-wing political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-management within ...
who believed in electoral politics…but my political education happened amidst the Tompkins Square
Tompkins Square Park is a public park in the Alphabet City portion of East Village, Manhattan, New York City. The square-shaped park, bounded on the north by East 10th Street, on the east by Avenue B, on the south by East 7th Street, and on ...
riots
A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people.
Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property targeted ...
of the late '80s.”[Portrait of a Protest]
New York – ''Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the creat ...
'', 18 April 2000 In his teens, DuBrul found community among punks
Punk or punks may refer to:
Genres, subculture, and related aspects
* Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres
* Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture ...
and anarchist
Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...
squatters
Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...
on the Lower East Side
The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets.
Traditionally an im ...
.
Early Education
After attending Hunter College Elementary School
Hunter College Elementary School is a New York City elementary school for select students who reside in New York City, located on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Administered by Hunter College, a senior college of the City University of New York or C ...
and Bronx High School of Science
The Bronx High School of Science, commonly called Bronx Science, is a public specialized high school in The Bronx in New York City. It is operated by the New York City Department of Education. Admission to Bronx Science involves passing the Spec ...
, DuBrul graduated from St. Ann’s School in Brooklyn. He attended Reed College
Reed College is a private liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus in the Eastmoreland neighborhood, with Tudor-Gothic style architecture, and a forested canyon nature preserve at ...
in Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...
for a year but dropped out after having a psychotic break
Psychosis is a condition of the mind that results in difficulties determining what is real and what is not real. Symptoms may include delusions and hallucinations, among other features. Additional symptoms are incoherent speech and behavior t ...
. In a 2002 article for the San Francisco Bay Guardian
The ''San Francisco Bay Guardian'' was a free alternative newspaper published weekly in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1966 by Bruce B. Brugmann and his wife, Jean Dibble. The paper was shut down on October 14, 2014. It was relaun ...
, DuBrul wrote: "I was 18 years old the first time they locked me up in a psych ward. The police found me walking on the subway tracks in New York City, and I was convinced the world was about to end and I was being broadcast live on prime-time TV on all the channels.” He was diagnosed with bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...
.
Musical career and writing
After dropping out of Reed, DuBrul played in the ska-punk
Ska punk (also spelled ska-punk) is a fusion genre that mixes ska music and punk rock music together. (sometimes spelled skacore) is a subgenre of ska punk that mixes ska with hardcore punk. Early ska punk mixed both 2 Tone (music genre), 2 to ...
band Choking Victim
Choking Victim was an American Punk rock, punk band formed in New York City, which lasted from 1992 to 1998. They played a mix of hardcore punk and ska (sometimes known as ska-core). Following the breakup of the band, which occurred the same day ...
. In 1995, he co-organized a traveling punk circus, which he then wrote about in his first book ''Carnival of Chaos: On the Road With the Nomadic Festival'', published by Autonomedia
Autonomedia is a nonprofit publisher based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn known for publishing works of criticism. Staffed by volunteers, they have published over 200 books, usually with 3,000 of each run. Its most renowned book is Hakim Bey's essays o ...
. For eight years, DuBrul wrote a quarterly column for the punk zine Slug and Lettuce
Slug and Lettuce is a chain of bars that operate in the United Kingdom, with a large number located in London and South East England. As of 2017, there are a total of 70 outlets. Hugh Corbett opened the first Slug and Lettuce in Islington in ...
. DuBrul has written and lectured about the perceived relationships between punk, activist culture, racial identity, oppression, and privilege. His memoir ''Maps to the Other Side'' was released in 2013 and focuses on DuBrul's navigation of the psychiatric system and creative mental health advocacy. In recent years, his writing has focused on drawing links between punk rock, Judaism, and the power and complexities of spiritual community.
Activism and travels
In his early twenties, DuBrul traveled to Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
and Central America
Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
and worked with the Zapatista Uprising
On January 1, 1994, the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) coordinated a 12-day Zapatista uprising in the state of Chiapas, Mexico in protest of NAFTA's enactment. The revolt gathered international attention.
Background
Disease, ensla ...
in Chiapas
Chiapas (; Tzotzil language, Tzotzil and Tzeltal language, Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, ...
. Inspired by his experiences in Mexico, he went on to participate in a diverse number of activist projects: from Earth First!
Earth First! is a radical environmental advocacy group that originated in the Southwestern United States. It was founded in 1980 by Dave Foreman, Mike Roselle, Howie Wolke, Bart Koehler, and Ron Kezar. Today there are Earth First! groups around ...
road blockades of the Pacific Northwest, to the fight to save the community gardens
A community garden is a piece of land gardened or cultivated by a group of people individually or collectively. Normally in community gardens, the land is divided into individual plots. Each individual gardener is responsible for their own plo ...
in New York City, to the protests against the World Trade Organization in Seattle in November 1999. Often DuBrul would travel between activist projects on freight trains
Rail freight transport is the use of railroads and trains to transport cargo as opposed to human passengers.
A freight train, cargo train, or goods train is a group of freight cars (US) or goods wagons ( International Union of Railways) haule ...
. The details of his wanderings across the country and through Mexico often ended up in zines
A zine ( ; short for ''magazine'' or ''fanzine'') is a small-circulation self-published work of original or appropriated texts and images, usually reproduced via a copy machine. Zines are the product of either a single person or of a very sma ...
which, according to the Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the creat ...
, "combine adventure-travel tales with thoughtful observations about the global economy.” DuBrul was the inspiration for singer Jolie Holland
Jolie Holland is an American singer and performer who combines elements of folk, traditional, country, rock, jazz, and blues.
Career
Growing up in Houston, Texas, Jolie left in 1994, moving to Austin, New Orleans, and San Francisco before en ...
's song ''Sascha''.
Bay Area Seed Interchange Library
While interning at a CSA
CSA may refer to:
Arts and media
* Canadian Screen Awards, annual awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television
* Commission on Superhuman Activities, a fictional American government agency in Marvel Comics
* Crime Syndicate of Amer ...
farm in British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
, DuBrul became fascinated by permaculture
Permaculture is an approach to land management and settlement design that adopts arrangements observed in flourishing natural ecosystems. It includes a set of design principles derived using whole-systems thinking. It applies these principle ...
and the genetic relationships that arose when domestic crops intermingled with their wild relatives. Having been raised in Manhattan, his urban sensibilities spawned his thinking about agriculture and what he believed was the need to revitalize older methods of community seed production. In 2000, he founded the first urban seed lending library: the Bay Area Seed Interchange Library, or BASIL. In an interview with the New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
, DuBrul said: “An urban seed library
A seed library is an institution that lends or shares seed. It is distinguished from a seedbank in that the main purpose is not to store or hold germplasm or seeds against possible destruction, but to disseminate them to the public which preserves ...
is about the relationship between biological and cultural diversity, and people having a direct connection to the seeds that are growing their foods.”[ BASIL has become a model for other ]seed libraries
A seed library is an institution that lends or shares seed. It is distinguished from a seedbank in that the main purpose is not to store or hold germplasm or seeds against possible destruction, but to disseminate them to the public which preserves ...
across the country, including the Hudson Valley Seed Library, the first seed library in a public library in the country. According to Michael Carolan, there are currently more than 660 seed libraries in 48 states in the US. The author Ruth Ozeki
Ruth Ozeki is an American-Canadian author, filmmaker and Zen Buddhist priest. Her books and films, including the novels '' My Year of Meats'' (1998), '' All Over Creation'' (2003), '' A Tale for the Time Being'' (2013), and '' The Book of Form ...
drew from DuBrul’s vision of seed activism for her New York Times Notable Book
''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...
All Over Creation.
The Icarus Project
In 2002, DuBrul wrote "Bipolar World", an article published in the ''San Francisco Bay Guardian
The ''San Francisco Bay Guardian'' was a free alternative newspaper published weekly in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1966 by Bruce B. Brugmann and his wife, Jean Dibble. The paper was shut down on October 14, 2014. It was relaun ...
'', relating his personal experiences being diagnosed with bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...
. Among the dozens of e-mails and other correspondence that he received after this publication was a letter from Jacks Ashley McNamara, an artist and writer who identified strongly with his experiences. DuBrul and McNamara corresponded for a few weeks to form The Icarus Project
The Icarus Project (2002-2020) was a network of peer-support groups and media projects with the stated aim of changing the language and culture of what gets called mental health and mental illness. The name is derived from Icarus, a hero in Greek ...
, devoted to creating a new view of mental illness. DuBrul has been quoted as claiming he has "superpowers" due to his allegedly heightened sensitivity to his surroundings.[Columbia News Service, Nov 1, 2005 – A new movement views bipolar disorder as a dangerous gift – By Jennifer Itzenson](_blank)
/ref>
The Icarus Project is an online, international radical community support network and media project with over 14,000 participants. It has numerous local groups across North America and has released a number of publications. ''Navigating the Space Between Brilliance and Madness; A Reader and Roadmap of Bipolar Worlds'' was published by the Icarus Project in March 2004 and is currently in its 10th printing.
Public Mental System and the Mad Underground
After 12 years, DuBrul stepped back from his work with the Icarus Project to train as a clinician in the public mental health system. He attended social work school at Silberman School of Social Work, which included a year long internship (in dialogic practice) with the Parachute Project, and he was then hired by the Center for Practice Innovations at the New York State Psychiatric Institute as a trainer of Peer Specialists in First Episode
A series premiere is the first aired installment of an episodic entertainment series, most often a television series. In the United States, many series premieres are aired in the fall time or, for mid-season replacements, either in the spring or ...
Psychosis
Psychosis is a condition of the mind that results in difficulties determining what is real and what is not real. Symptoms may include delusions and hallucinations, among other features. Additional symptoms are incoherent speech and behavior ...
programs. While at the Institute, he was the first author for the Peer Specialist manual for OnTrackNY.
During this period, DuBrul also helped to develop the Institute for the Development of Human Arts, a training institute for mental health workers. This institute offers training to clinicians and peer workers in order to think about their personal relationship to mental health and illness. It is also building a network of mentorship to positively transform the mental health system.
Dubrul is quoted as saying that “his interests lie at the intersection of the public mental health system and the Mad Underground.”
Tours and teaching
Shortly after the Icarus launched, DuBrul embarked on a tour of North America, facilitating workshops and leading discussions on alternative conceptions of mental illness and wellness. After the tour, Dubrul worked with McNamara and other Icarus members to create a guide for creating community support around madness and mental health. This was published under the title "Friends Make the Best Medicine."
In 2007, DuBrul and a group of fellow Icarus Project members organized the "Mad Gifts Tour." As part of this tour, the group visited Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...
soon after the April 16th massacre of 32 students, which stirred controversy about mental health on college campuses.
DuBrul toured Europe in 2011, facilitating workshops and giving talks about radical mental health support. During the summers of 2010 and 2012, he co-taught month long seminars at the Esalen Institute
The Esalen Institute, commonly called Esalen, is a non-profit American retreat center and intentional community in Big Sur, California, which focuses on humanistic alternative education. The institute played a key role in the Human Potential ...
in Big Sur
Big Sur () is a rugged and mountainous section of the Central Coast of California between Carmel and San Simeon, where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from the Pacific Ocean. It is frequently praised for its dramatic scenery. Big Sur ha ...
.
In the Spring of 2013, in conjunction with the release of his book, Maps to the Other Side, DuBrul, along with Icarus Project co-founder Ashley Jacks McNamara, toured the United States giving readings, and conducting workshops and discussions on mental health.
Publications
* ''Carnival of Chaos: On the Road With the Nomadic Festival'' 1996. Autonomedia
Autonomedia is a nonprofit publisher based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn known for publishing works of criticism. Staffed by volunteers, they have published over 200 books, usually with 3,000 of each run. Its most renowned book is Hakim Bey's essays o ...
* ''El Otro Lado (The Other Side)''. 1999. Self-published zine.
* ''Walking the Edge of Insanity''. 2002. Published by The Icarus Project
* ''Blinking Red Lights and the Souls of Our Friends''. 2003. Self-published zine.
* ''Navigating the Space Between Brilliance and Madness; A Reader and Roadmap of Bipolar Worlds''. 2004. The Icarus Project. Currently in its 6th printing.
* ''Mutant Superpowers & Lithium Pills''. 2006. Self-published zine.
* ''Maps to The Other Side: the Adventures of A Bipolar Cartographer'' 2013. Microcosm Publishing
References
External links
DuBrul's 2002 article for the SF Bay Guardian about his experiences with bipolar
Interview with DuBrul on Madness Radio
DuBrul's blog at Mad in America
DuBrul speaking at the American Association of Community Psychiatrists Convention in March, 2012
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dubrul, Sascha Altman
Mental health activists
People with bipolar disorder
1974 births
Living people
Reed College alumni
Hunter College High School alumni
People from the Upper West Side
Anti-psychiatry
Choking Victim members