‘SEEING
GREEN’ A HUMOROUS JAUNT INTO D.C. POLICITCS, ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISM
Review on Huffington Post calls Annabel Hertz’s new book:
energetic, witty and timely
WASHINGTON, D.C. –
Drawing on clever social commentary and her own experience in the political
realm, author Annabel Hertz will get readers “Seeing Green” in no time.
Her
new book “Seeing Green” (April 15, 2014) steps into the world of cutthroat
politics and environmental policy as seen through the eyes of a young
multicultural woman whose personal life seems to parallel her professional life
as an activist on the frontlines of Washington D.C. in the ’90s. Never afraid
to articulate her personal convictions, Hertz’s modern day heroine is strong
and profound, yet humorous and relatable.
“Seeing
Green” is Hertz’s first endeavor in historical fiction, reviewed on The
Huffington Post as “timely, energetic
and witty.”
Much like the protagonist she introduces in “Seeing
Green,” Hertz has delved into the world of politics with organizations involved
in international relations and sustainable development. More recently, she
served as a policy consultant, adjunct professor at the Geneva School of Diplomacy
and International Relations and Global Governance Fellow at the World Economic
Forum.
“Seeing Green” is Hertz’s debut novel. She holds master’s
degrees from Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and San Francisco
State University, as well as a bachelor’s degree from the University of
California where she studied politics. Hertz is currently pursuing a doctorate
in international relations at American University in Washington D.C.
Guest Post by Annabel Hertz
A Year of Great Expectancy—Annabel Hertz
A
prospective book agent once asked me if I would consider changing the historical
setting of Seeing Green. She suggested
the story could take place in the current day—or be rewritten as “timeless.”
It was awkward
request, I thought, in regards to a novel about a young woman’s political
coming of age in 1992—during a simultaneous coming of age phase in American and
international politics: surely, a protagonist and her era could not be
separated! (Not to mention the sense of dislocation this would cause the other characters…)
1992 was
a time of great expectancy. The Cold War was finally over. One could
practically hear the planet exhaling in relief. Still, it was not clear what was
next in the world of international politics: the Gulf War hinted at a new era
of coercive action, while the Earth Summit signaled quite a different agenda
that sparked many an imagination for years to come. In the US, Bill Clinton’s
presidential campaign re engaged Americans in electoral politics—both embodying
and generating possibility, instead of apprehension. And we ended the year with
an unprecedented six women serving in the Senate.
It was a
heady period—and a heady moment for any 25 year-old protagonist to be leaving
home in order to chase that aura of possibility. Many of the problems we have
resigned to live with now still seemed solvable then, despite the limitations
of twentieth century tools—such as fax machines and voicemail—for global
organizing.
So it was
not that I was inflexible, I told the agent. Rather, it just seemed clear that—even
though some of the events that took place in Seeing Green would repeat themselves a decade later—the story could
not have happened at any other time. A protagonist and her context are not so
easily parted!
Q&A
with Annabel Hertz
Arcani Kirsch, the
heroine in “Seeing Green,” is a multicultural woman with a Native American and
Jewish background. What role does her ethnicity play in the book?
Arcani’s mixed heritage plays
several roles in the book. First, it’s a fundamental source of her identity
predicament in that she is trying, throughout the book, to relate to both sides
of her lineage and draw upon and unify these heritages for inspiration—and for
connections to her own life.
At the same time, she sometimes
feels a bit in limbo because of this mixture, and even experiences tension
around it—not to mention the friction she encounters, as a minority, within
society as a whole, which causes her to wrestle with her identity as an
American.
Her multiculturalism is also
symbolic of all the other ways that she is divided in the story—between
striking out on her own and staying close to her aunt, sticking up for herself
and not making waves, getting ahead without sacrificing values, being a
Washington inside and an
outsider….carefree versus committed, east coast-west coast. And the list goes
on.
So, as a result, like many of
us, Arcani spends a fair amount of time trying to both assert and reconcile
competing tendencies in—or parts of— herself.
Finally, her mixed heritage is—I
think and hope—a source of humor in book.
What do you think
makes Arcani such a relatable character?
The aforementioned internal
struggles makes her relatable, including to men, which indicates some level of
universality in her character. She is imperfect—as are her immediate work
environs and personal life, so most people have had some experience with that,
and can empathize with her and things not going according to plan, see her
vulnerabilities and forgive her self-righteousness, such that they welcome
growth that occurs during her various mini crises, and want her to succeed.
Are you anything
like Arcani?
On one hand, almost everything
that happens to Arcani has never happened to me. She really took on a life of
her own—which I am sure is a typical for many writers. On the other hand, I
channeled some of my views through her, and reinterpreted some specific moments
or emotions I have experienced in scenes with her, and added my heritage to
hers halfway into writing the book specifically to personalize the story (as
well as to complicate things). So, I am sure there are some similarities
between us— though some folks who are not overly fond of her are still friends
with me! But I also put pieces of myself—so to speak—in the other lead female
characters, and even in the male and secondary characters. Each character is
partly a composite of various people—and partly a product of imagination.
“Seeing Green” is
a work of historical fiction. What parts of the book are based on real events?
Presidential
campaign events like the Democratic National Convention, the scene in Bryant
Park, the Inaugural parade—those all occurred, as did of course the Rio
Conference on Environment and Development, although the Earth Treaty is a gross
over simplification of that conference’s outcomes.
The one-year follow up to Rio, the Ministerial conference in Paris,
never existed. Some events are mixed—for example, the environmental inaugural
ball occurred but its locale and the events in it were fictionalized, as was
the politics on Capitol Hill and the hearing, though I drew from real hearings
that were occurring at that time. References to international events—the
aftermath of the Cold War, the Iraq war, Chernobyl, the Bosnian conflict—are
all of course real. By establishing this broader context, I tried to capture
the political zeitgeist of the early 90s. I also ended up showing how
history—and particularly public and political debates—are cyclical. To me, the
similarities and parallels were notable.
Do you have to
know a lot about politics or environmental policy to enjoy “Seeing Green?”
Not at all.
In fact, one of my goals was to personalize the politics and policy to the
point that it was intrinsic to the stories about the characters and their
motivations, personalities, and growth trajectories. I wanted to make politics
more accessible. Some of what’s currently popular on television about
Washington already does this, but I think Seeing Green takes accessibility to a
new level because of the depth and multidimensionality of the protagonist and
her struggles (which doesn’t normally exist in political fiction), and because
of its focus on underlings and underdogs who may have linkages to power but are
relatively powerless, and have their own dynamics.
How did you get
interested in politics and international relations?
When I was 14, I saw a documentary at
school called ‘The Last Epidemic’ about nuclear war and based on a conference
held by Physicians for Social Responsibility. That was a life changing moment,
much the way the cold war influenced the character Ginger in the 2012 film
“Ginger and Rosa,” only in my case there was a delayed reaction—it wasn’t until
college that I became active in the anti nuclear testing movement and
interested in international disarmament. That was a formative and exciting
time. I was inspired by Helen Caldicott, the Australian anti-nuclear activist,
the Western Shoshone People, who were leading the charge in the US, and by
Gorbachev and the momentum of Perestroika in Russia. Soon
after, the Berlin wall was dismantled.
How did your
experience in politics and policy shape your book?
My
experiences provided a very healthy reservoir to draw upon when coming up with
the narrative and sub plots. Although the book really arose from the sheer
desire to create and entertain, the content seemed value added and an
appropriate fit—and the perspective seemed unique to what’s already out there.
“Seeing Green” is
humorous and entertaining, yet it serves as a commentary on some serious
issues. What do you want readers to take away from your book?
First and
foremost, I want them to have fun and be entertained—but ideally in a way that
also feels nourishing and is perhaps thought provoking and maybe even moving.
Some of my favorite films and novels combine these elements, and I worked hard
to make the book read lightly, while still containing grit and ballast. In
terms of take aways, the idea of being true to oneself both emanates and
resonates. I thought that idea might inspire young women in particular—since
Arcani is 25—but it’s a classic message that’s always had broader appeal. Also
there is the green message—a de-emphasis on materialism—but this is conveyed
through the plot and protagonist’s values, and is not intended to be preachy or
overbearing, and I don’t think it comes across as such.
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Born with the mark of the devil, Merrin has been hidden on the islet
of Eilean Fladda for near twenty years. Warm.
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