The writer Sonja Larsen discusses her memoir Red Star Tattoo (Random House, 2016), her tumultuous upbringing, her experience with radicalism, and more, with Joseph Planta.

Red Star Tattoo by Sonja Larsen (Random House, 2016). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Red Star Tattoo

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, at TheCommentary.ca.

Red Star Tattoo is the title of the memoir by my guest now, Sonja Larsen. In it she recounts her childhood where her parents gave her freedom. Drawn to communism, Sonja’s mother allows her daughter to hitchhike from Quebec to California with a man she barely knows. Her childhood is spent throughout the United States with people committed to radical ideals, chiefly part of her teen years in an organisation called the National Labor Federation, which was privately known as the Communist Party USA Provisional Wing. She moves up in the organisation, as they plan a revolution, gaining the attention of the Old Man, the leader of the movement. I’ll get Ms. Larsen to tell us about the years she writes about in this book. They’re years that include abuse, violence, as well as the search for one’s identity, family, and belonging. It’s a moving book. Sonja Larsen is a graduate of Simon Fraser University’s Writer’s Studio, and her work has been published in a number of magazines, journals, and newspapers. She works with youth here in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. The website for more is at www.sonjalarsen.com. The book is published by Random House. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Sonja Larsen; Ms. Larsen, good morning.

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