Looking backward, looking forward. Both directions giving similar signals.

The execution of Sacco and Vanzetti, whose real-life journeys of commitment and tragic ends are the basis for my fictional account in “Suosso’s Lane,” took place 89 years ago on Aug. 23. Each year The Sacco and Vanzetti Commemoration Society recognizes this date with an event in Boston. This year the group, which defines its goal as the preservation of “the memory of Sacco and Vanzetti’s struggle to radically change society,” has invited me and the musicians J.P. Provenzano and Jake and the Infernal Machine to take part at a commemorative event held every year on that date.

“We want to educate our neighbors about Massachusetts’ radical history, and draw connections between the struggles of Sacco and Vanzetti and similar struggles today,” the Society states on its webpage. “We stand against the death penalty and political persecution as well as the persecution and scapegoating of immigrants.”

For some years the Society has organized marches and outdoor rallies on the date. This year it has chosen to hold an indoor event in downtown Boston, at Encuentro5, a non-governmental organization that describes itself as “a space for progressive movement building in the heart of Boston.”

The address is 9A Hamilton Place; a location close to the Park Street MBTA Station. The event begin at 7 p.m. The group’s website is http://saccoandvanzetti.org/

Historian Robert D’Atillio will lead off the program by providing some background on the case and an introduction to the program. “We hope that you continue to support this timeless cause for justice and make plans to attend the event and bring friends to it,” the Society states.

To read more about this upcoming event see my blog at http://prosegarden.blogspot.com/2016/08/garden-of-commemoration-every-year-in.html