Bookstore owner Ken Sanders, Joan Thomas (Ammon Hennacy's widow) and Professor William Marling pose at a recent event

William Marling, professor of English, discusses new book on Ammon Hennacy’s life and legacy

William Marling, professor of English at Case Western Reserve University, published his latest book in January 2022: Christian Anarchist: Ammon Hennacy, a Life on the Catholic Left, a biography about the life and accomplishments of Ammon Hennacy, a workers’ rights activist, pacifist, and anarchist.

To discuss the book, Marling recently joined Stuart Squires, podcast host and theology professor at University of St. Thomas in Houston, on the podcast “Catholicism and Culture.” Squires interviewed Marling about Hennacy’s life in Ohio, his pacifist philosophy and legacy as a Christian anarchist, and the degrowth movement. 

In addition to his recent podcast appearance, Marling read the chapter “In the Land of the Mormons” from his book at the inauguration of The Leonardo Museum of Creativity and Innovation in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Saturday, April 2. He discussed Ammon’s legacy in Salt Lake City, where he set up the Joe Hill House of Hospitality to help give shelter to the shelterless. Hennacy’s widow, Joan Thomas, also spoke alongside Marling. 

The event announcement stated: “A Christian Anarchist does not depend on bullets or ballots to achieve his ideal; he achieves that ideal daily by the One Man Revolution with which he faces a decadent, confused and dying world.”

Learn more about Marling’s work on “Catholicism and Culture’s” most recent podcast episode, “Ammon Hennacy and Christian Anarchism with Dr. William Marling.