Threads was the newsletter of the UK Interhelp Network which was set up in response to the nuclear arms race: “We lived through one close call after another as we stood on the brink of devastation. Instead of waking from nightmares, many of us woke up into what felt like a nightmare: first strike strategies, civil defence plans for a “winnable” nuclear war, and new generations of missiles. As anti-nuclear activism surged, a field of study emerged that studied the impact of the nuclear threat on our culture, our relationships, our lives. Research showed that the enormity of the threat robbed people of the dynamism, vision, and capacity for human relationship that might lead to real solutions.”

The Interhelp Network emerged in the US in the early 1980s as a networking vehicle for mutual support in applying these “despair and empowerment” concepts in workshops, in theatre and music and visual arts, in mainstream peace and justice organising, in families and communities. It then travelled to the UK and Threads was born.

This edition from 1987 includes a comprehensive account of direct action taken against five Cruise Support Vehicles and the subsequent court case and not guilty verdict. There are also articles on anger, surrender and the healing power of trees.

The Commonweal Collection includes 20 copies of threads published between 1983-1988. Other materials in the Collection about Alternative Society (O) can be found on the catalogue here.

A full list of over 1,700 magazines, newsletters, bulletins and journals that are in the Collection can be found here.