Michael Ansara has dedicated his life to activism and organizing, beginning with the civil rights movement of the 1960s and serving as a regional organizer for Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). He spent a decade organizing opposition to the Vietnam War. For the next 15 years he was a community organizer, including as Executive Director of Mass Fair Share, a uniquely popular community-based, statewide citizen’s organization fighting for economic justice. Michael has also worked on political campaigns, coordinated voter registration efforts, and trained numerous organizers.

In addition to his activism, Michael has successfully owned and operated two businesses. He is a co-founder of Mass Poetry and serves on the board of the Redress Movement as well as the organizing team for Volunteer Blue.

Michael is also an accomplished writer, with poems published in numerous journals and essays appearing in Vox, Arrowsmith, Solstice, and Cognoscenti. His first poetry collection, What Remains, was published in June 2022 by Kelsay Books. He lives in Carlisle, MA, with his wife, Barbara Arnold, and takes great joy in his three children and six grandchildren.