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Street Spirit is an independent newspaper in the East Bay dedicated to covering homelessness and poverty from the perspective of those most impacted. Est 1995. A publication of Youth Spirit Artworks.

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Street Spirit is an independent newspaper in the East Bay dedicated to covering homelessness and poverty from the perspective of those most impacted. Est 1995. A publication of Youth Spirit Artworks.

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Ace Backwords

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Ace Backwords is a homeless writer and artist who lives in Berkeley, California. You can find more writing on his blogs.

Staying warm and dry 101

December 5, 2022
Features   First-person   Opinion
As the weather changes, some tips for staying warm and dry on the street.

Remembering street musician Anthony Bledsoe

January 7, 2022
First-person   News   Opinion
Bledsoe, a talented street musician who was well known amongst the 1990s Telegraph Ave street scene, died in 2021.

Staying warm and dry 101

December 9, 2021
First-person   Opinion
Some things to keep in mind about how to stay warm and dry during the winter months.

Twisted Image

December 9, 2021
News
Twisted Image, a cartoon by Ace Backwords.

Twisted Image

November 8, 2021
Arts and Culture   Cartoons
A cartoon by Ace Backwords.

Staying dry during the first rains of the season

November 8, 2021
First-person   Opinion
Ace Backwords reflects on the struggle of trying to stay dry in the rain while sleeping outside.

Celebrating Halloween indoors

November 8, 2021
First-person   Opinion
Ace Backwords celebrates Halloween indoors after years on the street.

Twisted image

October 5, 2021
News
A cartoon by Ace Backwords.

Twisted image

September 6, 2021
Arts and Culture   Cartoons
Twisted Image, a cartoon by Ace Backwords.

Familiar strangers: One of the many funny things about city life

August 9, 2021
First-person   Opinion
Recently, my friend, the artist John H. Seabury, was talking on his Facebook page about this guy he’s seen for

Twisted Image

August 9, 2021
Arts and Culture   Cartoons
Twisted Image, a cartoon by Ace Backwords

Twisted Image

July 7, 2021
Arts and Culture   Cartoons
Twisted Image by Ace Backwords

Twisted Image

May 5, 2021
Arts and Culture   Cartoons
A cartoon by Ace Backwords.

The death anniversary of Hate Man, ‘American philosopher’

April 7, 2021
Commentary   Opinion
It’s hard to believe it’s been four years since Hate Man croaked in 2017. But his effect lives on.

Twisted Image

April 6, 2021
Arts and Culture   Cartoons
A comic strip from Twisted Image by Ace Backwords.

The ‘secret homeless’

February 11, 2021
First-person   Opinion
Generally I like to think of myself as the “secret homeless"—you would walk right by me and never guess I was homeless.

Twisted Image

February 10, 2021
News
A cartoon by Ace Backwords.

The final days of Jerkle, the wild turkey of the Berkeley hills

December 2, 2020
Commentary   First-person   Opinion
I had a poignant moment at my campsite this morning. Involving those goddamn wild turkeys, believe it or not. My hated enemies. But as much of a nemesis and a pain in the ass they can be, I realized there was a bond there.

Twisted Image

December 2, 2020
Arts and Culture   Cartoons

Twisted Image

November 3, 2020
News

Twisted Image

October 1, 2020
Arts and Culture   Cartoons

Late night on the Berkeley campus in the time of COVID-19

September 1, 2020
First-person   Opinion
When the Berkeley campus first went into lockdown, it was great for me. Because I had the whole campus to myself. But gradually, more and more people realized there was this big expanse of unoccupied green space right in the middle of the city. So more and more people are hanging out here every day.

A strange young woman appears on the Arcata street scene

September 1, 2020
First-person   Opinion
The street scene is like watching a movie. Except you only get the middle act of the movie. You don’t get the first act or the third act. You don’t know their life story—what led up to them being the people that they are. And you almost never find out how their lives turned out.

Twisted image

September 1, 2020
Arts and Culture   Cartoons
Each month, Street Spirit publishes excerpts from Ace Backword's comic strip, Twisted Image, originally published in the '80s and '90s.

The day I lost my campsite

March 1, 2020
First-person   Opinion
Everything is in a state of chaos and complete upheaval at my campsite in the Berkeley hills. They’re doing a

Twisted Image

March 1, 2020
Arts and Culture   Cartoons

Twisted Image

February 1, 2020
Arts and Culture   Cartoons

Life is all a pose

February 1, 2020
First-person   Opinion
Life is all a pose in a way. And I don’t mean that in a fake way. We all have

Rainstorm ritual: checking my secret stash spots

December 1, 2019
First-person   Opinion
One of my post-rainstorm rituals is, I go around to all my stash spots to make sure all my stuff

Twisted Image

November 1, 2019
Arts and Culture   Cartoons

Thanksgiving on Telegraph Avenue

November 1, 2019
Commentary   Opinion
I always get this weird flashback when I’m walking down Telegraph Avenue on Thanksgiving day. Back in the Good Old Days I used to always meet up with my pals Duncan and Vince at this Telegraph Avenue coffee shop every Thanksgiving. Joint called the Wall Berlin. The Wall Berlin was one of the few coffee shops that was open on Thanksgiving. So it became kind of an annual holiday tradition for the three of us. I can still picture us sitting there at our table outside the café, quietly sipping on our coffee and talking about our plans for the holiday.

First rain of the season

October 1, 2019
Commentary   Opinion   YSA youth contributions
The first real rain of the season was last night and I got totally soaked. My impression was that the rain wasn’t gonna start until later in the morning. My impression was wrong.

The Ghosts of Berkeley past

October 1, 2019
First-person   Opinion
The town of Berkeley is full of so many ghosts for me. This building on the corner of Shattuck and University is one of these ghosts. In 1986 it was the office of the Daily Californian, the campus newspaper. And every semester the staff voted on what comic strips they’d run for the semester. In 1986 I won the election. And it turned out to be a big break for me.

Twisted Image

September 1, 2019
Arts and Culture   Cartoons

Twisted Image

August 1, 2019
Arts and Culture   Cartoons

Twisted image

July 1, 2019
Arts and Culture   Cartoons

Twisted Image

June 1, 2019
Arts and Culture   Cartoons

Twisted Image

April 1, 2019
Arts and Culture   Cartoons

Twisted Image

March 1, 2019
Arts and Culture   Cartoons

Twisted Image

February 1, 2019
Arts and Culture   Cartoons

Stop cutting down our trees

February 1, 2019
Commentary   Opinion
I counted about 18 trees left at the top of People’s Park after the University chopped down 42 trees in

Twisted Image

January 1, 2019
Arts and Culture   Cartoons

Twisted Image

December 1, 2018
Arts and Culture   Cartoons

Twisted Image

November 1, 2018
Arts and Culture   Cartoons

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Street Spirit Newspaper
1740 Alcatraz Ave, Berkeley, CA 94703