Autumn Editorial

For many this is a time of disillusionment as a new administration which arrived with great promise morphs into the grim reality of what we voted against, issue after issue. Some of us, though disheartened, are not surprised. "Change" for the common good cannot come from a corporate oligarchy which will not act against its own narrow class interests without the enormous public pressure that would threaten its hold on power.

From illness to institutionalization, from the insecurity of economic decline, to racism and war; from jobs to their increasing absence the poetry in this issue covers a great range of our working class experience. Present throughout is the theme of Community on which we must depend when all else fails.

In this Post Hope period, it is becoming more obvious to the worried and wearied workers, the permanently unemployed, and the old who've seen it all that this system has nothing left to offer us but further exploitation, destruction and death. All that remains for us is each other: we who actually build the houses banks and factories, who create and run the machines, who sew the clothes, grow the food, assemble the myriad commodities and fight their wars. We are the hands and brains that keep this society functioning day and night. Beyond disillusionment lies the possibility of our awakening to other real possibilities than the corrupt system we've been sold. What we know and can do will save us. Through the individual voices presented in these pages we see the commonality of our experience, our class values and our hopes. We still have a dream but it is not of conquest or superiority. It is a dream of our common sufficiency that grows from the security of real community. From the sharing of food to the offer of a palette on the floor; from the listening and exchanging of stories to the unity formed in our struggle for the common good are the unbreakable bonds of solidarity built that can shake loose the fear that enslaves us to this murderous and dying system. There and only there does authentic Hope reside.

Running Behind & Catching Up

Many of you who've sent your poetry are probably wondering if we'll ever respond. I am running behind even my usual response time and I apologize. I have been ill through October and much of November. I am doing better and working hard to catch up on the mail and you should be seeing your responses soon.

I would normally be starting to put the next issue of the Blue Collar Review together but as such, I am running behind. With any luck I'll have it out soon after Xmas. Thanks for your patience.

A Markowitz
Editor

Will Inman -- Presente

As the days darken, the dying time begins to take its toll. It is with sadness that I received the word that long-time working class poet, Will Inman has died. We had the honor of publishing his work in several issues of the Blue Collar Review including the most recent. May his words live on.

The Wilmington, NC born, Duke University educated (his papers are there), and Tucson, AZ beloved poet recently died after a long illness. Although it had been a long time since he lived in North Carolina, Carolinian's should acknowledge him as one of the most individual, socially conscious, and widely acknowledged poets to have come from our state.

The Arizona Star published an obituary that gives readers a sense of who Inman was and what he accomplished as a poet and activist:

"Over six decades, Inman committed to paper words both tender and nurturing, as well as thought-provoking and spiritual. Yet it was pragmatism more so than poetry that infused his final prose — the obituary he penned for himself earlier this year. Inman died Saturday Oct. 3 after a long struggle with Parkinson's disease. He was 86.

Inman, born William Archibald McGirt Jr. in Wilmington, N.C., began writing and publishing in the mid-1950s, using his mother's maiden name. In his autobiography, "Memoirs of an Activist Poet," Inman reflected on his diverse experiences: growing up in the South, seeing racism firsthand; his activities as a union organizer and a member of the Communist Party; working as a writer, editor, publisher and teacher; and candid reminiscences of his college experiences and his bisexuality.

Inman earned a bachelor's degree in English from Duke University. He taught at Montgomery College in Maryland and at American University in Washington, D.C., where he was poet in residence.

The University of Arizona Poetry Center 1508 E. Helen St (Tucson) is planning a November 1 memorial to honor Will. More details will be available at poetry center.

An essential collection of Inman's poems can be read here

Poet Squatting in Vegas

Many of us are taking hits, suffering unemployment and displacement due to the continuing collapse of the economy. The issue of foreclosures is far a more complicated nightmare as one of the poets we have published is finding out. In his blog Vegas Quixote Dahn Shaulis describes the ongoing struggle of squatting in his own condo after the owners were foreclosed on. He also gives us a picture of how the crumbling economy is affecting Las Vegas and how ineffectual and unprepared local government is in dealing with the escalating disaster.

Summer Editorial

Hard times naturally breed anger and radicalism. From townhall meetings to angry rallies orchestrated by big business front organizations, we are seeing how the most reactionary sectors of the corporate elite manipulate that anger with anti-rational, fear-laden misinformation, turning working people against each other and against our own best interests. There is nothing wrong with anger and working class radicalism. In fact, it is the engine of progress yet it can also be cynically manipulated leading the uninformed to the barbarity of Fascism. We must guard ourselves against being misled: by knowing what our class interests are, by looking at where information originates, and most importantly, by having a consciousness based in solidarity and real working working class values.

This journal exists to support and present the voices of that conscious working class and to promote our progressive culture and values. These are the voices that emerge from our real class experience, not those manufactured in corporate think-tanks to support an agenda that enslaves us. We are not backed by "Freedomworks" or any other corporate front. This journal exists solely by the support of its readers and is authentically a working class product.

In this collection, the fear, anger and frustrations of our reality are voiced. Our summer issue has the inseparable sub-themes of environment and war and this issue is no exception. Revealed are both the arrogant squandering of life by imperialist wars and by the ongoing economic war declared on workers by those who live off our labor. In national and imperialist wars, working people are sacrificed for the goals of the wealthy. By contrast, in the class struggle, we fight for our very survival and to build a better world based on the common good. As the story, "The Monument Creamery Strike" recounts, that struggle is long a and difficult one with many casualties which must continue as long as workers are oppressed.

In the summer issue we are also proud to announce the winners of our annual Working People's Poetry Contest. This years winner is Luke Salazar for his powerful poem "Black Friday." Luke wins $100.00, a subscription and a one year online publication on our website. As ever, it was a tough decision and there is a runner up. That honor goes to Andrew Rihn for his gorgeously crafted poem, "The Canaries Go On Living." Andrew wins a one year subscription and online posting. Both of those poems appear in this issue as do others that were entered. We are especially grateful to frequent flyers and loyal supporters for participating and we look forward to more entrants next year.

As we complete our twelfth year of publishing this journal, it seems a more important effort than ever. Only a progressive working class social movement can counter the growth of fascism and get us through these extraordinarily difficult times by fighting for our own real needs -- the right not to sleep under overpasses, the right to clean food, doctors, schools which are not like jails and damned fewer jails. That movement requires an inclusive culture that inspires. We look forward to your participation, support and feedback in the continuing struggle.

Spring Issue Commentary

Our new issue comes out bearing a painting of Marble Quarry Workers by Joseph Vorst which should remind us of the old, but still relevant song, The Banks are Made of Marble.

Spring is the season of renewal. It is with a sense of renewed vigor that this issue goes out, thanks to the support and commitment of you, our readers. Without your continuing generosity -- all the more gratifying in these difficult times, we could not continue. We are deeply grateful for your show of support that allows us to keep publishing this vital literature.

This collection is a product of the terrible economic times we find ourselves in. Expressed in poems by Kent Newkirk, Karl Koweski, and Justin Hyde is the prescient fear of job loss that enslaves us. Our anger at the abuses we suffer on the job and the attitude of resistance that keeps us sane is exposed in poems like T.K. O'Rourke's "I Know I'm the Lucky One." In this issue are poems of destitution, dark humor, and desperate insights reflecting our working class ethic; our hopes and the frustrations that grow from their stifling. There are also poems of militant commitment by Robert Edwards and Felicia R. Martinez.

The economy continues to worsen. More of us find ourselves falling into the badlands and mean streets of joblessness and the continuing deterioration of the economy promises more hard times to come. It is we, the working class, who inevitably bear the brunt, suffering for the crimes and avaricious mismanagement of the ruling class as work and vitally necessary services vanish.

Having now been unemployed for over a year, your editor has rediscovered a certain freedom in being unslaved. It is a desperately expensive and difficult freedom but it occurs to me that an "Army of the Unemployed" could be just that. If we are not each individually crushed and buried by the steam roller of history or a rising tide of Fascism, freed from the terror of the bosses wrath and ultimately from the prison of material ownership and debt we could rediscover ourselves and together, acting as a class for ourselves, be a mighty force for real change.

It is with the knowledge of that possibility that the most reactionary segments of the corporatocracy defend their interests by fomenting bigotry and division among us. They spend untold fortunes to fill the airwaves with hatred and scapegoating. They use every trick in their considerably large bag to exploit the anger of our already vulnerable fellow workers. They mislead with racism, nationalism, cultural prejudice, sexism, homophobia and twisted religious fundamentalism to create opposition to anything that might cut into their profiteering, from worker safety and better pay to national healthcare and addressing climate change. The results of the violent hatreds they foment and support are becoming evident with the assassination of Dr. Tiller, targeted for providing vital women's services; also with the brutal killing of a guard at the national Holocaust Museum by a known white supremacist. Mary Franke's poem, "The Lady With the Scales is no Mermaid" and "Township" by R.T. Castleberry speak to this growing danger.

Despite our commitment to freedom of expression, we must demand a crackdown on hate speech and the support of hate-based groups by the corporate shills. Ultimately, only our progressive class consciousness can begin to effectively counter the division and anti-progressive nationalism that threatens us all. This small journal is but one part of that larger struggle. In spite of their best efforts we are seeing the growth of support for working class issues like health care and the Employee Free Choice Act which will strengthen our ability to organize for workplace justice. With the new administration we are in a better position to see results to our demands for the change. The struggle for working class democracy and the defeat of corporate tyranny is a long one fraught with set-backs. The very real conditions they create fuel a commitment for progress far stronger than all the hate and lies that money can buy.

Work is Love Made Visible

I was honored to receive a collection by Jeanetta Calhoun Mish, a fine poet whose work we have published in the pages of the Blue Collar Review. This collection titled Work is Love Made Visible is as nitty-gritty as it gets. Mish writes primarily as a woman. These poem are rich in womanly perspective. She also writes as a Working Class Oklahoman. These are poems of family, of ancestors, brothers, sisters and relatives. This is a working class history up close and personal that we can all relate to devoid of nostalgia or sweet sentimentality yet filled with love and connection to the broader, yet personalized experience. The strong feminism evident in these poems is inseparable from the reality and consciousness of class.

This fine collection was published by West End Press through the University of New Mexico Press and at the low price of $12.95, it is well worth it.