Winter Commentary

Winter can be a dark and brutal time. The cold and the shortness of days take its toll on all, especially the poor, the old and the ill. I have come to think of it as the dying time. This winter has claimed one of the most important writers of our class. In this issue we mourn the loss of Tillie Olsen whose vital writing opened doors for women's literature and enriched the working class with a feminist awareness. We honor her memory by continuing to publish working class literature that includes and values the experience and perspective of the largest and most exploited population of all; working class women.

As the monstrosity of the brutal occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan enters its fifth year, public awareness and anger at the needless loss of life and liberties as well as of economic and physical security is growing. Increasing numbers of people are demanding an end to the criminally insane policies of corruption and war and justice for its perpetrators. The poets in this issue reflect the spectrum of where we are as a nation. Some, like J.P. Creighton are veterans. Others like Jesse Kiefer are the family of those caught up in the nightmare of war through the poverty draft. In a real sense, all of us are veterans of the day to day struggle to survive under fire in a system in which everything and everyone are disposable commodities for the enrichment of the very few. Our working class values of community, ingenuity, and mutual responsibility are the foundations of a better kind of society -- a better world.

This issue is comes in our annual fundraising season. In it you will find an insert asking for your support so that we can continue of mission of publishing the finest voices of our working class. In these bleak times of escalating war and impending ecological disaster, the voices of sanity and struggle that we are proud to be able to publish are a beacon of hope assuring us that we are notWinter can be a dark and brutal time. The cold and the shortness of days take its toll on all, especially the poor, the old and the ill. I have come to think of it as the dying time. This winter has claimed one of the most important writers of our class. In this issue we mourn the loss of Tillie Olsen whose vital writing opened doors for women's literature and enriched the working class with a feminist awareness. We honor her memory by continuing to publish working class literature that includes and values the experience and perspective of the largest and most exploited population of all; working class women.

As the monstrosity of the brutal occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan enters its fifth year, public awareness and anger at the needless loss of life and liberties as well as of economic and physical security is growing. Increasing numbers of people are demanding an end to the criminally insane policies of corruption and war and justice for its perpetrators. The poets in this issue reflect the spectrum of where we are as a nation. Some, like J.P. Creighton are veterans. Others like Jesse Kiefer are the family of those caught up in the nightmare of war through the poverty draft. In a real sense, all of us are veterans of the day to day struggle to survive under fire in a system in which everything and everyone are disposable commodities for the enrichment of the very few. Our working class values of community, ingenuity, and mutual responsibility are the foundations of a better kind of society -- a better world.

This issue is comes in our annual fundraising season. In it you will find an insert asking for your support so that we can continue of mission of publishing the finest voices of our working class. In these bleak times of escalating war and impending ecological disaster, the voices of sanity and struggle that we are proud to be able to publish are a beacon of hope assuring us that we are not
alone and inspiring us in the struggle for a better future. We thank you in advance for your support as well as for your poetry and comments and the hope they engender. We look forward to a year of inspiration and progress.

British working class poetry, early 1800's

Found an interesting short article in the U.K. Guardian, about a large number of recently unearthed political protest poems written by workers in Britain during the early 1800's. The article, which includes a couple of the poems, is here.

Thanks to Jilly Dybka's Poetry Hut Blog, where I originally found the link to the article.