Winter 2018-19 Editorial

Since our last issue, our borders have become increasingly militarized with refugee and child prisons spreading. Climate disasters continue and our economy trembles, yet we stubbornly struggle on. As economic insecurity grows, along with the wealth of the richest, and chaotic confusion grips our corporate media, we continue to hear the usual demonizations and justifications for war. Yet truthful words reverberate. They come from the streets. They come from the shop floor. They come from newly-elected progressive congressional representatives like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar. They come from class-conscious progressives and poets who see beyond media narratives, partisan rhetoric, and justifications for aggression.

Winter is hard, especially for those of us struggling just to keep warm. Wages remain stagnant as prices continue to rise, from the cost of electricity to food, rents, insurance and medical care. Again, the truth becomes evident. The rule of money at its cruelest and least regulated takes its wrath out on working people, the old and the most vulnerable. As we write this, Trump continues to stack the courts with fascist ideologues and corporate puppets. He continues to place crooks and polluters in cabinet positions to destroy public protections. As poet Gil Scott-Heron once intoned, it's winter in America.

The poets in this collection know it. They understand that beyond scape-goating and divisive rhetoric, the rule of money in its own interest and at our expense, is the root that connects all the other issues that affect us. Described in poems like "The Song of the Boiler Maker" by Phillip Baldwin, "Toiling Away at the Mill" by Joseph S. Pete and poems by Sharon Mitchell and Fred Voss are the pride we take in our labor and the necessity of the work we do, as well as the hellish reality of the workplace and the toll it takes on our bodies.

Poems by Darell Petska, Mary Franke, E.F. Schraeder, Warsan Shire and Sara M. Lewis speak from experience of the struggle to survive these terrible times as immigrant refugees and of refugees of capitalism.

The poem, "Plowing On" speaks to our own commitment to continue publishing this journal against the odds. We had to replace the old, dependable printer we have been cajoling along for 15 years because supplies were getting too difficult to find. We could only afford buy a new laser printer because of donations made by you, our readers. The new printer set us back a few hundred dollars and we still have expenses to meet. This issue comes during our fund-drive period. Know that every cent donated goes to keep these powerful and artfully composed truths flowing out to where others can read and identify with them. Tax-deductible donations can be made on our website or to Partisan Press. P.O. Box 11417 Norfolk, VA 23517. On a related note, the deadline for our annual Working People's Poetry Competition is drawing near. Send us your experiences, your truths. The winning poet will win $100.00, a 1 year subscription, and have their poem posted on our website for a year.

As the circus of another election year arrives and the struggle against the arrogant, ecocidal rule of money intensifies, there has never been a more important time for truth and the consciousness raising culture of solidarity. We are more than grateful for your ongoing support of this effort. Together we can move forward.