Whatever It Takes
it is a warm spring afternoonin the politically drunk 1950sin the little Virginia mill townstuck like a birdโs nestin the fork that splitsthe James and Appomattox riversboth rivers slapping their mouthstogether in a rough wet kisschurning and swirling the tidearound the high banks of City Pointinheriting their tidal swoon and swayfrom the inland Chesapeake Baythe …
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Morbid Curiosity: Reviewing Jarrod Shanahanโs Every Fire Needs a Little Bit of Help
Iโve been a fan of Jarrod Shanahanโs work, but only with his new essay collection Every Fire Needs a Little Bit of Help: A Decade of Rebellion, Reaction, and Morbid Symptoms, published by PM Press, did it occur to me just how long Iโve been reading him. Well, I guess it’s been a decade. I …
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Refinery Reflections
One night in March of 1983, I had dinner on the stove and was building a fire when the phone rang. It was the foreman Charlie from the ARCO Refinery at Cherry Point, Washington. I was living in Bellingham then, about thirty miles away, and supporting myself by painting houses and working the occasional shutdown …
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They Picked Up Each Otherโs Children: Chicagoโs Spontaneous Resistance
An interview with Kingsley Clarke on resistance against Trumpโs War in Chicago. Hard Crackers: Earlier this week theย National Guard and ICE were deployed to San Francisco, followed by a flurry of messages, alerts, and coordination as people tried to figure out whatโs coming. As we know, the Trump administration has already called off the operation. …
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At the Bus Stop
Itโs a quiet afternoon at work, but Iโm worn out from not sleeping well and decide to head home early. The regional rail is all messed up right now, so I take two subways and then walk a few blocks to wait for the bus. As I get to the stop, a woman asks if …
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An amazing meeting of miners and environmentalists from across โYugoslaviaโ
We came together on a playing field beside a derelict Olympic size open air swimming pool built by the local miners. We are in the small mining town of Breza, about half an hour’s drive from the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo. The swimming pool, its construction by miners after WW2, and its present decay is a …
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From the Archives
Harlem Homecoming
By Salim Washington *The following originally appeared as a Facebook post.* I got in late the night before last and walked the streets of my old neighborhood, mainly in search of a meal and some snacks to bring back to the ‘tel. It wasn’t exactly surreal, but indeed the “new Harlem” is in full effect. …
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Doing Time in Trousdale is a Death Sentence! Tennesseans Speak Out
Trousdale Turner Correctional Facility is leading the nation in the number of positive COVID-19 cases, an estimated total of 1,393. Trousdale is a private prison for men in Hartsville, Tennessee, about an hour drive from Nashville. The prison opened in 2016 on the site of a nuclear power plant and it holds about 2,500 men. …
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