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Trauma Walks into a Bar

Melissa Spohr Weiss Tar River Poetry
In this ode to the walking wounded, poet Melissa Spohr Weiss reminds us that trauma has consequences, that “trauma births trauma births trauma.”

Red Flag over the White House?

Benjamin Kunkel New Left Review
In left history, the two poles of “reform” and “revolution” are often counterpoised, and for good reason. In the book under review, the author tries to square the circle. The reviewer critically but comradely weighs the author’s successes.

How Amazon Exploited a Weakened America

Sarah Leonard The New Republic
What this book reveals, writes reviewer Leonard, "is a country that has been falling apart for quite some time, and a company that has been willing and able to turn a failure of public policy into private power."

‘Summer of Soul’ Review: In 1969 Harlem, a Music Festival Stuns

Wesley Morris The New York Times
The movie’s got Sly and the Family Stone and B.B. King and Ray Barretto and Gladys Knight & the Pips, in top, electric form. But no jolt compares to what happens in the middle of this thing— footage from the Harlem Cultural Festival.

From 3,000 meals a week to Thanksgiving in a food truck

Jim Berman + Kate Cox The Counter
What you don’t have is somebody going directly to the homeless population. So, once we earn the nonprofit status, once we can get some grant money, the idea is to get a mobile kitchen and put it out on the road.

Why We Need Unions

Stephen Dunn Plume Poetry
The Pulitzer-prize winning poet Stephen Dunn died last week on his 82nd birthday. This poem reminds us that if life isn’t fair, there’s still kindness, even love.