To everything you say - yes yes yes. Thanks for articulating it. I read a few days ago (in Robert Reich's substack) that in the "Big Beautiful Bill" there is a little underreported clause that would stop courts from even being able to hold someone in contempt. Which is to say, judges would have no recourse at all if the administration simply ignored rulings (not that this is not already happening)
Thank you for this post, Mark. I have been struggling to collect my thoughts and to speak out beyond the poetry community ( read: protest poems in anthologies and online). It's tough to do and this post of yours encourages me to keep trying.
I saw one particularly nasty post from a particularly nasty poet celebrating one press's grant loss. That kind of response makes me want to scream. Your analysis is spot on. keep spreading the word.
I am very glad you talked about this Mark. It is incredibly true and incredibly scary. History repeats itself. Artists and philosophers have in history been punished according to decrees of the time for questioning what is going on. For expressing different thoughts than what should be as dictated. It is scary. People should stop and take a serious look at what's going on bit by bit here and now.
Mark, thank you for posting this. It is shocking, although not unexpected. A sane country supports its arts because it knows that they are the source of that country's real identity, not the number of missiles in the arsenal. However, in the current political climate, it is probably unrealistic to think these grants will be restored any time soon. This means that the journals and presses that continue to publish--even though they may publish much less--are even more important. We need to treasure what we have and support it through donations, subscriptions, and purchases.
Thoughtful article Mark.Resistance in any form isn't futile in the struggle of saving democracy.
To everything you say - yes yes yes. Thanks for articulating it. I read a few days ago (in Robert Reich's substack) that in the "Big Beautiful Bill" there is a little underreported clause that would stop courts from even being able to hold someone in contempt. Which is to say, judges would have no recourse at all if the administration simply ignored rulings (not that this is not already happening)
Thank you for this post, Mark. I have been struggling to collect my thoughts and to speak out beyond the poetry community ( read: protest poems in anthologies and online). It's tough to do and this post of yours encourages me to keep trying.
I saw one particularly nasty post from a particularly nasty poet celebrating one press's grant loss. That kind of response makes me want to scream. Your analysis is spot on. keep spreading the word.
I am very glad you talked about this Mark. It is incredibly true and incredibly scary. History repeats itself. Artists and philosophers have in history been punished according to decrees of the time for questioning what is going on. For expressing different thoughts than what should be as dictated. It is scary. People should stop and take a serious look at what's going on bit by bit here and now.
Mark, thank you for posting this. It is shocking, although not unexpected. A sane country supports its arts because it knows that they are the source of that country's real identity, not the number of missiles in the arsenal. However, in the current political climate, it is probably unrealistic to think these grants will be restored any time soon. This means that the journals and presses that continue to publish--even though they may publish much less--are even more important. We need to treasure what we have and support it through donations, subscriptions, and purchases.