Lawrence Ferlinghetti was a great practitioner, publisher and defender of poetry. Born in Yonkers, New York in 1919, his education was paused for World War II and Atlantic and Pacific tours in the U.S. Navy. He witnessed firsthand the ruins of Nagasaki after the atomic bombing in 1945. He became a committed voice for peace […]

The consequences of capitalism during the pandemic have revealed glaring failures and monstrous brutalities. It’s a highly unstable economic system, careening from crisis to crisis. For a handful, it produces unparalleled levels of wealth. But for the many, if they even have a job, it’s a paycheck-to-paycheck existence. What are the priorities? The U.S. spends […]

James Baldwin was one of the most significant figures of the 20th century. In this moment of racial reckoning, his life and work are being discovered and rediscovered. He was born in 1924 and died in 1987. He graduated from high school in New York but was otherwise self-taught. He said, “I love America more […]

The success and failure rates of civil resistance movements might seem like something studied at the U.S. Army War College. But social scientists and political activists always want to know why some tactics work, and some don’t. Boycotts, street protests, armed conflict, nonviolent and non-cooperation tactics, we’re seeing myriad forms of resistance as governments place […]