Lastbench (Paperback)

A special edition of littlemag 'Lastbench' features contemporary poets from North America. Political disagreements aside, this fine anthology of writings is intended to capture the spirit of the Trump age, this dramatic shift in America toward far-right views, and how this shift relates to the rest of the world.
Even in Spain, Brazil, Bolivia, Germany, France, and the UK, the far right is posing serious challenges to liberal democracy. Even in Russia, Alexander Dugin is Putin’s right-hand man, and his theories of geopolitics pose serious questions about liberal democracy. With the ongoing refugee and trafficking crises, countries are wanting to tighten their borders. What is next? How does this affect the cultural climate we live in?
The poems included here tell a story of a dramatic shift in political consciousness, how those who want to engage it think and feel, what can be done to counteract the problems we face, and why something needs to be done. The goal is to capture historical consciousness as it arises and instigate against the status quo as it steeps deeply into ultra-right orthodoxy. Where did the left go wrong? How did we miss this boat as it came to shore?