Poems in the Aftermath, edited by Michael Broder

Description

Poems in the Aftermath began as an online project of Indolent Books. The collection includes 73 poems by 73 different poets posted over the 73 days from November 9, 2016 (the day after Election Day) to January 20, 2017 (Inauguration Day).

Because these poems were written during the immediate post-election transition period, they reflect the range of emotions that people were experiencing and that poets were capturing in their work. In fact, reading these poems now, well into the Trump presidency, we have a unique opportunity for reflection—a highly particular documentation of what so many of us thought, felt, hoped, and feared in those first calamitous days. This anthology lets us make a mental comparison and consider the degree of difference: then versus now. How does the reality of this presidency to date stack up against our expectations for it? Better? Worse? Or perhaps simply different? Probably all three depending on what you are considering—racism, bigotry, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, immigration, the environment, trade, diplomacy, national security, the economy, taxes, healthcare; the list goes on.

If, as Santayana argued, those of us who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it, then Poems in the Aftermath and other books like it, as well as other works of literature and art that represent this unprecedented historical moment, stand as invaluable reminders. But they also raise questions: Do enough people want enough change badly enough to make it happen? Do enough people love justice enough to finally complete the bending of Dr. King’s arc? Can those of us who do love justice overcome enough of our differences to work together and to realize the visions of our most inspired dreamers? So much remains to be seen.

Adapted from the editor’s introduction. 

CONTRIBUTORS

Listed in the order in which the poems appear in the book

Noah Mendez • Day Merrill • Mary Ellen Talley • Darienne Dickey • Ed Madden • Patricia Spears Jones • Risa Denenberg • Nicole Callihan • Francisco-Luis White • E. A. Gordon • Henry Israeli • James Diaz Elaine Sexton • Jenna Le • Sergio Ortiz • Sarah Sarai • Emily Vieweg • Leah Mueller • Darius Stewart • Scott Wiggerman • Tom Daley • Veronica Golos • Sarah Dickenson Snyder • Iris Jamahl Dunkle • Anthony Cappo • Oz Hardwick • Philip F. Clark • Robert Carr • Judith Hoyer • Lydia Cortes • Joss Barton • Patricia Boomsma • Amy Gordon • J. Gay • Ina Roy-Faderman • Samara Golabuk • Lucinda Marshall • Arielle Greenberg • Lynne Viti • Vivian Wagner • Laura Winberry • Peter E. Murphy • Irene Cooper • Denise Duhamel • Suzanne Sigafoos • Charles Bernstein • Cornelius Eady • Kyle Coma-Thompson   Lonely Christopher • Joy Ladin • Elizabeth Macklin • Hilary Sideris • Julie Marie Wade • Timothy Liu • Marie Coma-Thompson • Pat Schneider • J. Bradley • Christine Stoddard • Cammy Thomas • Kristi Maxwell • Jason Schneiderman • Joanna Fuhrman • Stephanie Kaylor • Sharon Dolin • Laura McCullough • Jennifer L. Knox • Ellen Greenfield Sharon Mesmer • Sarah Van Arsdale • Walter Holland • Denver Butson • W. P. Osborn • Lynn Schmeidler