The First and the Last of Everything The First and the Last of Everything
The first fine dawn of life on earth The first cry of Man in the first light The first firefly flickering at night The first Noble Savage with the first erection The first song of love and forty cries of despair The first voyage of Vikings westward The first sighting of the New World from the crow’s nest of a Spanish galleon The first Pale Face meeting the first Native American The first Dutch trader in Mannahatta The first settler on the first frontier The first Home Sweet Home so dear The first wagon train westward The first sighting of the Pacific by Lewis & Clark The first cry of “Mark, twain!” on the Mississippi The first desegregation by Huck & Jim on a raft at night The first buffalo-head nickel and the last buffalo The first barbed-wire fence and the last of the open range The last cowboy on the last frontier The first skyscraper in America The first home run hit at Yankee Stadium The first ballpark hot dog with mustard The last War to End All Wars The last Wobbly and the last Catholic Anarchist The last living member of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade The last bohemian in a beret The last homespun politician and the first stolen election The first plane to hit the first Twin Tower The birth of a vast national paranoia The first president to become an international criminal for crimes against humanity making America a terrorist state The dark dawn of American corporate fascism The next-to-last free speech radio The next-to-last independent newspaper raising hell The next-to-last independent bookstore with a mind of its own The next-to-last Lefty looking for Obama Nirvana The first fine day of the Wall Street Occupation to set forth upon this continent a new nation! Click here to listen to Ferlinghetti read this poem.
Nov 30, 2011 / Books & the Arts / Lawrence Ferlinghetti
The Eurozone Meltdown The Eurozone Meltdown
The sooner Eurocrats dispense with their calls for more economic centralization, the better off we’ll all be.
Nov 30, 2011 / Column / Alexander Cockburn
Bishops vs. Women: Which Side Is Obama On? Bishops vs. Women: Which Side Is Obama On?
The president must decide what is more important: pandering to the Catholic hierarchy or protecting women's health.
Nov 30, 2011 / Column / Katha Pollitt
Peace in Palestine: Is Reconciliation Between Hamas and Fatah Just Around the Corner? Peace in Palestine: Is Reconciliation Between Hamas and Fatah Just Around the Corner?
On a recent visit to Gaza, officials from both factions told me they are ready to accept the results of new elections, win or lose.
Nov 30, 2011 / Kathleen Peratis
Upheaval at the New York Public Library Upheaval at the New York Public Library
Will the new president's mega-million-dollar makeover of the main library scare off scholars and leave the branches begging?
Nov 30, 2011 / Feature / Scott Sherman
Rick Perry’s War on Women Rick Perry’s War on Women
How the Texas governor launched an assault on Planned Parenthood and women’s health.
Nov 30, 2011 / Feature / Jordan Smith
Adventures With Ken Kesey Adventures With Ken Kesey
Memories of a journey that was more than a trip.
Nov 30, 2011 / Feature / Paul Krassner
Secret Paragraphs: On Alan Hollinghurst Secret Paragraphs: On Alan Hollinghurst
The Stranger's Child traces the vanishing of same-sex love through suppression and then, paradoxically, acceptance and openness.
Nov 30, 2011 / Books & the Arts / Maria Margaronis
Baseness: On Guantánamo Baseness: On Guantánamo
Gitmo in the present millennium is no departure at all from the American tradition in Guantánamo Bay.
Nov 30, 2011 / Books & the Arts / Peter C. Baker