Taking its inspiration from director Werner Herzog’s concept of “ecstatic truth” and recalling D.W. Griffith’s silent film classic Intolerance, poet/historian Walter Hildebrandt’s ambitious new book of poems is a searing denunciation of the exploitation of the poor and powerless at the hands of the wealthy. In forceful, unadorned language, Hildebrandt draws a clear line from historical outrages such as the Dakota Wars of the 19th century and the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike to injustices in present-day England, Cuba, and Canada.
Documentaries urges readers to confront stories that are hiding in plain sight, but which are in danger of being lost when their truth goes unspoken.