A thought-provoking compilation that will surely test the readers’ perceptions of those in poverty.
By Alissa Quart ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 3, 2023
The Economic Hardship Reporting Project (EHRP) has compiled an anthology to explore social inequality and economic injustice in the U.S. The nonprofit organization works to keep journalists, essayists, and photographers in the national conversation on economic injustice. Executive director Quart and managing director Wallis have edited this collection of essays, poems, and photographs, which were originally published in leading magazines and journals.
he EHRP hopes to use these works to mobilize people to fight for economic justice. The book is divided into five sections: The Body, Home, Family, Work, and Class. These narratives are wide-ranging and emotionally charged, and they provide insight into the hardships faced by people from a variety of backgrounds. For example, one woman was forced to perform her own abortion due to the closure of clinics in Texas, and a 40-something man donated plasma to pay the rent.
Another woman was homeless for two years and shares her experience of feeling constantly on alert. Other topics include inequalities in maternal health care, the dangers of low-wage work, struggles with racial identity, and the power of shared community. Contributors to the anthology include Camonghne Felix, Kim Kelly, Elizabeth Rubin, Michelle Tea, Mitchell S. Jackson, and Astra Taylor.
Quart writes that the writers in the anthology “may have lost their jobs, their homes, or even the narrative thread of their lives, but in confronting those hardships they have gained valuable insights into problems facing millions in this country.”
Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2023
ISBN: 9781642599657
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Haymarket Books
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2023