Ronnow Poetry

Long As You're Living:
Collected Poems
(pdf)

Whole Wide

World

An Anthology of Poems

2K B.C. 2K A.D.

New & Selected Poems

"An original voice." --W.S. Merwin

"Ronnow puts some meaning back into the term
'experimental'. . .a poet who is both idiosyncratic
and based in the best elements
of a literary tradition." --Lewis Turco

"Often experimental, political, sexual, emotional,
but most of all surprising . . . a man and poet
whose personal convictions and writing passion
are not mutually exclusive."
--Alice Osborn in Pedestal Magazine

"Ronnow’s work finds 'salvation in the details'. . .
New & Selected Poems deepens and grows more
interestingly rich as it progresses, and one is left
with the feeling that Ronnow’s development
as both a poet and a man is ongoing.
May this be said of all of us."
--Christy Corp-Minamiji for Blogcritics

"Very rich reading." --Naomi Shihab Nye

"Wild and restless." --Sandra Alcosser

"Alive and moving." --Lanie Shanzyra Rebancos

"I have read its pages taking pleasure in their
breadth of knowledge and their singing both."
--Jane Hirshfield

"Has what Frank O'Hara called 'a dry eye' with all
its attendant wit, speed and brain drive."
--Roger Mitchell

"It sits at my place at table and I dip into it
regularly." --Tom Disch

"I admire this book very much." --David Ray

"An impressive book . . . especially the long final
section, which opens up in a lot of interesting
ways." --Charles North

"There are so many poems here I 'recognize'
and value for one virtue or another:
honesty, simplicity of statement
that coexists with complexity of intent,
and a clear commitment to speak to the reader."
--Rhina P. Espaillat

"I've been enjoying the insights, the lyricism,
the wry humor. My kind of book."
--Seido Ray Ronci

"I have read through the volume with enjoyment,
admiration, and occasional bouts of envy."
--Fred Chappell

"What an accomplishment. It's a life in poetry. How do people process their lives without art?"
--Molly Peacock

"Refreshingly candid and readable. Amen."
--Bruce Hunter

Available from Amazon.com

"A Republic —
If You Can Keep It"

Letters from an American
Notes on Economics
Civil Discourse
The Existential Republic
Open Letters

Richard Beeman:
Democracy Requires Constant
Attention from All Citizens (pdf)

David Cole:
Civil Society and Resistance
Are the Ultimate Check
on Autocratic Abuse (pdf)

Alan Charles Raul:
Only Congress Can Authorize
or Discontinue
Agencies and Programs (pdf)

Steven Levitsky & Lucan Way:
The Path to American Authoritarianism (pdf)

Francesca Paris & Charlie Savage:
Unconstitutional and Illegal
Executive Orders (pdf)

Rahm Emanuel:
A Loser's Bet –
Spheres of Influence
and Might Makes Right (pdf)

Andrew Coyne/Malcolm Turnbull:
We Are In Trouble.
Don't Give In, Stand Up To
the Outlaw in the White House (pdf)

Ezra Klein & Yuval Levin:
Congress Is Failing in its Role
as the Primary Branch
of Government (pdf)

Thomas B. Edsall:
This Is the Real Thing –
A Dictatorship.
Expect the Worst. (pdf)

Percy Wells Bidwell/
Timothy W. Ryback:
Did Tariff Wars Cause the
Great Depression & WWII? (pdf)

Perry Bacon, Jr.:
Profiles in Courage –
Elected Officials Leading the Fight
Against Authoritarianism (pdf)

M. Gessen/Philip Bump:
Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid.
America's Secret Police
Have Arrived. (pdf)

Angus King:
Presidential Power
Is Now a 5-Alarm Fire (pdf)

Anne Applebaum:
America's MAGA Future
Looks Like Hungary –
Corrupt, Stagnant & Poor (pdf)

Stephen M. Walt:
How to Ruin a Country –
The Destruction of
U.S. Foreign Policy:
Trump's Top 10 Blunders (pdf)

Chris Murphy:
The Tariffs Are Not Economic Policy. They Are a Tool
to Take Over Our Democracy. (pdf)

Kurt M. Campbell & Rush Doshi:
"America First" Will Not Work
Against China –
America Needs Its Allies
More Than Ever (pdf)

Ross Douthat/Anne Applebaum:
The Authors of the Constitution
Separated Powers
For a Reason (pdf)

Timothy Snyder:
State Terror –
Trump Is Using the Same Tactics
as Hitler & Stalin (pdf)

Rex Huppke:
Do You Care Yet?
America Is Being Ruled By a King
Who Answers to No One (pdf)

Ezra Klein:
The Emergency Is Here,
It's Happening Now –
Like It Or Not (pdf)

David Brooks:
It's Time For a Civic Uprising –
Power Must Be Challenged
By Power (pdf)

Roge Karma:
Like a Virus MAGA Is Attacking
America's Strengths – Allies,
Immigrants & Universities (pdf)

Timothy Snyder:
Tyranny Exploits Terror –
Expect Trump to Use
Hitler's Playbook (pdf)

Chris Murphy:
This Is the Most Corrupt
White House in U.S. History
(And No One Seems to Care) (pdf)

Bay Fang:
Shutting Down Radio Free Asia,
Voice of America & Radio Liberty
Is a Gift to Dictators World-Wide (pdf)

L. Rafael Reif:
Trump's Culture War on
Universities and the Coming
American Brain Drain (pdf)

Levitsky/Way/Ziblatt:
How Will We Know When
We Have Lost Our Democracy? (pdf)

Steven Pinker:
Trump's War Against Harvard
Is a Tragic Blunder and a Crime
Against Future Generations (pdf)

Robert Reich/Thom Hartmann:
Supply Creates Demand –
ICE Will Add 10,000 Agents to
the 20,000 Already on the Streets (pdf)

Brandon del Pozo:
ICE Agents Should Be
Prohibited From Wearing Masks
& Required to Identify Themselves
(pdf)

Emily Kilcrease & Geoffrey Gertz:
Tell Me How
This Trade War Ends (pdf)

Peggy Noonan:
Stop the ICE
Workplace Raids: Americans
Admire Immigrants Who Work (pdf)

Thom Hartmann:
Republicans Drive the Economy
Into a Ditch. Democrats
Tow It Out. (pdf)

Christopher Armitage:
The Republican Party
Is a Fifth Column
Committed to Destroying
American Democracy (pdf)

Thom Hartmann:
Trump Is Trying to
Militarize Our Cities,
Crush Protest & End Elections (pdf)

Michael Scherer:
The Anti-Trump Strategy
That Actually Works–Lawsuits,
Lawsuits & More Lawsuits (pdf)

Christopher Armitage:
Blue States Are Uniting
To Fight Federal Fascism –
& There's Much More
That Can Be Done (pdf)

Garry Kasparov:
The Putinization of America–
On the Path To Having
Our Elections Canceled (pdf)

Today's Jazz Recording

Like Someone in Love
Art Blakey
Like Someone In Love, 1960
Listen to More Jazz

Today's Featured Poems

Demon or Bird?

The Darkling Thrush

Hurt Hawks

Ode to a Nightingale

Man and Bat

Flamingo Watching

To a Skylark

Evening Hawk

Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking

Robert Ronnow

Samsara

Communicating the Bird

"The Burning of the Jews is powerful. It stings,
amuses, threatens to irritate, and finally hurts
and persuades: nobody can accuse [Ronnow]
of being afraid to take risks!"
--Rhina P. Espaillat

"[Ronnow] speaks my mind on a number of issues
as well as writing with distinctive style and structure.
Not many poets these days will even tackle the big
issues. [He] mixes delight and grief beautifully,
as in The Writer Working Hard." --David Ray

"The best lesson I've had in quite a while on how to
maintain the joy in the face of and while recording
the details of . . .our times." --Roger Mitchell

"The poems have lots of surprises, and they are graceful, punchy in places, loving." --Ronald Heifetz

"An artist of great maturity in craft as well as in life,
ranging from personal to cosmic to political to natural
to the ornery, all while maintaining a tough backbone
of nonconformist integrity, lucidity and acceptance
of the endlessly insoluble paradoxes of our lives."
--LP Navon

Run for Something

Run for Something recruits and supports young, diverse progressives
to run for down-ballot races
to build sustainable power
in all 50 states.

Brennan Center
for Justice

The Brennan Center
for Justice
works to build an America that is democratic, just, and free.

Indivisible

Indivisible is a grassroots movement of thousands of local groups with a mission to elect progressive leaders
and rebuild our democracy.

Ranked Choice Voting

Fair Vote
Ranked Choice Voting
gives a strong voice to all voters
and ensures that candidates
with the broadest support
get to govern.

Jill Stein & Chase Oliver:
Ranked Choice Voting
Gives Americans More Options
for President and Other Offices (pdf)

Meredith Sumpter:
Party Primaries Need
Ranked Choice Voting (pdf)

David Daley & Deb Otis:
How Voters Can Make the Most
of Ranked Choice Voting (pdf)

Berryann/Friedman/Ritchie:
No More "Spoiler" Candidates
or "Strategic" Voting (pdf)

Walter Olson:
Ranked Choice Voting Helps
Both Conservative
& Progressive Candidates (pdf)

Immigrant Legal Resource Center
Red Cards / Tarjetas Rojas

All people in the United States, regardless of immigration status, have certain rights and protections under the U.S. Constitution. The ILRC's red cards give examples of how people can exercise these rights:

• DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR if an immigration agent is knocking on the door.

• DO NOT ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS from an immigration agent if they try to talk to you. You have the right to remain silent.

• DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING without first speaking to a lawyer. You have the right to speak with a lawyer.

• If you are outside of your home, ask the agent if you are free to leave and if they say yes, leave calmly.

• GIVE THIS CARD TO THE AGENT. If you are inside of your home, show the card through the window or slide it under the door:

I do not wish to speak with you, answer your questions, or sign or hand you any documents based on my 5th Amendment rights under the United States Constitution.

I do not give you permission to enter my home based on my 4th Amendment rights under the United States Constitution unless you have a warrant to enter, signed by a judge or magistrate with my name on it that you slide under the door.

I do not give you permission to search any of my belongings based on my 4th Amendment rights.

I choose to exercise my constitutional rights.

These cards are available to citizens and noncitizens alike.

Stop ICE Workplace Raids

WORKSITE SIGNAGE AND SAFETY

• Clearly delineating what areas of your business operation are open to the public and what areas of your business are private and only for employees, designated customers, or patients, is a good practice. Doing this is important for health and safety, protecting private business practices and records, and for safely managing the flow of business operations.

• Areas that are closed to the public are private and the property or business owner has a reasonable expectation of privacy in those areas. The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right of people to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures in areas where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy.

• ICE officers cannot enter private areas of a workplace without permission or a judicial warrant signed by a judge that specifically grants access.

• One way to clearly designate public and private space within your business is with clear signage. We have provided some sample signs to print and post. You can also find an abundance of these types of signs for sale online.

• The signs can be placed outside of areas like break rooms, certain office spaces, meeting rooms, restrooms, employee-only cafeterias, waiting rooms for patients, etc.

• There are areas within many different types of employment settings that may already be established as employee-only, including kitchens and breakrooms in restaurants, food processing and manufacturing facilities where health and safety measures require keeping the public out, healthcare settings where areas of the workplace are only for authorized employees and patients, etc. All of these types of areas should be clearly marked, even if it seems like common sense that the public is not allowed to enter.

• Private spaces of a business operation can also be protected in an even more secure way by requiring key-card access and mandating that doors be kept closed and locked at all times.

• If an area of a worksite falls into a “grey area” where members of the public sometimes enter, another policy option is to require any and all visitors who are granted permission to enter to sign in and sign out. A business could also implement a policy that requires visitors to wear a visible visitor pass or badge at all times when they are in a private area, to help all employees identify if the visitor has received permission to enter.

• If ICE or any other law enforcement officers seek permission or attempt to access areas that are designated as private it is only the property or business owner who can grant permission. Typically, employees will not have the authority to grant permission, unless a manager or other employee has been expressly authorized to grant or refuse access.