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 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.
Walter Hildebrandt is a poet and historian and co-author of The True Spirit and Original Intent of Treaty 7.