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From the Desk of Hank Kalet

June 17, 2019

We are deep into the second quarter of 2019 and I’ve tried to step up my writing, especially on issues of race and immigration. I am still working on an anthology of writing on Alzheimer’s and dementia (see Broken Cord below), and I’m writing about poverty and economic insecurity in a joint Free Press/CoLABArts project called 37 Voices. These should be public later this year, as should a play I’ve been writing. I’ll be posting the first half of the play to Patreon — but only for paying patrons, as an extra — in the coming weeks. And I’ve got lots more on tap. So, make a contribution to Broken Cord. Become a patron. Buy my books. And feel free to email me at hankkalet@gmail.com with questions, complaints, recommendations, and the like.

Border Song: A Story of Flight:

This the story of a refugee. It is her story, but also one that is emblematic of so many other stories of so many men, women, and children who have fled violence and threats of violence, extreme poverty (which is a form of violence), environmental degradation, political and economic corruption, and the long list of ills that consume many in the so-called Third World.

Carmela is from Guatemala. She first tried entering the United States in 2011, fleeing local violence, but was turned away. She returned to Guatemala and became involved with a man who became abusive. She was raped, the police were unresponsive, and her son was threatened. So she fled Guatemala a second time, traveling by bus across Mexico and crossing into Arizona. She now resides in central New Jersey with her two kids and awaits an immigration hearing.

Carmela (not her real name) says she would prefer to have stayed in Guatemala, but the violence and corruption there have made it impossible, and the United States offers her the best chance at safety for herself and her children. However, there are no guarantees that she will be given that chance, as the Trump administration makes efforts to stem the flow of refugees into the country.

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My latest work from The Medium:

Border Song: A Story of Flight (June 17)

Carmela fled Guatemala to escape domestic and gang violence, but now waits in limbo for the asylum system to review her claim.

https://link.medium.com/QSw8cnnaBX

Flawed Perceptions: A White Man Ponders the Rush to Judgment (June 16)

Ava DuVernay’s When They See Us is a brilliant retelling of the Central Park Five case — and a devastating critique of the criminal justice system.

https://link.medium.com/ioJXz2xaBX

Running to Freedom (June 15)

Some notes on aging, injuries, and why we run. This is a repost from several years ago.

https://link.medium.com/gDP7TOBaBX

Criminalization of Aid: Par for the American Course (June 2)

Federal charges against a Good Samaritan at the border are part of a larger historical trend in which those who aid “the other” face criminal charges.

https://link.medium.com/mxpnGiWaBX

It’s Not About Assange, It’s About Press Freedoms (May 23)

Assange may not be popular, Burt he is a publisher and deserves First Amendment protections.

https://link.medium.com/pknNsCYaBX

The Time for Licenses Is Now (May 2)

New Jersey Immigrants Need to Drive to Survive in the State. It’s Time the Legislature and Governor Make That Happen.

https://link.medium.com/7MqQXQ1aBX

David Brooks, Immigration, and the Fallacy of Practical Politics (April 14)

Brooks’ Centrism Is Based on Restrictionist Assumptions.

https://link.medium.com/f5cR9k6aBX

Lies, Threats and War With Iran

Interesting if incomplete analysis from The New York Times on the accusations against Iran in he Gulf of Oman. The piece focuses on President Trump’s well-documented lies and distortions. All presidents lie, or “manage the truth,” but I’ve never seen a president who lies to such a degree on matters both of importance and of no consequence.

From my tumblr page.

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Become a patron at Patreon

Help fund my journalism and other content by becoming a patron at Patreon. For $1 a month, you will get access to all political and cultural essays, a regular poem, South Brunswick-related journalism, and extras, including access to early previews of upcoming work, and a digital copy of my chapbook, From the Latin.

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Contribute to Broken Cord
We are looking to raise seed money for an anthology of writing on Alzheimer’s and dementia. The anthology will be the first project from a new small press. All proceeds will go to research and care groups. Contributors who donate $20 or more will get copies of the anthology and a mention on the acknowledgements page. Writers, we are looking for poems, fiction, and essays on dementia and Alzheimer’s. They can be from any perspective — care-givers, family, the person with dementia.

To contribute money to defray publication costs, click on our Go Fund Me campaign.

To submit writing to the project, email me here.

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As An Alien in a Land of Promise is the latest work by poet Hank Kalet. Based on more than a year of reporting and research, the book is a hybrid work of journalism and poetry, with breathtaking photos by Sherry Rubel, that tells the story of the men and women who lived in the now-defunct Tent City in Lakewood, NJ. Buy this and other books by Hank Kalet here.

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Our mailing address is:

Hank Kalet

16 Rumson Road

Kendall Park, NJ 08824

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Author: hankkalet

Hank Kalet is a poet and freelance journalist. He is the economic needs reporter for NJ Spotlight, teaches journalism at Rutgers University and writing at Middlesex County College and Brookdale Community College. He writes a semi-monthly column for the Progressive Populist. He is a lifelong fan of the New York Mets and New York Knicks, drinks too much coffee and attends as many Bruce Springsteen concerts as his meager finances will allow. He lives in South Brunswick with his wife Annie. View all posts by hankkalet