This was an illustration from a government-issue comic book, tasked ambitiously with educating the public about how best to survive a nuclear attack. I believe that the name of the artist here is probably lost to history, though I saw one Internet commentator speculate that it looked like Jack Sparling’s work.
You can find the entire comic at Ethan Persoff’s excellent website here.
Godspeed to her and her people.
Today is the first day of Autumn. Why not stop over at The Bees Are Dead, and mark the encroaching cold with a few dark futuristic visions?
There you’ll find Gary Glauber’s “After the Deluge”, which is a sanguine twist on the usual narrative of the post-apocalyptic poem. There is also some truly arresting photography — Paul Gerrard’s “Monochromatic Beginnings” is shudder-inducing and delightfully monstrous, and Kathryn Nee’s ““Windows into the End” is a haunting exhibition of abandonment art.
“An unarmed huntsman, threatened by a wild boar, takes refuge in a tree.” Colored lithograph.
El Pueblo de los Estados Unidos le desea paz, seguridad y fortaleza durante esta crisis.
Teotitlán de Valle. Tapestry shop. Photo credit: By Wolfgang Sauber (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons
Please, Mr. President, don’t start any unnecessary wars.
The last thing America needs is another Vietnambia.
#poetburn
“Song in the Thicket” by Manly Banister. Cover art by W. H. Silvey.
Yes, “Manly Banister” is indeed the author’s name. He appears to have had several, so it’s a good bet this was a nom de plume. (For comparison, his other names include “Gregg Powers” and, curiously, “Val Seanne.”)
Google him. He … actually published a hell of a lot between 1942 and 1980.
The 80’s were a weird time in a lot of ways. Pop culture’s answer to the threat of global nuclear annihilation was a really cool, really catchy song with an upbeat tempo that topped the charts. (Full disclosure — I don’t know much about music, and I’m not sure I’m using the term “upbeat tempo” correctly. If I’m not, you can totally call me on it.)
Nena released “99 Luftballoons” in 1983 in Germany, it was released a year later in America as “99 Red Balloons.” Wikipedia taught me some interesting trivia this afternoon — the group was actually pretty unhappy with the loose translation of the Americanized lyrics, and all but disowned them. Nena performed the song only in its original German, even when the band was on tour in England.
Maybe we need a catchy pop song to teach the perils of nuclear brinksmanship to the current president. Or, better yet, set something to the tune of one of those Looney Tunes cartoons.
I’m so pleased to share here that Peeking Cat Poetry Magazine has selected “Roanoke Summer Midnight” to appear in its 2017 Anthology. I’m always honored to have my poetry selected for the magazine, but seeing my work appear in the annual anthology really is a special distinction.
The anthology will be published in October. I’ll post ordering information here as it develops.
Thank you, Editor Samantha Rose!
