I arrived at Zuccotti Park this afternoon feeling agitated about the news coming out of Oakland. Videos had surfaced showing police lobbing several types of "non-lethal" projectiles, including tear gas canisters, at peaceful demonstrators, after shutting down their … [Read more...]

The foam board sign with the message BECA-- USE THEY'RE TRYING TO DRIVE OUR PLANET OFF A CLIFF that I wear around my neck at Zuccotti Park has another message lettered on the reverse side: NYPD: END STOP & FRISK, a souvenir of last week's Harlem demonstration … [Read more...]

I thought a lot about space today, in relation to Occupy Wall Street. I walked from my house to Zuccotti Park, which I hadn't done as yet going in that direction though I've walked the same route from Manhattan home. I followed Flatbush Avenue all the way to … [Read more...]

What is it about the words BECA-- USE THEY'RE TRYING TO DRIVE OUR PLANET OFF A CLIFF that you don't understand, Mr. Middle-Aged Biker with an all-American accent and a jersey that reads "USSR" in Cyrillic letters ( and is further adorned with a hammer and sickle)? … [Read more...]

"The great thing about it," I found myself explaining to my mother on the telephone last night, "is that I get to read poetry, which means I'm spending time with wonderful literature instead of just shouting slogans that I might agree with but really don't find … [Read more...]

Today, my experience of direct democracy started with a trip to Harlem, where I joined a goodly crowd of people at the "Stop Stop & Frisk" rally outside the Harlem State Office Building, followed by a march across 125th Street to the 28th police precinct on … [Read more...]

Eric Darton and I will be helping to Occupy Wall Street with poetry at 3 p.m. on Friday, October 21. We invite you to join your voice to ours at Broadway, south of Liberty Street. (If you arrive a little late, look for us inside the park.) This morning, for the … [Read more...]

The rain rained and the wind blew fiercely in lower Manhattan today, creating what looked like miserable conditions for full-time Wall Street Occupiers, but giving me a break from the incredible press of the crowds that lined Broadway yesterday afternoon. As I … [Read more...]

The poems of Anna Akhmatova felt like a hard sell at the eastern edge of Zuccotti Park this afternoon. It was another idyllic day, warm with the warmth that feels so poignant this late in the season, especially when you're thinking about how hard it will be to … [Read more...]

Does populist outrage at the state of the U.S. economy as arranged by its corporate masters make people more likely, or less so, to take evasive action to avert the looming threat of species suicide? I have felt so greatly heartened by Occupy Wall Street above all … [Read more...]