Testimony

A milestone of modern poetry, American history comes to life in the actual words of victims and criminals in its courts. Taking as its raw material the voices of witnesses, victims, and perpetrators discovered by the author in criminal court transcripts, Charles Reznikoffs book-length poem sets forth a stark panorama of late 19th and early 20th century Americathe underside of the Gilded Age, beset by racism and casual violence, poverty and disease. In radically stripped-down language of tremendous intensity, Reznikoffs poem is an unforgettable reading experience. This edition also includes Reznikoffs prose studies for the poem, unavailable to readers since the 1930s, and a new introduction by critic and essayist Eliot Weinberger.