Read This: Nightmerica: Corruptions of the American Dream
Nightmerica: Corruptions of the American Dream, edited by Amanda Worthington, takes on the many, many ways our nation’s ideals have gone awry. Grouped thematically by Life, Liberty, and The Pursuit of Happiness, most of these seventeen earnest, urgent stories and poems take a blunt and in-your-face approach. A few are more subtle, leaning into the surreal nightmare qualities of their topics. Every one of them feels immediate.
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“This Place Has Good Roots” by C.S. Magnuson – Avaricious private equity bros discover the dangers of forcing people from their homes.
“Natural Selection” by Dan B. Fierce –A neo-Nazi in the backwoods finds out that his easy prey has unexpected defenders.
“Mrs. Merriweather’s Lactation Services” by K.M. Bennett –The secrets behind the demonization of formula and the obsessive push for breastfeeding.
“Exceptional Wretches” by Joe Koch– A dystopian tale of addiction, poverty, and men’s control of women’s reproductive choices. Chaotic, angry, and full of a determined desperation.
“Company Policy” by Larry Hinkle and Valerie B. Williams –The literal horror of letting insurance companies determine who will live and who will suffer until they die.
“His Edges” by Donna J. W. Munro –Echoing aspects of The Handmaid’s Tale, the unseen patriarchal elite suck the life out of the masses.
“Feeding America” by Austin Gragg –In a failing environment, industrial farming collides with conspiracy theories. Despairing, with a jarring, spot-on conclusion.
“Counting Sheep” by Ken Hueler–A man in a sleep lab falls into an inescapable nightmare of “traditional” values.
“Fake Muse” by Angela Yuriko Smith –In a too-recognizable near-future comes the violent dehumanization of the immigrants who believed what America promised them.
“First Person, Shooter” by Rocky Colavito –A student is radicalized by the overwhelming push to become a good worker rather than a good human being. Brutally accurate about the state of higher ed.
“The Social Lottery” by Xavier Poe Kane –A woman who has bought into the hype learns the danger of a mob influenced by social media.
The prose offerings are rounded out by the poetry of Sumiko Saulson, L. Marie Wood, Anton Cancre, TK Brave, Lindsey Beth Goddard, and David Morin.
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Less a commentary than a battle cry, Nightmerica: Corruptions of the American Dream taps into the pain the right wing is currently inflicting on the United States. And there are flickers of hope among the outpouring of outrage–which is inspiration to keep fighting for something better.