Labor Activism

Covington Hall’s Satanic Lumberjacks & Southron Rebels: Bombastic & Blasphemic Poetry from a Forgotten Labor Movement Edited and Introduced by Kevin I. Slaughter 5.5 x 8.5″, saddle-stiched STAND ALONE SA1113 Available from Underworld Amusements This collection of poetry is culled from the three labor journals that Redbeard-inspired Wobbly activist Covington Hall edited from 1913 to 1916: The Lumberjack, The Voice of the People, and Rebellion. Hall was known as one of the top poets of the labor movement in the Progressive Era, and he was an writer and teacher for many decades until his death in 1951. Being a member of the Industrial Workers of the World, a labor organization known for pitched street fights and “direct action,” in Hall we find the greatest advocate of the Chicago social-Darwinist Ragnar Redbeard, and that infernal book Might is Right. A book that was highly critical of any paid labor, much less Union organizing. Hall looked past the conflicting parts to focus on the core message: the only foundation for right is the ability to enforce one’s will on others. The poems contained within are from the pen of Hall, but also others that he found worthy to print in his own journals, including “Satanic Socialist” Henry M. Tichenor, author of The Sorceries and Scandals of Satan. They represent that curious melding of Might and Blasphemy and Labor in stirring, sometimes satirical ways. Featuring an introduction by editor-in-chief of UnionOfEgoists.com, Kevin I. Slaugther. Satanic Lumberjacks & Southron Rebels