Abstract

Dying in the Southwest explores the relationship between the individual, the collective, and the larger socioeconomic systems that provide the foundation of the places we call home. The collection focuses primarily on the city of Windsor, Ontario, which was known as “Ground Zero” during the 2008 Financial Crisis. Due to high rates of unemployment, stagnant wages, and low desirability for investment, the people of Windsor-Essex County found themselves trapped within a constantly shaken snow globe. Inside this microcosm, habits and routines were broken and patched over hastily in order to survive. The poems follow the small, personal dramas that play out alongside and within the macroeconomic crisis. Dying in the Southwest captures the many attempts made to endure, adapt, or escape the city. Stagnation and failure pervade these attempts. Misdirection, error, and unwillingness to change lie at the core of both the cause and effect of the Financial Crisis. Throughout the collection, Dying in the Southwest maintains a balance of hope and cynicism for a city so ravaged by large-scale systems beyond its control.