“Civic poetry offers us a way to think and talk about issues that so much of public speech ignores, to make them new by dissecting and repurposing public speech, prying its falsehoods from its half-truths. It is fighting for its right to critique our would-be democracy.”

American nonfiction writer, critic, journalist, and poet

Alissa Quart is an American nonfiction writer, critic, journalist, and poet. She is known for books that examine American culture, labor, family life, and the pressures of money and status, alongside work in journalism and criticism. Her nonfiction books include Republic of Outsiders: The Power of Amateurs, Dreamers and Rebels, Hothouse Kids: The Dilemma of the Gifted Child, Branded: The Buying and Selling of Teenagers, Squeezed: Why Our Families Can't Afford America, and Bootstrapped: Liberating Ourselves from the American Dream. She has also published two poetry collections, Monetized and Thoughts and Prayers.