Caroline Giles Banks
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
WWII home front. Oils, fats, and meats are requisitioned to feed the troops, to grease the machinations of war. Ration cards. A lipsticked smile gets a coveted kidney from the butcher.
yellow dye oleo
no fooling
butter-starved eyes
The U.S. Government funds research to guide post-WWII famine relief in Europe and Asia. Young men who object to digging trenches of loss and grief participate in the Minnesota Starvation Experiment. Thirty-six COs are semi-starved and rehabilitated to determine the effects of severe dietary restriction. Fantasies of smorgasbord buffets soon outweigh thoughts of peace—and sex. No pin-ups of starlets on cork boards. Only cut-outs of shapely legs of lamb, plump breasts of chicken.
pious proud
belts cinched
tight & tighter
2025. Operation Metro Surge. Thousands of immigrants, many naturalized citizens with no criminal record, are locked up by the U.S. Government in overcrowded detention centers. No beds or blankets. No meds or baby formula. No potable water.
one sandwich per day
stomachs growl
“hear our prayers”
See The Great Starvation Experiment by Todd Tucker. University of Minnesota Press (2008)