Deadline Poet / December 12, 2023

The Death of Henry Kissinger

Calvin Trillin
Secretary of State Henry Kissinger make a statement in the State Department briefing room after receiving the Nobel Peace prize.
Secretary of State Henry Kissinger make a statement in the State Department briefing room after receiving the Nobel Peace prize. (Wally McNamee / Corbis / Getty Images)

When somebody dies it is said
One shouldn’t speak ill of the dead.
To that I have tried to stay true.
It’s rarely been harder to do.

Calvin Trillin

Calvin Trillin is The Nation’s “deadline poet.”

More from The Nation

We Can’t Let the Kaepernick Era Be Erased From History

We Can’t Let the Kaepernick Era Be Erased From History We Can’t Let the Kaepernick Era Be Erased From History

Critics say the Black Lives Matter movement in sports went too far. In reality, it didn’t go far enough, and the backlash to it has been brutal.

Dave Zirin

A parade of Jewish Bundists on May Day.

The Bund and the Radical History of Jewish Anti-Zionism The Bund and the Radical History of Jewish Anti-Zionism

Molly Crabapple’s Here Where We Live Is Our Country revisits the past of the Jewish Labor Bund and considers what it might mean for our future.

Books & the Arts / Bruce Robbins

A Starbucks strike in New York City, 2025.

The Making of the Millennial Working Class The Making of the Millennial Working Class

A new book follows a rising generation of labor organizers as they attempt to unionize their workplaces.

Books & the Arts / Alex Press

Hiëronymus Bosch, detail from “The Temptation of St. Anthony,” c. 1501

Can We Save Democracy? Can We Save Democracy?

Hélène Landemore’s case for an alternative system of popular government.

Books & the Arts / Osita Nwanevu

The Fissures and Fractures Behind the Right’s Pink Facade

The Fissures and Fractures Behind the Right’s Pink Facade The Fissures and Fractures Behind the Right’s Pink Facade

After Roe was overturned, some young women are turning more hard-line on abortion—but others are fleeing conservatism altogether.

Feature / Amy Littlefield

Letters Icon

Letters From the October 2026 Issue Letters From the October 2026 Issue

The long shadow of AIPAC… The AI revolution will not be televised… Speaking of taxes… Reporting on abortion… (online only)

Our Readers