The Long Take Summary
Robin Robertson

The Long Take Overview

Robin Robertson's book-length narrative poem The Long Take follows a character known only as Walker, recently returned from fighting in World War II and interested in the American urban landscape and film noir. He travels to Los Angeles where he discovers hordes of homeless veterans living on Skid Row - men like him, suffering from PTSD and unable to cope with the world they have recently rejoined. The text considers themes related to trauma, the decline of the American dream, and the demonization of the other.