The collection assembles poems, essays, sketches, and short stories that articulate a sustained critique of authority and social injustice while championing individual liberty and free thought. Poetic pieces alternate between personal meditation, memorial verse, and social protest; essays examine anarchist ideas, direct action, literary criticism, education, gender and labor issues, and responses to contemporary events and figures; sketches and stories dramatize moral dilemmas and the struggles of ordinary lives. An introductory biographical sketch and editorial notes place the selections in context and underscore the author's evolving political convictions and commitment to emancipatory reform.