Lyndon Johnson focuses on the five-plus years of Johnson's presidency (1963–1969), a tumultuous time in which the promise of progressive social programs and basic human rights was countered by a war that killed millions of people and devastated the lives of countless more. As Johnson tried to pull the United States closer to some of its professed ideals, he also undermined many Americans' faith in government, the contradictions of which are still felt to this day.
Throughout a carefully wrought and narratively propulsive book-length poem, Jonathan Farmer implicates himself, questioning what it means to belong in America, amid widespread inequality and the great historical inheritance of violence. Farmer reflects on his own upbringing, his relationship with his father who served in Vietnam, and the implications of the sixties for our world today.
Unfolding over seven sections, plus an epilogue, the book begins immediately after John F. Kennedy's death as Johnson is thrust into the seat of power, and spans the entire Johnson presidency, capturing both broad portions of history and fascinatingly minute detail. All the while we understand Farmer's own frustration with America as it stands today, still far away from the ideals of the 1960s, still unable to fulfill its promise. Yet, ultimately, Lyndon Johnson is a hopeful work, filled with longing for a country that could still follow through on its putative ideals.