When I first read wyrd in 2022, I was struck by how perfectly Matt had already captured a moment in time that seemed too recent to be nostalgic for: the “Pre-Covid Years.” Published in 2018, the play, informed by Trump’s first term and the frighteningly rapid onset of hardcore MAGA ideology, was still clearly written in the before-times. In the wake of Covid and the thousands of deaths that could have been prevented by an administration who instead preferred to fund murderous police departments rather than hospitals, wyrd was one of the first works I had read that made me genuinely wonder, “Could there have possibly been a reason for this? Could it have been worth it for what comes after?”

Now, even more than at the ultimate height of Covid, it feels easier than ever to despair. wyrd showed me plainly that ultimate despair can’t exist without our consent. Choosing to build a better world from the rubble is possible, even when it’s much harder than lying down in the ashes.