Charles Hamilton Sorley, killed early in World War I, penned anti-war poetry that anticipated Wilfred Owen.
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Tag Archives: war
Mourning the Mouthless Dead
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "When you see millions of the mouthless dead", Charles Hamilton Sorley, Memorial Day, Wilfred Owen, World War I Comments closed
Brecht Quatrains for Challenging Times
During World War II Bertolt Brecht wrote quatrains that speak powerfully to our own political times.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Adolph Hitler, Bertolt Brecht, Donald Trump, refugees, War Primer Comments closed
Anger in Ancient Greek Works
A new book looks at how the ancient Greeks approached the issue of anger in works such as “Iliad,” “Ajax,” and “Hecuba.
Great Pro-War Literature Doesn’t Exist
In which I argue that great pro-war literature doesn’t exist, including “The iliad” and “War and Peace.” (Both works are magnificent; I just don’t see them as pro-war.)
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Charge of the Light Brigade", Alfred Lord Tennyson, anti-war literature, Catch 22, Donald Trump, Ernest Hemingway, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Homer, Iliad, Joseph Heller, Leo Tolstoy, Naked and the Dead, Norman Mailer, Things They Carried, Tim O'Brien, War and Peace Comments closed
Calling Out Trump’s War Enablers
Too many beltway insiders are singing the praises of Donald Trump’s foreign policy bellicosity, with Brian Williams unironically quoting Leonard Cohen’s “I am guided by the beauty of your weapons.” He should quote Dylan’s “Masters of War” instead.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "First We Take Manhattan", "Masters of War", Bob Dylan, Brian Williams, Donald Trump, Leonard Cohen, war mongering Comments closed
Even in Bad Times, Life Goes On
Donald Trump is a disaster but, as Thomas Hardy reminds us, life goes on even during disasters. As bad as Trump is, he’s not comparable to World War I, the subject of Hardy’s poem.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "In Time of the Breaking of Nations", Donald Trump, Thomas Hardy Comments closed
Solace for Vets from Sophocles
A group has been giving dramatic readings of Sophocles plays in order to reach veterans suffering from PTSD. The results have been astonishing.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Ajax, Philoctetes, PTSD, Sophocles, Veterans, veterans' suicides Comments closed
Memorial Day: I Am the Grass, I Cover All
Carl Sandburg’s outward stoicism masks a deep grief as he memorializes those killed in battle in “Grass.”
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Grass", "Song of Myself", "Where Have All the Flowers Gone", battles, Carl Sandburg, Memorial Day, Pete Seeger, Walt Whitman Comments closed