Tag Archives: World War I

The Heartbreak in the Heart of Things

By Robin Bates | Published: May 26, 2024

For Memorial Day, here’s a simple but powerful poem by World War I veteran Wilfrid Wilson Gipson.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Memorial Day, survivor guilt, Wilfrid Wilson Gipson | Comments closed

June Is Short and We Must Joy in It

By Robin Bates | Published: May 30, 2023

Irish poet Ledwidge’s “June” is a carpé diem poem that takes on special meaning given that the author died in World War I.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "Ode to Autumn", carpé diem poetry, Francis Ledwidge, John Keats, June | Comments closed

A War Hero Who Derided Memorials

By Robin Bates | Published: May 28, 2023

World War I poet Sassoon lambasts those who think that war memorials pay off the debt to those who gave their lives.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "Anthem for Doomed Youth", "Dulce et Decorum Est", "On Passing the New Menin Gate", Battles of Ypres, Menin Gate, Siegfried Sassoon, Wilfred Owen | Comments closed

Death Has Made Me Wise, Bitter, Strong

By Robin Bates | Published: November 10, 2021

I honor Veterans Day with a Sassoon poem where a veteran remembers fallen comrades.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "Poem in October", Dylan Thomas, Memory, Siegfried Sassoon, Veterans Day, war veterans | Comments closed

How Novels Aided the World War I Effort

By Robin Bates | Published: August 30, 2021

During World War I, librarians sought to supported wounded men with fiction. Some preferred love stories to action adventure fiction.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged bibliotherapy, Edgar Rice Burroughs, librarians, Zane Grey | Comments closed

Vets in WWI Documentary Do Not Age

By Robin Bates | Published: March 11, 2019

Tuesday Last night Julia and I watched Peter Jackson’s extraordinary documentary about World War I in which he applied filmmaker’s magic to archival footage to create a sense of immediacy. By brightening dark shots and darkening overexposed ones, erasing scratches, evening out movement (World War I film was shot with hand-cranked cameras), turning long-shots into […]