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Hedin, Robert, ed. Old Glory; American war poems from the Revolutionary War to the war on terror.


HEDIN, Robert, ed. Old Glory; American war poems from the Revolutionary War to the war on terror This article is about U.S. actions, and those of other states, after September 11, 2001. For other conflicts, see Terrorism.

The War on Terror (also known as the War on Terrorism
. Persea Books. 366p. index. c2004. 0-89255-310-3. $20.00. SA *

At a time when the US is at war in Afghanistan and in Iraq as well as fighting a global war on terrorism Terrorist acts and the threat of Terrorism have occupied the various law enforcement agencies in the U.S. government for many years. The Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, as amended by the usa patriot act , it is hard to imagine a more appropriate and compelling anthology of poetry than that edited by noted author Robert Hedin. There are many ways to read about war: histories, biographies, letters, journals and the like. However, in the foreword to this book, Walter Cronkite Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr. (born November 4 1916) is a retired iconic American broadcast journalist, best known as anchorman for The CBS Evening News for 19 years (1962–81).  reminds us "the gift of telling what war is really like has been bestowed upon the poets." Hedin presents 175 poems written by 140 different authors, half of whom have direct experience of war as combatants. The selections are arranged chronologically, with a section on each American war beginning with the Revolutionary War and "Paul Revere's Ride "Paul Revere's Ride" is an American poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow that commemorates the actions of American patriot Paul Revere on April 18, 1775. [1] The poem was written on April 19, 1860 and first published in The Atlantic Monthly in January of 1861. " by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and ending with the War on Terror and "Transcircularities" by Quincy Troupe Quincy Thomas Troupe, Jr., born July 22, 1939, in St Louis , Missouri, is a poet, editor (recently the Styx River Magazine), journalist, and professor emeritus at the University of California, San Diego, in La Jolla, California. .

Hedin's introduction is an insightful overview of the collection, noting the characteristics of the poetry that emerges from each war, from the patriotism of colonial America to the disillusionment Disillusionment
Adams, Nick

loses innocence through WWI experience. [Am. Lit.: “The Killers”]

Angry Young Men

disillusioned postwar writers of Britain, such as Osborne and Amis. [Br. Lit.
 of those writing about WWI WWI
abbr.
World War I


WWI World War One
. He observes that the "wide range of themes and attitudes" that emerge here "go beyond the American experience to explore the nature of war itself." Walt Whitman's poetry is recognized as offering "some of the most poignant portrayals of suffering in American literature." The poetry of the Gulf War and the War on Terror are found to have produced "no verse of any real value" by battlefield participants to date. Each poem in the collection is preceded by a brief biographical sketch that is quite helpful in appreciating the context of the poem that follows. Some of the poems are often anthologized; some are printed here for the first time. Hedin best describes his own anthology as "haunting and memorable." Teachers and students of history and literature should find in this collection many works for reflection and discussion. Anthony Pucci, English Dept. Chair., Notre Dame H.S., Elmira, NY
COPYRIGHT 2004 Kliatt
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 2004, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

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Author:Pucci, Anthony
Publication:Kliatt
Article Type:Book Review
Date:Nov 1, 2004
Words:350
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