Stand in your fields, your shops, and do not go!
Be ye not "mobilized," but stand like stones;
And if to prison ye be haled, and if
They rain upon your hearts their leaden rain
Because ye will not serve, stand till ye fall!
Ye can but die - but so, die innocent,
Having, yourselves, slain no man innocent
- Poet Edith Thomas, circa 1914, urging men to refuse to fight

The curse and verse of war

NIU English professor assembles anthology of WWI poetry

by Tom Parisi

History repeats, art imitates life and war is hell.

The old saws are seen in a fresh light in a newly published anthology of World War I poetry, where arguments for and against military aggression bear a striking resemblance to ongoing debates in contemporary America.

Mark Van Wienen, an NIU professor of English, is editor of the anthology, titled "Rendezvous with Death: American Poems of the Great War" (October, University of Illinois Press).

As the United States again contemplates military action abroad, the release of "Rendezvous with Death" seems particularly timely. "It was the Great War that propelled the United States onto the world stage as a military-industrial power," Van Wienen says. "But Americans were uncertain whether we could or should aspire to that role. We entered the war only after long debate, much of which is preserved in the poetry written by Americans during that time period."

Van Wienen says Americans today can gain insights from the poets of the First World War.

"With the war on terrorism, we often hear commentators making parallels to the Second World War and the dangers of appeasing Hitler. Yet, in many ways, the poems of the First World War forecast the ongoing discussion just as closely," he said.

"Some poets wrote that if Kaiser Wilhelm was not stopped, he would eventually threaten democracy and freedom throughout the world," Van Wienen explained. "Other poets opposed war, arguing that domestic problems were being overlooked. These discussions weren't invented after 9/11."

Ten years in the making, "Rendezvous with Death" is the most complete resource of its kind, bringing together World War I poetry originally published in little magazines, labor journals, newspapers and wartime anthologies. Poems by pro-interventionists, labor radicals, pacifists, protestors and advocates of all stripes take their places next to poems by Carl Sandburg, Robert Frost, Edith Wharton, Alan Seeger, Wallace Stevens and Amy Lowell.

"A lot of the poetry I'd seen on World War I was retrospective, but I was interested in finding works that were written during the war, at a time when they might shape how the nation responded politically and militarily," Van Wienen said. "I found a huge number - hundreds and even thousands of poems - that were responding to the war as it was happening."

Arranged chronologically, the anthology reveals American poets' shifting, conflicting reactions to the war and highlights their efforts to shape U.S. policies and define American attitudes. Van Wienen's historical and biographical notes provide a framework for the study of poetry's role in social activism and change.

"The poetry of a nation will always respond to wars when they occur," Van Wienen said. "To some extent, the poetry of World War I is unique, though. It came at a time of increasing literacy, when poetry had a more central role in education. During that era, most newspapers featured at least one poem on their editorial pages each day, not just for entertainment but for debate and discussion."

Van Wienen is new to NIU this semester. He specializes in 20th century American poetry. As a literary historian, he aims to create descriptive accounts of poetry written during particular eras. "The American poetry of World War I was little studied," he said, "even though modern American poetry otherwise has been widely read and admired."

11/18/2002