Some of the poets who have moved me have been Ann Sihler (August 13), David Ray (August 17), Antelope (August 26), Amal Gamal (August 27) and Susan Harris (August 28). You can find them all in “Poem of the Day.”
The poets are from all nations and are all ages, some as young as 15. There are both published poets and unknowns. There are 11,000 poets on the site with over 13,000 poems. Back in March, all 13,000 poems were presented to Congress. There are fewer in the paperback, though.
I believe the site is moderated – I submitted one and it’s not in the index yet.
The former seemed like a genuine emotional response to the war. The latter looked like an opinion column in a newspaper. I’ve got no political issue with what either of them wrote, but there is a way to some things, and I don’t think that poetry was an effective way to express what the latter poet wanted to say.
I see that you’ve listed the one I didn’t like so much (Susan Harris) as one that moved you. I guess we’ve got different views - any discussion on it?
Rikwriter: I’m assuming your inquiry is genuine, though I wonder why you didn’t google “poets for the war” if you really were after pro-war poetry. I did, and the first site returned was this one.
However, looking at the tone there, you may be better served by visiting this site. Its political expression is more coherent and, amazingly enough, more eloquent.
At Poets against the War, there are masterpieces such as
France Has Surrendered Its Soul
Napoleon, he was a French shrimp.
A little man, a little country.
Today Chirac strives to make France great,
Seeking past glories to cover its shame
For now it betrays a friend in need
In order to stand like that little man
But France again will meet its Waterloo
For it has already surrendered to evil
In allying itself with Saddam Hussein…
George W. Bush
Pray for our President daily
It’s the right thing to do
His burdens are larger than ever
And more troubles are about to ensue…
–
Of course, support of war and poetic ability are not mutually exclusive qualities. But I would argue that since the literary tone seems to be higher at the anti-war site, and that considering this thread was about the anti-war site, we should restrict our discussion to that one.
I’m happy to discuss pro-war poetry in a thread created for that purpose.
Hi, gex gex, I also liked the first poem you cited, though it didn’t move me as much as the others. Why did I like Susan Harris’ poem so much? For one thing, she’s only 15. For another, she is speaking sincerely, straight from the heart. Also, I can identify with her experience.
Keep looking! There are more gems in there.
You know, poetry gets short shrift in Cafe Society. We need more poetry threads!!!
By the way, gex gex, the “France” and “Pray for Bush” poems you quoted – I think you must have meant to say that they are from a pro-war site, not Poets Against The War. Correct me if I’m wrong.
Re: the quality of the poems – one thing to remember is that any website that has massive submissions (over 13,000!) will have its share of good and bad poems, whether they are pro- or anti-war.
Again – keep looking! You’re sure to find something you like.
:smack: Yes, brain explosion there. They are of course, from Poets For The War.
Yeah, I do like the sincerity. I noticed her age, but I don’t really take age into account when discussing poetry. A writer doesn’t improve her poetry by virtue of being young.
But yes, I will keep looking. I like quite a few of the other you mentioned in the OP.
Try [link url=http://www.counterpunch.org/poem1003.html]this poem from the former Poet Laureate of New Jersey. Brilliantly blends the blaming of Jews for September 11th with criticism of “Tom Ass Clarence.”
