What Happened Was...

The night we held our Wilfred Owen Birthday Reading, we never actually got to 'Dulce Et Decorum Est,' which was the last poem of Owen's I wanted to read out loud. Sometimes surprises come at you like a Tibetan yak. Instead, we read and talked about 'Greater Love' whose text is online at

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/19388 (accessed 3/21/08)

and also 'The Next War' whose text is online with commentary at

http://mural.uv.es/juanher2/TRABAJO%20POESIA%207.html (accessed 3/21/08).

Apparently the 'Greater Love' is something like nationalism, if it isn't actually nationalism. Owen's feelings toward the fighting and the Christian principles he knew so well are explored somewhat in this poem. There's a rich complexity there.

And the concluding lines of 'The Next War' echo the attitude he took on, according to the info at http://www.warpoetry.co.uk/owena.htm#Shock-of-war, in the last year of his life, 1918 (website accessed 3/16/08). Supposedly Owen decided to "turn his back on life. Talking to his brother whilst home on leave he said that he wanted to return to the front line. 'I know I shall be killed. But it's the only place I can make my protest from.'"

I think of the Dada artists of that time. Some of them refrained from producing art because they believed that so many people so willing to go to such a stupid war don't deserve great art. Remember the Dada artist Jacques Rigaut? He said one day in 1919, "If I'm alive ten years from now, I'm going to kill myself." He felt defeated by what he saw as immense stupidity in the war and the preparing for war and the celebrating of war, etc. He actually followed through on his declaration.

Maybe this time in history is when the word nihilism came into greater use?




-- "It is our goal to appreciate and improve our talents, to share our own work and to communicate the joys of poetry with others. Everyone's poetry is valued."
River Junction Poets Mission Statement

Wilfred Owen Birthday Party

What
A poetical celebration of Wilfred Owen’s birth, life and poetry.

When
Wednesday, March 19, 2008 at 7:00 PM

Where
Barnes & Noble Bookseller
3311 Tittabawassee Rd.
Saginaw , MI 48603
phone 989.790.9214

Who should come
Join us if you love poetry or are curious as to what poetry is all about. Join us if you'd like to talk to people whose hearts and minds are more open than closed. Join us if you can agree or disagree with someone's opinion respectfully. Bring a book if you can. It’s OK if it’s from your library.

Why
Find out what poems sound like out loud. Listen in on the group and then find a place where you can jump in and read something yourself. Great fun for the whole family. If you have specialized knowledge regarding our poet, do not hesitate to regale us with your story. Don't expect to leave our event with a definitive understanding of the poet or the poems but please do seek to experience and communicate the joys of poetry with others. Join in our informal discussion of poems we know and love and poems we are only just discovering. Better readers make better writers. Visit with our group where everyone's poetry is valued if not appreciated. If you have a smile to share be sure to bring it; otherwise be prepared to leave with one on your face and in your heart. If you're too far away to join us, create your own Birthdays of Poets Reader’s Workshop. Speak up now and forever share your peace. Tell (bring!) a friend.

How to find the organizer(s)
We are in the Poetry section, near the window that affords a view of Tittabawassee Road. The staff at Barnes & Noble will put up a sign that says 'This space reserved for The River Junction Poets at 7 p.m.' We'll be getting a few folding chairs to add around the coffee table there.

Details
Wilfred Owen (March 18, 1893 to November 4, 1918) After failing to gain entrance into the University of London, Owen spent a year as a lay assistant to Reverend Herbert Wigan in 1911 and went on to teach in France at the Berlitz School of English. By 1915, he became increasingly interested in World War I and enlisted in the Artists' Rifles group. After training in England, Owen was commissioned as a second lieutenant.

He was wounded in combat in 1917 and evacuated to Craiglockhart War Hospital near Edinburgh after being diagnosed with shell shock. There he met another patient, poet Siegfried Sassoon, who served as a mentor and introduced him to well-known literary figures such as Robert Graves and H. G. Wells.

It was at this time Owen wrote many of his most important poems, including "Anthem for Doomed Youth" and "Dulce et Decorum Est". His poetry often graphically illustrated both the horrors of warfare, the physical landscapes which surrounded him, and the human body in relation to those landscapes. His verses stand in stark contrast to the patriotic poems of war written by earlier poets of Great Britain, such as Rupert Brooke.
Excerpted from http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/305 accessed 3/16/08.

Soldier’s Dream

I dreamed kind Jesus fouled the big-gun gears;
And caused a permanent stoppage in all bolts;
And buckled with a smile Mausers and Colts;
And rusted bayonets with His tears.

And there were no more bombs, of ours or Theirs,
Not even an old flint-lock, nor even a pikel.
But God was vexed, and gave all power to Michael;
And when I woke he'd seen to our repairs.
From http://users.fulladsl.be/spb1667/cultural/owen/soldier-s-dream.html accessed 3/16/08.

Expect more at the Birthdays of Poets Blog. Go now.

All best and see you Wednesday,
Andrew Christ

Legal stuff
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Parting Thoughts
Research indicates that better readers make better writers. Maybe this is why, in the Poet's Market, editors of literary magazines often recommend poets read more poetry. Are you not aware? You are a cultural event, and so is everyone else. Celebrate your humanity at Saginaw’s Birthdays of Poets Reader’s Workshop. May God continue to bless us mightily one and all. Be sure to thank a veteran for his/her service. Remember: only you can improve the audience for poetry. Please read, discuss and share responsibly. And vote.

-- "It is our goal to appreciate and improve our talents, to share our own work and to communicate the joys of poetry with others. Everyone's poetry is valued."
River Junction Poets Mission Statement