The best part about being an American studies teacher is working with an incredible partner/promance. Laurie Walczak and I approach WWI side by side, and one of the most engaging ways is through the poetry of the Great War. The war inspired countless works describing the life of a solider, the horror or combat, the honor of the warrior, and the sorrow of loss. Frequently on my trip, poetry became a powerful way to comprehend what happened on the fields of Belgium and France, especially when poems were posted in many of the place I visited. Of course, In Flanders Fields tops the list. Poppies are everywhere in WWI imagery and locations, and John McRae’s work was presented at no less than five sites – most notably the Flanders Field American Cemetery. I remember first hearing the poem in an old Charlie Brown cartoon titled "What Have We Learned?" Good question, Linus. The horrors of combat and chemical warfare are featured in Dulce Et Decorum Est, a classic from Wilfred Owen and an important phrase engraved prominently above the entrance to the Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery (I point it out every year). The imagery of the work brings the challenges of the tenches to life. Every time I saw trenches, I harken back to Break of Day in the Trenches by Isaac Rosenberg, an British poet who died in battle near Arras near the end of the war. His “queer sardonic rat”, “the sleeping green between”, “the torn fields of France”, and “poppies whose roots are in man’s veins” are all emotional gut punches when you are actually there. American poet Alan Seeger’s I Have a Rendezvous With Death was posted at the Sommepy Monument and sets the stage for everyone who visits. Seeger served in the French Foreign Legion and died in the vicious Battle of the Somme in 1916, although not associated with the purpose of the monument. I alos like to use Carl Sandburg's A.E.F for insight into the memory of the veterans, returned home and then forgotten. Of all of the canon of poems, may favorite has been (and I think will always be) Joyce Kilmer’s Memorial Day. Kilmer volunteered to fight in France as a member of the New York infantry. Known more for his poem about a tree, Kilmer’s Memorial Day is a bit prophetic. It was first published in 1914, three years before he enlisted. Becoming a Sergeant, Kilmer fell in battle in July of 1918, and is now buried in the Oise Ainse American Cemetery. Standing by his cross proved to be a moving experience, especially as I read his words:
Fitting words of how war is so awful, but those that served and perished should be honored. Laurie has our students write WWI poems every year, and many often include poems as part of their “Legacy of WWI” products as a final assessment for their WWI study. Kids like reading them, like writing them, and love sharing them.
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8/9/2017 03:45:07 pm
To say that it is a pleasure to teach WWI poetry alongside you, Chuck, is an understatement. Every time, I'm thrilled to see students engage, dig deep, and experience the soldier-poets' words. Moreover, watching them create their own poems, expressing what they've learned in both our classrooms, is a source of great pride. Thank you, Chuck, for being my teaching partner. Promance, indeed.
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