Hopkin's Collection

Hopkins, Lee Bennett, ed. 2008. America at War. Ill. By Stephen Alcorn. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books. ISBN 978-4169-1832-5.

Book Review:

Lee Bennett Hopkins has combined works of famous poets, such as Walt Whitman, e.e. cummings and Carl Sandburg, with over 30 new works especially commissioned for the book, to provide the reader with a series of poems that resonate with the powerful emotions evoked by the experiences of various American wars. 

Divided into eight sections, Hopkins' collection includes poems that describe the various aspects of the American Revolution, the Civil War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Persian Gulf War and the Iraq War, which was still ongoing at the book’s publication.  Each section is introduced by poignant quote from a leader, military or political.  Some of the poems have a strong rhythm with rhymes and repetitive lines, such as “In Flanders Fields” by John McCrae (“In Flanders fields the poppies blow/Between the crosses row on row”), but most of the poems are in a narrative, verse format, or are vignettes that describe the emotional impact felt by those who have experienced war, either as a participant or a family member. One of the most moving of the latter type, about a soldier on leave far from his family at Christmas time, is “Once More” by Hopkins: “Outside the church/I wait./Wait for someone/anyone/to invite me/for a longing/Christmas dinner./No one does.”  Reading it made me want to investigate inviting a soldier to my next holiday dinner.

Most of the poems appear on a single ivory page with accompanying watercolor illustrations by Stephen Acorn.  The illustrations add visual interest to the text, with subtle colors and figures that meander across the pages and include complimentary themes that enhance the poems themselves. The access features in the book include a table of contents, by war, an introduction, and indices of authors, titles and first lines.

In his introduction, Lee Bennett Hopkins states that the book is not about war, but is about the poetry of war, and he has compiled a rich collection of poems that evoke the thoughts and strong emotions that are precipitated by the tragedies of war.  From the battle cry of “Battle of Bunker Hill -1775", by Ann Whitford Paul, a father’s grief in “The Pony Chair” by Tony Johnson, a sister’s loneliness in “Missing,” by Cynthia Cotten, the perspective of the “enemy” in “War is the Fiercest Art,” by Sara Holbrook to the brief, yet powerful reflection in “Mechanical Birds,” by Denver Butson (“today let’s forget to remember how slain our hearts will be when it’s over”), these poems all cause the reader to reflect, often painfully, on the consequences of war for those soldiers who have risked their lives and for their loved ones left behind.

Sharing the Poetry:

America at War is geared toward older children; it would not be grasped well by children who have not been exposed to American history or news about war. However,  middle school or high school teachers could use this book to share poems in conjunction with units on the various wars, or for Veteran’s Day. 

In high school English, one of the novels frequently read and discussed is The Things They Carried, by Tim Obrien: a collection of stories about a platoon of American soldiers in the Vietnam War.  One of the poems in America at War titled “Charms,” by Georgia Heard, could be read as part of a unit on the O'Brien book, and could coincide with a discussion about what kinds of things the students would carry with them if they were to be separated from loved ones for a long time.  Ms. Heard’s poem paints a strong picture in a few short sentences of soldiers in the Vietnam War and their desperation and longing for home.

Selected Poem: 

“Charms” by Georgia Heard

Soldiers stuck the ace of spades into helmet bands,

lugged Bibles through jungles in backpacks,

cradled Mezuzahs, locks of hair, crumpled photos

of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, the Pope,

The Beatles, in camouflage pockets.  Crosses,

St. Christophers dangled from strong necks,

resting against fearful hearts.

They slept with creased snapshots of families,

wives, kids, dogs, clutched tightly in their fists.

One soldier even carried a homemade oatmeal cookie

his entire tour of Vietnam, swaddled in tin foil.

When he was homesick

          he unwrapped it,

                   held it up to his nose,

                             to smell

                                      what home 

                                                was like.

References

Books in Print. n.d. America at War, by Lee Bennett Hopkins. http://ezproxy.twu.edu:2125/DetailedView.aspx?hreciid=|20309994|13444802&mc=USA#

Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database. n.d. America at War by Lee Bennett Hopkins. http://ezproxy.twu.edu:4529/index.php/jbookdetail/jqbookdetail?page=1&pos=3&isbn=9781416918325