Tag Archives: World War I

Memorial Day Poem: “Vigil Strange I Kept on the Field One Night”

Death of a son and comrade

Memorial Day has its roots in the American Civil War. Both the North and South wanted to set aside days to honor their dead. After World War I, the country set aside a day to honor all Americans killed in … Continue reading

Posted in The Next Chapter | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“In Flanders Fields” by John McCrae

A doctor's poem to his dead friend sparks a movement

“In Flanders Fields” by John McCrae was inspired by World War I, which was known sadly and incorrectly as the war to end all wars. On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was assassinated while touring … Continue reading

Posted in The Next Chapter | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“I Have a Rendezvous with Death” by Alan Seeger

A young poet foretells his own death

Poet Alan Seeger wrote “I Have a Rendezvous with Death” sometime during World War I. His premonition proved accurate. Seeger was shot in the stomach and died in 1916 during the Battle of Somme. The first few lines of “I Have … Continue reading

Posted in The Next Chapter | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“To An Athlete Dying Young” by A.E. Housman

The benefits of living a short life

Alfred Edward Housman’s poem “To an Athlete Dying Young” was published in 1896. Housman was a professor of Latin at the University of London and, finally, at Cambridge. His sad, pessimistic poems spoke to a generation on the brink of … Continue reading

Posted in The Next Chapter | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

All’s Fair In Love And War…Except At Christmas

Why World War I troops ceased fire on this day in 1914

On December 25, 1914, British and German troops gave each other one of the greatest gifts of all time: an unofficial truce. I know that “We’ll stop shooting at your heads for a few days” doesn’t sound like a loving … Continue reading

Posted in Cultural Perspectives | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Kyrie” by Ellen Bryant Voigt

Ellen Bryant Voigt's sonnet sequence on the post-WWI Influenza of 1918

Few may be familiar with the Influenza of 1918. Although it took half a million lives in the U.S. and 25 million worldwide, most of whom were young adults, the pandemic somehow eludes due emphasis in our history books. One … Continue reading

Posted in Lending Insight | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment