Poets Against the War reading in Iowa from November 2005

Another gift of blogging is the daily opportunity not only to engage a subject--in this case, the ongoing interactions between poetry and the peace movement--but also to discover resources that I have missed, to devote a small chunk of my day to keeping up to date. In recognition of the publication of Behind the Lines, The University of Iowa's "Virtual Writing University" posted their audio of the Iowa Poets Against the War reading from 2005. Among the poets: Marvin Bell, Kiki Petrosino, David Hamilton, John Mateer, James Galvin, James McKean, Dave Morice, Mani Rao, Mary Swander, Mary Ruefle, Jan Weissmiller, and Dean Young. Only Marvin Bell gets a brief mention in my book, so I look forward in a future post to comment on this reading and explore these poets.

Listen to the audio of the Iowa Writer's Workshop's "Poets Against the War" reading from 2005.

Here's the breakdown:

Marvin Bell reads the following poems: "I Didn't Sleep;" "A Lesson from the Core;" and "Hard Times for Army Recruiters."

James Galvin reads the following poems: "Nike;" and "What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up."

David Hamilton reads two poems by Margaret Gibson: "Fuel;"and "Moment." He reads an excerpt from the August, 1804 journal of Lewis and Clark, then reads a poem of his own, "Someone."

John Mateer reads the following poems: "The Bombing;"and "One Year."

James McKean reads an excerpt of Robert Lowell's "Near the Ocean," and a poem of his own, "Policy." He reads the last stanza of W.H. Auden's poem "September 1, 1939."

Dave Morice sings "Deep in the Heart of Bagdhad."

Mani Rao performs two songs. The first song is untitled, but the first line is "Protect me from myself." The second song is titled "Bush."

Mary Ruefle reads a poems that begins with the line, "War engenders violence." She reads John Berryman's "Snowline," and Gerard Manley Hopkins' "Binsey Poplars," and Walt Whitman's "Look Down, Fair Moon."

Mary Swander reads from her book, Crazy Eddy on the Judgement Day.

Jan Weissmiller reads "Eye on Apocalypse;" and "Tribute." She reads Emily Dickinson's "My Life Had Stood - a Loaded Gun."

Dean Young reads "Primitive Mentor." He reads the last stanza of Kenneth Koch's "The Pleasures of Peace."