All Purls. No Swine.
...is to tell their stories. That's what I've tried to do, over the years with my family members, my friends, and many others I've lost over the years. Some of them certainly didn't start out as natural allies. But they all ended up beloved. And the only way I can insure that the world remembers… Continue reading The Best Way to Memorialize the Dead…
My subject is War and the pity of War. The poetry is in the pity"--Wilfred Owen Wilfred Edward Salter Owen, beloved son, accomplished poet, and soldier of The Great War, was born 128 years ago, on March 18, 1893 in Oswestry, a Welsh border town, in the county of Shropshire. Readers of Ellis Peters's Brother… Continue reading ‘Sweet and Fitting,’ or ‘Unworthy’ and ‘Distasteful?’ Wilfred Owen vs William Butler Yeats
Commemorating the Battle of Belleau Wood, 102 years ago this month, and Sergeant Daniel Joseph Daly, who is credited with shouting these words to his men, just before charging the Germans. It is reputed that Daly was twice offered a commission, and that he responded, on both occasions, that he would “rather be an outstanding… Continue reading “Come on, you sons of bitches! Do you want to live forever?”
I just ordered the blu-ray edition of what I think may be Peter Jackson's greatest movie, They Shall Not Grow Old. I say this as a fan of the Lord of the Rings movies to the extent that I binge-watch the three of them every year between Christmas and New Year's Day. I did this… Continue reading Movie Review: They Shall Not Grow Old