Writers compose poems to protest war
'Poets Against the War' to send 15,000 works to White House, Congress
They have the tanks.
We have the poems.
Yet we shall win in the end.
Because not even all the power
of an army can change
one human heart.
Brian Daldorph knows his six-line poem isn’t likely to change the apparent collision course between the United States and Iraq, but when it’s delivered today along with about 15,000 other poems to members of Congress, the Kansas University assistant professor of English will voice his opinion in the way he knows best — by writing.
“I think writers have a duty to act as a sort of conscience to society,” he said.
Daldorph is one of about 15 Lawrence poets who submitted works to Poets Against the War, a group that started last month after the White House canceled its “Poetry and the American Voice” symposium amid rumors some of the poets planned to take a stand against the war at the event.
In addition to an event today in Washington, D.C., to present the poems to Congress, poets will conduct readings across the country. The Lawrence reading will be at 7:30 p.m. at Cafe Luna, 620 W. 12th Street. Daldorph said anyone is welcome to read a poem at the event.
“I think the administration, at the end of the summer, came on very strong and insisted in every way that war is necessary, and they weren’t listening to voices objecting to their policy,” Daldorph said. “For many of us, we just wanted to express our opinion. As far as we can see, the case for the war hasn’t been made.”
Submitting a poem was a natural fit for Lawrence resident Philip Kimball. He retooled some of the letters he submitted to the Journal-World into a poem called, “Dubya straps his war sonnet on.”
“Everyone does what one can,” he said. “If you’re a writer, that’s what you do.”
Kimball said his main objection to the war was how he thought it would damage the United States’ image in the rest of the world.
“It’s clear the military part will be like shooting fish in a barrel,” he said. “It’s going to be blood for the fish in the barrel. Instead of fish, it’s going to be children and women and innocent civilians. It’s going to be a worldwide P.R. disaster.”
Kimball doubts his poem — or even 15,000 poems — will make any difference in foreign policy. But he said it was his duty to state his opposition.
“I’m not sure it changes anything, other than I’m on the record opposing it,” he said. “It’ll be impressive in hindsight, when they start writing the history of this whole debacle.”
Poets For Peace