Buttercup Yellow Straw Boaters

Wars not only incorporate fear, destruction, and death, but also contain elements of literature: man's conflict with man and nature, his conflict with himself. World War One contrary to some of its historical profile was not the War to End All Wars nor was it, as some claimed, The Great War. Using primarily WW1, and selective offerings about more recent conflicts, the author, a pacifist, muses on the ugly beauty of war.

I began writing and reading poetry during the 1970s, while working as an historian at Michigan State University. Since my retirement in 2000 i have published poetry and short stories in a variety of journals. Before moving to Boulder, Colorado in 2002, I was a regular reader in The Lansing, Michigan Poetry Series. In Boulder, along with a friend Marty Wong I created Harry and Marty's Movable Poetry Feast. We sponsor readings of local and national poets throughout the year. In Boulder, I share my life with Margaret "Mitch" Stahl, enjoy time with Gillian and Jordan, to whom this volume is dedicated and spend as much time as my old body can tolerate playing basketball.