Why War Is Never a Good Idea

Though War is Old

It has not

Become wise.

Poet and activist Alice Walker personifies the power and wanton devastation of war in this evocative poem.

Stefano Vitale’s compelling paintings illustrate this unflinching look at war’s destructive nature and unforeseen consequences.

Alice Walker is an internationally celebrated writer, poet, and activist whose books include seven novels, four collections of short stories, five children’s books, and several volumes of essays and poetry. She has received the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction and the National Book Award, and has been honored with the O. Henry Award, the Lillian Smith Award, and the Mahmoud Darwish Literary Prize for Fiction. She was inducted into the California Hall of Fame and received the Lennon Ono Peace Award. Her work has been published in forty languages worldwide.

Stefano Vitale's award-winning artwork appears in galleries and exhibitions as well as in such picture books as When the Wind Stops, by Charlotte Zolotow (an ALA Notable Book). Mr. Vitale is a graduate of the University of Southern California and of the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. He lives with his family in Venice, Italy.