America at War »

LEE BENNETT HOPKINS is a distinguished poet, writer, and anthologist whose poetry collections include the highly acclaimed Hand in Hand: An American History Through Poetry, illustrated by Peter Fiore, and My America: A Poetry Atlas of the United States, and America at War, both illustrated by Stephen Alcorn. Mr. Hopkins's numerous awards include the University of Southern Mississippi Medallion for “lasting contributions to children's literature” and both the Christopher Award and a Golden Kite Honor for his verse novel Been to Yesterdays: Poems of a Life. He lives in Cape Coral, Florida.

Born in the United States, Stephen Alcorn spent his formative, teenage years in Florence, Italy, where he attended the Istituto Statale d'Arte, an experience that infused his work with an appreciation for history and a passion for experimentation in a multitude of mediums. Since then he has embraced an equally broad spectrum of themes and subjects, including the interpretation of literary classics, interpretation of poetry, nineteenth-century American history, and notably, the African-American experience — resulting in a stream of award-winning projects for adult, young adult, and young readers alike. America at War is Alcorn's fifth collaboration with Lee Bennett Hopkins.

Mr. Alcorn lives with his wife, Sabina, and four cats in an eighteenth-century farmhouse in the heart of Cambridge, New York, surrounded by the pastoral farmland of Washington County. An overview of his work may be viewed at www.alcorngallery.com.

A collection of poems about America at war from the Revolution to the Iraq war.

Publishers Weekly

As Hopkins (editor of Hand in Hand: An American History Through Poetry) takes pains to emphasize in his introduction, this anthology of 50-some poems is not about war itself but the "poetry of war" and the "emotions of warfare." Arranged in sections corresponding to eight wars, from the American Revolution to Vietnam, the Persian Gulf War and the current war in Iraq, the entries include classic choices (Stephen Crane, Walt Whitman) and orthodox subjects (a rousing call to "press on" during the Battle of Bunker Hill; the unease of the Civil War drummer boy on the eve of a battle), as well as famous poems used unexpectedly, like Langston Hughes's "Dreams" paired with a picture of an eagle (possibly "broken-winged" like the bird in the Hughes poem) holding an olive branch, in the Iraq War section. Over half of the poems have been commissioned for this book, however, and most of them sound prosaic next to their more distinguished antecedents ("A young widow trudges home,/ her pockets bulge with wild mushrooms./ Dare she eat them?/ What else can she feed her four hungry children?"). It may be Alcorn's metaphor-laden watercolors, with their heavy irony and bold graphics, that hold the audience's interest longest. Ages 8-up. (Mar.)

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