Dead on a High Hill

Memoirist, poet, editor, and Marine veteran, W.D. Ehrhart taught English and history at the Haverford School in Haverford, Pennsylvania. The author of twenty books, his prose and poetry have appeared in hundreds of publications including the Los Angeles Times, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Utne Reader, Reader’s Digest, American Poetry Review and the Virginia Quarterly Review. He was a major presence in the Ken Burns and Lynn Novick documentary The Vietnam War.

“this book contains many such small treasures, big ones too”—Veterans for Peace Newsletter; “As a poet and editor, Bill Ehrhart is clearly one of the major figures in Vietnam War literature”—John Newman, curator of the Vietnam War Literature Collection at Colorado State University; “one of the great poets and writers of nonfiction produced by the Vietnam War”—The Nation.

• Table of ContentsAcknowledgments      Preface      THE ESSAYSThe World Is Watching      Batter My Heart with the Liquor Store: or, Teaching Poetry to Teenagers      Hell’s Music: A Neglected Poem from a Neglected War      The Power to Declare      James Magner, Jr., William Meredith and Reg Saner: Reluctant Poets of the Korean War      What’s the Point of Poetry?      Kaleidoscope      Carrying the Ghost of Ray Catina      Good Fences Make Good Neighbors: A Brief History of National Myopia      What the Fuss Is All About      “I Have to Go Now. Bye!” A Remembrance of Gloria Emerson      Concerning Memorial Day      “Knock Their Jocks Off, Boys!”      The Value of Your Name      Words for John Balaban      Good Wars, Bad Wars, Forgotten Wars and Poetry      “They Want Enough Rice”: Reflections on the Late American War in Vietnam      Samuel Exler: The Poet as Historian      One, Two, Many Vietnams?      The Origins of Passion      The Pity of War Poetry      “That Damned Bad”: Fragments from the Life of Robert James Elliott      Con Thien and Dancin’ Jack      Dead on a High Hill: Poetry from the Korean War      Ken and Bill’s Excellent Adventure      Military History of W. D. Ehrhart      About the Author      Index