New Way of Seeing: Distance and Traumatic Memory in the Poetry of World War II [Hardback]

"A New Way of Seeing considers the poetry of five writers-Louis Simpson, Keith Douglas, Richard Hugo, Howard Nemerov, and Randall Jarrell-whose work draws on their experiences as soldiers in World War II. Basing his study on extensive archival research, Michael Sarnowski identifies distance and traumatic memory as two defining, interconnected elements of how these poets processed their wartime activities in subsequent literary works. By positioning underrecognized poets and poems alongside routinely anthologized ones, Sarnowski's work expands the canon of World War II poetry to include authors like Hugo, who is rarely studied as a war poet, while also contributing original research into the origins of popular works such as Jarrell's "The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner," Simpson's "On the Lawn at the Villa," and Douglas's "Landscape with Figures." The book is structured on a gradient of distance for each poet's proximity to combat, as the chapters in turn focus on an infantryman (Simpson), a tank commander (Douglas), a bombardier (Hugo), a pilot (Nemerov), and a stateside flight instructor (Jarrell). Each chapter analyzes how distances, both literal and figurative, and traumatic memory prove central to the ways in which the poets internalized the war andmade sense of their experiences. Sarnowski incorporates a wealth of archival material overlooked by previous scholarship, including poem drafts, V-letters, correspondence, flight logs, and personal belongings. In its conclusion, A New Way of Seeing revisits notions of legacy and representation by considering factors that contributed to the early labeling of World War II soldiers as a "Silent Generation," in contrast to the outpouring of poetry published during and following the First World War. By foregrounding the presence of distance and traumatic memory in works by poets who served in WWII, Sarnowski offers a stark reminder of why it is important to recognize the physical, mental, and psychological consequences endured by veterans"--

A New Way of Seeing considers the poetry of five writers—Louis Simpson, Keith Douglas, Richard Hugo, Howard Nemerov, and Randall Jarrell—whose work draws on their activities as soldiers in World War II. Basing his examination on extensive primary-source research, Michael Sarnowski identifies distance, both literal and figurative, and traumatic memory as two interconnected elements of how these poets internalized the war and made sense of the events they witnessed.

The book is structured on a gradient related to each poet’s proximity to combat, as the chapters in turn focus on an infantryman (Simpson), a tank commander (Douglas), a bombardier (Hugo), a pilot (Nemerov), and a stateside flight instructor (Jarrell). Sarnowski relies on a wealth of archival material overlooked by previous scholarship, including poem drafts, correspondence, flight logs, and personal belongings. The conclusion revisits notions of legacy and representation by assessing factors that contributed to the early labeling of World War II soldiers as a “Silent Generation,” in contrast to the outpouring of poetry published during and following the First World War.

By exploring how poets processed their wartime experiences, A New Way of Seeing offers a stark reminder of why it remains vital to recognize the physical, mental, and psychological consequences endured by veterans.