Customer Reviews

Against Forgetting: Twentieth-Century Poetry of Witness

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to the common lot, / survivor of that time, that place." Anna Akhmatova, one of the poets included in this anthology, wrote those words in the years before WWII as she struggled to survive, and express, life under Stalin.

Carolyn Forche has assembled this collection of poems, each of which expresses, in their own time and place, witness. This is not an idle witness, a standing by, a cool, detached observance. Forche writes in her introduction, "Modernity ...is marked by a superstitious worship of oppressive force and by a concomitant reliance on oblivion." The witness of these poets neither worships force nor accepts oblivion.

The effect of reading these poems, written in the face of war, genocide, oppression, despair and racism, even reading one or two at a time as I have been doing, raises the possibility that war, genocide, oppression, despair and racism are abject failures. Whatever their effects, they accomplish nothing. Resistance counts for everything. Pasternak, an included poet, described his novel in words which describe this volume: "besides the importance of described human lots and historical events there is an effort ... to portray the whole sequence of facts and beings and happenings like some moving entireness, like a developing, passing by, rolling and rushing inspiration, as if reality itself had freedom and choice and was composing itself out of numberless varients and versions."

Men and women from every continent give lie in their poems to the sad accusation that 'human dignity' and 'human rights' are 'western' or 'american' ideas imposed on the rest of the world. The oppressors are as likely to be 'western' and 'american' as anyone else. The witnesses "Against Forgetting" are everyone.

Because of witness, because of resistance, hope exists. As another poet (Muriel Rukeyser) suggests: The whole thing - waterfront, war, city, / sons, daughters, me - / Must be re-imagined, / Sun on the orange-red roof.

Great book. Absolutely great.

This volume was the focus of a poetry course (taught by Daniel Berrigan, whose poems are included in the text) I took as an undergrad. Unlike most college texts of which I have since disposed, _Against Forgetting_ easily became a cherished part of my library. This brilliant anthology is compiled with great respect and admiration for those remarkable individuals whose poetry it contains. It is a testament to human strengths, weaknesses, victories and failures, selfless love and senseless cruelty. Most importantly, it is illustrative of the unmistakably triumphant power of words woven into lines and stanzas. And, as such, this collection is incredibly empowering and inspiring. Needless to say, it is also a tribute to all who have ever perished in bitter wars and torturous exile... The poets whose work appears herein give voice, by extention, to those whose thoughts and speech were muffled and will never be heard.

Each section opens with an introduction to the era and the theme(i.e. "The Holocaust", "Repression in Eastern and Central Europe", "War in the Middle East"), and a very short biographical piece accompanies each poet's selection.

Wislawa Szymborska's "Children of the Epoch" ('We are children of the epoch. The epoch is political...') reflects many of the sentiments expressed throughout the entire volume, and is one of my favorites.

This "poetic memorial to those who suffered and resisted through poetry itself" (31) collects poems of witness from the Armenian genocide by Turkey to the anti-democracy repression of contemporary communist China, with World War I, Nazi Germany, Stalinist Russia, Vietnam, the battle for civil rights in the U.S., and the repressions of Central and South America in between. And more. It's pretty obvious here that, against the grain of much contemporary American poetry, poetry *does* have something to do with politics, especially as politics intrudes into the lives of people with destructive force.

Carolyn Forche has edited and collected one of the very,very few books that I would not want to be without.the poetry here starts with the Armenian genocide and works up until the Democracy movement in China in the early 90's. From the Shoah to the Russian winter,from the Middle east to the Spanish Civil War Ms. Forche` puts together the famous{Auden, Cummings,Pasternak, Garcia Lorca] to the little known at least here {Natayla Gorbenevskya, Nazim Hikmet...} I believe this to be a book necessary to understand the 20th century, surely the century of dictators and genocide,and also the century of hope and progress for so many...Ms. Forche is to be saluted,and thanked for this staggering,epochal effort.

The purposes of the anothology are stated in the title: Against Forgetting. Poetry of Witness. Forche confines the anthology to the century we have defined ourselves by - the XXth. Yet, the sections have explanations - material provided by Forche proving that already, this amnesia to the horrors of violence has been dooming us to repeat ourselves.

How better to transmit the lessons of culture, of the "political" and "patriotic" (along with their varying definitions) than through poetry?

The selections in this collection have been thoughtfully made and the translations are excellent. Without exception, we have a volume to force us to reflect, to ask ourselves difficult questions. We might not like our answers but perhaps we will have our own poems as well, and our poems will serve as an antidote to forgetting - perhaps they too, will bear witness should we not be able to.

Forché has collected poems of "144 ... poets who endured conditions of historical and social extremity during the twentieth century -- through exile, state censorship, political persecution, house arrest, torture, imprisonment, military occupation, warfare, and assassination."

Unlike many anthologies, Forché provides a wonderful introduction, and short biographies of each poet. The poems are divided into sections based on when and where the poets experienced "their extremity" when they wrote; it can't be perfect, but Forché does a great job.

The first chapter begins with the genocide of the Armenians. But it really doesn't matter where one begins (or where one ends), or how the poets suffered: they all have eerily similar tales to tell.

Forché set three criteria: the poets must have personally endured conditions "in extremis" due to reasons noted above; they must be considered important to their national literatures; and their work, if not in English, must be available in a quality translation.

This is a very thick book (over 800 pages) but she limits each poet to not more than four or five poems, thus permitting 144 authors altogether. Forché notes that this published collection accounts for only a quarter of all she has collected. Some of the poems she has translated herself.

Here are the sections: the Armenian genocide (1909 - 1918); World War I (1914 - 1918); revolution and repression in the Soviet Union (1917 - 1991); World War II (1939 - 1945); the Holocaust, the Shoah (1933 - 1945); repression in eastern and central Europe (1945 - 1991); war and dictatorship in the Mediterranean (1900 - 1991); the Indo-Pakistani wars (1947 - 1972); war in the Middle East (1948 - 1991); repression and revolution in Latin America (1900 - 1991); the struggle for civil rights and civil liberties in the United States (1900 - 1991); war in Korea and Vietnam (1945 - 1979); repression in Africa and the struggle against apartheid in South Africa (1900 - 1991); and, revolutions and the struggle for democracy in China (1911 - 1991).

The authors include so many of whom I have never heard, but there are so many that I recognize that it makes me look forward to reading again: Siegfried Sassoon, Wilfred Own, e.e. cummings, Robert Graves, André Breton, Boris Pasternak, Joseph Brodsky, W. H. Auden, Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, H. D., Bertolt Brecht, Stephen Spender, Dylan Thomas, Primo Levi.

I believe the author when she states she had no political agenda when taking on this project or when selecting these poems. I think she was simply overwhelmed by the human condition "in extremis" and realized it had to be collected for others to read.

Unlike the one reviewer who gave this one star, I did not find any evidence of politics and patriotism; quite the opposite. These were simply men and women who suffered and who were generous enough to capture it in poetry for future generations. For most, I am sure, poetry helped them survive....as long as they did. Some wrote their poetry while waiting to be assassinated by firing squads. It appears at least one wrote a few lines while still alive, but dying, on top of his comrades who had all been shot and were to be buried in a mass grave. That bit of poetry was found in his pocket when the body was exhumed decades later.

Although thick and heavy, it has a wonderful feel to it; nice paper and nice font. It is a bit heavy to be a carry-on but if it's your only book for a particular flight that will be fine.

This book has done so much to call us not to forget our own humanity. The impersonal power of war, the dehumanization of violent death at the hands of other humans- such tragedies as these call us to remember who we are as humans. It is one of the peculiarities of life that it is often at the brink of destruction that we see most clearly what our hearts have always spoken to us. In the violence of war and conflict, our thoughts often return to the simple things of life; the laughter of a child who lived next door, the smell of spring, the faces of old schoolmates.

This collection of poetry serves its title well. Only one poem spoken aptly to our heart calls us to our true selves, against forgetting.

You may also find the poems of Hermann Hesse of importance in this regard, along with the Penguin Book of First World War Poetry.

Hard to read so much about suffering, so take this in small doses! The selection seems good, each poem has much merit to distinguish. The way it is divided makes it easy to delve into the human cost of events, so for students trying to gain some perspective on those things this is a very good way.

Came in beautiful condition, very promptly, and autographed by the editor! What a treat that was to discover!

Please take the time to read a few of the sample poems. This book is a profound and moving account of suffering, loss, longing and hope that really hit home. THe poems will speak for themselves.

Hermann Hesse's "Poems" is also along this same line of thought and it is available in translation with the German on the facing page.