Synopses & Reviews
Born the year World War I began, acclaimed poet William Stafford (1914-1993) spent World War II in a camp for conscientious objectors. Throughout a century of conflict he remained convinced that wars simply dont work. In his writings, Stafford showed it is possibleand crucialto think independently when fanatics act, and to speak for reconciliation when nations take sides. He believed it was a failure of imagination to only see two options: to fight or to run away.
This book gathers the evidence of a lifetimes commitment to nonviolence, including an account of Staffords near-hanging at the hands of American patriots. In excerpts from his daily journal from 1951-1991, Stafford uses questions, alternative views of history, lyric invitations, and direct assessments of our political habits to suggest another way than war. Many of these statements are published here for the first time, together with a generous selection of Staffords pacifist poems and interviews from elusive sources.
Stafford provides an alternative approach to a nations military habit, our current administrations aggressive instincts, and our legacy of armed ventures in Europe, the Pacific, Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and beyond.
Review
"If you are at all interested in the topics of war, pacifism, judgementalism, social responsibility, or if you just like good writing, you can't go wrong with Every War Has Two Losers." Doug Brown, Powells.com (read the entire Powells.com review)
Synopsis
Throughout most of the 20th century, from World War I until his death in 1993, America poet and pacifist William Stafford remained convinced that wars don't work. In his poetry and other writing, he showed that it is crucial to think independently when fanatics act and to speak for reconciliation when nations take sides. This inspiring volume collects the antiwar writings of this lifelong advocate for peace: journal excerpts, pacifist poems, interviews, and an account of his own near-hanging at the hands of American patriots. In thought-provoking passages sure to strike a chord today, he assesses U.S. political habits and suggests that there are always alternative approaches to aggression. This powerful book about nonviolence includes never-before-published excerpts from William Stafford's daily journal from 1951 to 1991.
Synopsis
Stafford (1914-1993) is known as one of America's finest poets, and equally well known as a lifelong pacifist, maintaining a consistent nonviolent position through the course of a violent century. Every War Has Two Losers presents a timely and thoughtful selection of Stafford writings about peace and war.