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Unwound: Poems from Enduring Wars
In a quietly epic narrative—lashed-together from the author’s life-experiences as husband and father, literary scholar, and U.S. Navy Reserve intelligence officer—Liam Corley’s debut collection of poetry,
Poems from Enduring Wars
, navigates with readers previously unseen frontiers in the Global War on Terror (GWOT).
With care and precision, Corley’s poems probe the dark, interior corners of American heroic ideals, marriage, family, and homecoming. In the collection’s titular poem, for example, he delivers “a poem for the other soldiers / citizens who never fired back [...]”
He
“[...] I see you with a yellow ribbon wound
tight around your chest, looking down
when asked about the war [...]”
For veterans, family members, and other citizens living in troubled times, Corley’s collection provides a beacon of clear-eyed reflection, assessment, and hopes for the future.
However we identify—whether wounded or unwounded, civilian or military—this is war poetry for the rest of us.
With care and precision, Corley’s poems probe the dark, interior corners of American heroic ideals, marriage, family, and homecoming. In the collection’s titular poem, for example, he delivers “a poem for the other soldiers / citizens who never fired back [...]”
He
“[...] I see you with a yellow ribbon wound
tight around your chest, looking down
when asked about the war [...]”
For veterans, family members, and other citizens living in troubled times, Corley’s collection provides a beacon of clear-eyed reflection, assessment, and hopes for the future.
However we identify—whether wounded or unwounded, civilian or military—this is war poetry for the rest of us.
- GenresPoetry
128 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 8, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 24, 2023
Powerful and bracing. Reading these poems is like inhabiting another skin. Corley has a gift for transporting his readings using carefully chosen details that resonate long after you've completed the collection. It's hard to choose just a few but standouts for me include "Last Day," "Not Now That Strength," and "Why the Cop Let Me Off."
I strongly recommend this collection even -- no, ESPECIALLY -- if you haven't served in the military. It will broaden your understanding, your empathy, and (possibly) your outrage.
Crossposted to Amazon
I strongly recommend this collection even -- no, ESPECIALLY -- if you haven't served in the military. It will broaden your understanding, your empathy, and (possibly) your outrage.
Crossposted to Amazon
August 13, 2023
Such a fantastic poetry debut! I love the various perspectives that war poetry can take, and Corley's 'Unwound' has the unique perspective of citizen/sailor/historian. Each poem takes the reader to a different thought process, which I like because I love being an active reader. Some poems are funny, some thought-provoking, and all a pleasure to read.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews