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Razed Monuments
" Razed Monuments is a powerful representation of the Holocaust. It is like a time capsule recorded today in an artistic form to be used by future generations. Well done." -Stephen "Pista" Nasser , Holocaust survivor and author of My Brother's Voice & Journey to Freedom "On behalf of my mother, I would like to thank Tim Heerdink for keeping my mother's message, story, and life lessons alive." -Alex Kor, son of Eva Mozes Kor "In "I am Not a Jew," a reader asks the author, why he cares so much about the Holocaust, to which Heerdink responds, "How can one care so little?" In these ambitious, heartfelt narrative poems, Heerdink gives voice to the voiceless and the personal becomes political. His message is clear. All of history, especially the holocaust can happen again if we let it." -Margaret McMullan , author of Where the Angels Lived
42 pages, Hardcover
Published December 4, 2020
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About the author
Tim Heerdink
27 books15 followersTim Heerdink is the author of Somniloquy & Trauma in the Knottseau Well, The Human Remains, Red Flag and Other Poems, Razed Monuments, Checking Tickets on Oumaumua, Sailing the Edge of Time, I Hear a Siren’s Call, Ghost Map, A Cacophony of Birds in the House of Dread, Tabletop Anxieties & Sweet Decay (with Tony Brewer) and short stories “The Tithing of Man” and “HEA-VEN2”. His poems appear in various journals and anthologies. He is the President of Midwest Writers Guild of Evansville, Indiana.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 15, 2021
Reading about the holocaust is never a pleasant or enjoyable experience, however necessary that reading may be. The stories, the terror, the death, the cruelty and even as i type it those words are not stark or horrible enough to explain the genocide of World War II or any genocide for that matter. Tim Heerdink tackles the holocaust head on this new collection "Razed Monuments' and he proves himself adept at retelling and confronting those horrible years, he does so while holding onto the shred of hope that comes with being a survivor. These are gripping poems, even more important in a country where the shadow of nativism is rearing it's ugly head and hate crimes are on the rise. This book explains what we've seen and is a warning to all of us to stamp those ideas out at their root. With each poem you find yourself saying this should never have happened, this should never happen again. Now repeat that thought, say it out loud and live it like a prayer.
December 21, 2020
I love how passionate Heerdink is about the Holocaust. As I stated in my review for his last book, The Human Remains; history has always been tough for me, but Heerdink makes his readers see the emotional side of these historical events rather than just the dry textbook side which makes it all a little easier to connect to.
This collection is especially helpful for someone like me, someone who claims history is not easy for them, because Heerdink takes the extra step to make the connections to present day issues. While I may not agree with everything this poet states in his poems, I do find his connections powerful and thought-worthy.
“Seventh of December” is one of my favorites in this collection, but it also makes me feel kind of guilty. That’s probably the point. “Many desire change for the world / but lack the motivation for action / until conflict hits home / where it hurts ... We lie down with our mouths shut / not because a gun is facing our direction / but for the same reason it’s been / throughout our bloody existence. / A prayer that all the bad / shall surely fix itself / and our own responsibility / is not necessary.”
“Toleration” encompasses much of my own frustrations about censorship. I see this all the time in a conservative English classroom. I can’t read certain canonical stories (The Crucible) with teenagers (17-18) because I’m “teaching witchcraft,” according to one parent. I’ve had to come up with alternate assignments for three separate students when reading The Crucible in class. Finding contemporary literature to read with my class that all students will “be comfortable” with is nearly impossible. English classes should be a safe, ideal place to “feel uncomfortable” in this sense because we can teach our students how to deal with that kind of feeling. If we don’t teach our students what to do with that emotion, then Heerdink’s questions could become a scary reality: “If we can’t tolerate feeling / uncomfortable / what will happen / when someone makes us upset? / What if they are / different? / Shall we rid of them as well?”
It is clear that Heerdink doesn’t write these poems because we wants to. He writes them because he feels he has to. He has an important message to share with current and future generations. With this collection, he has done that; now it’s our turn to do something with that message:
“Ending a life / for being / what cannot be changed. / Hate spread through fear, / propaganda’s desired result. / Today is no different / than any page in the book / of our past. / There’s always a target, / a scapegoat.”
“No, I am not a Jew, / but I stand for anyone / who needs a voice / and a hand. / The Holocaust shall never be forgotten. / We must remember / what we’ve done / and stop the forces that be / before it happens again.”
This collection is especially helpful for someone like me, someone who claims history is not easy for them, because Heerdink takes the extra step to make the connections to present day issues. While I may not agree with everything this poet states in his poems, I do find his connections powerful and thought-worthy.
“Seventh of December” is one of my favorites in this collection, but it also makes me feel kind of guilty. That’s probably the point. “Many desire change for the world / but lack the motivation for action / until conflict hits home / where it hurts ... We lie down with our mouths shut / not because a gun is facing our direction / but for the same reason it’s been / throughout our bloody existence. / A prayer that all the bad / shall surely fix itself / and our own responsibility / is not necessary.”
“Toleration” encompasses much of my own frustrations about censorship. I see this all the time in a conservative English classroom. I can’t read certain canonical stories (The Crucible) with teenagers (17-18) because I’m “teaching witchcraft,” according to one parent. I’ve had to come up with alternate assignments for three separate students when reading The Crucible in class. Finding contemporary literature to read with my class that all students will “be comfortable” with is nearly impossible. English classes should be a safe, ideal place to “feel uncomfortable” in this sense because we can teach our students how to deal with that kind of feeling. If we don’t teach our students what to do with that emotion, then Heerdink’s questions could become a scary reality: “If we can’t tolerate feeling / uncomfortable / what will happen / when someone makes us upset? / What if they are / different? / Shall we rid of them as well?”
It is clear that Heerdink doesn’t write these poems because we wants to. He writes them because he feels he has to. He has an important message to share with current and future generations. With this collection, he has done that; now it’s our turn to do something with that message:
“Ending a life / for being / what cannot be changed. / Hate spread through fear, / propaganda’s desired result. / Today is no different / than any page in the book / of our past. / There’s always a target, / a scapegoat.”
“No, I am not a Jew, / but I stand for anyone / who needs a voice / and a hand. / The Holocaust shall never be forgotten. / We must remember / what we’ve done / and stop the forces that be / before it happens again.”
January 3, 2021
Razed Monuments, the newest collection by Tim Heerdink is a walk through the yards and barracks and chambers of the internment camps that are so easily forgotten in such times. Yet more than that it is a walk through the barracks and chambers of the minds and hearts of the nameless multitudes who died or carry the scars of this dark chapter in history.
Tim Heerdink gives a voice to those who can't speak for themselves. An important task indeed! Highly recommended!
Tim Heerdink gives a voice to those who can't speak for themselves. An important task indeed! Highly recommended!
December 6, 2020
"The follow-up to Heerdink's Red Flag and Other Poems revisits the subject of the Holocaust in further detail with scenes from the past while looking at the wreckage of the present, wondering if society can use preservation to not only remember history but protect the future."
- Tim Heerdink, author of Razed Monuments, The Human Remains, and Red Flag and Other Poems
- Tim Heerdink, author of Razed Monuments, The Human Remains, and Red Flag and Other Poems
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews