Poetry, along with other forms of creative writing, is often utilized by veterans to help cope with emotions and experiences that may otherwise be too difficult or traumatic to express or explore. The Veterans History Project (VHP) collects, preserves and makes accessible the firsthand narratives of U.S. military veterans who served from World War I through more recent conflicts and peacekeeping missions. Veterans, or their families, submit first-person narratives in the form of oral histories and original photograph and manuscript materials. Many of these manuscript materials, including original diaries and personal correspondence, include poems written about combat and other service experiences. In addition to collecting and preserving examples of poems written by U.S. veterans - both during and after service - the Veterans History Project and American Folklife Center, in conjunction with partners from inside and outside the Library, have engaged Veteran poets in public programs to explore the ways that poetry can help process memories of service.
The collections presented here are only a fraction of the wide variety of poems found in VHP collections.
Air Force G.I.s performing songs and poems [sound recording]
Louis Milton Ronsheim collectionA portion of this collection is included in the online presentation hosted on the Veterans History Project. The poems and memoirs are only accessible onsite at the Library.
James David Tuczak collectionA portion of this collection is included in the online presentation hosted on the Veterans History Project.
Anthology of folk literature of soldiers of the Pacific theater, 1947, July by In honor of Veterans Day in 2018, the Library sponsored a symposium on the veterans' "road back," focusing on the use of poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction as a means of coping with service experience.
As a part of a 2019 Veterans History Project art showcase, a panel of occupational poets read and discussed their work. Occupational poetry is a category of verbal art in the form of folk poetry that is anchored in communities of work, often manifesting in the everyday settings of jobs and employment. Folklore scholarship and fieldwork has focused on the poetic traditions within a narrow range of occupational roles, including miners, commercial fishers, veterans and cowboys.
In honor of Veterans Day, the Library sponsored a series of readings on the veterans' "road back," focusing on the use of poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction as a means of coping with service experience. Poets Bill Jones, Vess Quinlan, Dave Richmond and Bruce Weigl discussed their favorite World War I writers and shared selections of their work.
