Skip to main content
Article
Bridging the Distances: Women Writers Exploring the Nightmare of Vietnam
Women's Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal (2015)
  • Christina Triezenberg, Grand Valley State University
Abstract
This essay seeks to challenge the now-common practice of excluding Vietnam-era antiwar verse from contemporary literary anthologies by exploring the works produced by professional and amateur female poets who, in many cases, had witnessed the war firsthand and reflected on their experiences in verse that depicts the often harsh realities of this still-contested conflict. By exploring poetry written by women who served in a variety of capacities during the war, this essay underscores the repeated attempts made by women writers to bridge the distances between the home front and the battlefront and offers a compelling argument about the importance of these historically significant works being included in classroom teaching anthologies in order to enable younger Americans, and readers in general, to better understand the troubling legacy of the United States’ involvement in Vietnam.
Keywords
  • women writers,
  • antiwar poetry,
  • Vietnam War,
  • teaching anthologies,
  • canon formation
Publication Date
Summer July 3, 2015
Citation Information
Christina Triezenberg. "Bridging the Distances: Women Writers Exploring the Nightmare of Vietnam" Women's Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal Vol. 44 Iss. 5 (2015)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/christina_triezenberg/3/