Some Moments in a Gentle War

There is a war to be won, but-David's poems argue-it must be fought gently. There are moments when we feel we may win. His poems tell the stories of such moments. Gently. In vigorous iambic pentameter! Some have won prizes: Able Muse, Southwest Review, Georgia Review. The celebration of what happened: "Some Moments in a Gentle War." 

There are moments we need to celebrate and David Landon has done just that in his new book of poems: moments in a caf© on New York's Upper West Side, on a hilltop overlooking the Ohio River, on a mountain top in East Africa, a mountain top in Tennessee, in an apartment overlooking the Hudson River. The poems tell the story of our "gentle war", our commitment, at times a struggle, to care for each other and our world, from moment to moment, from day to day, from year to year. To fight the gentle war is to live in protest against that other war, a war associated in several of the poems with "history": reckless ambition, abuse of power, indifference to suffering, violence. But there are moments-at times mysterious-when we feel our commitment to gentleness will win. David wants to commemorate those moments. In iambic pentameter? It is a meter usually more vigorous than gentle. But there are moments we need to remember and celebrate with gentle vigor! Some of those moments have won prizes: Able Muse, Southwest Review, Georgia Review. The celebration of what happened: "Some Moments in a Gentle War."