The Written Image: Voices in Wartime

This image of an American infantryman comforting a soldier whose friend has been killed in action during the Korean War is taken from Voices in Wartime, a documentary about the experience of war as seen by soldiers, journalists, historians, and poets. The film, featuring contemporary poets Chris Abani, Sam Hamill, Marie Howe, and Todd Swift, along with the words of Emily Dickinson, Langston Hughes, Randall Jarrell, and Walt Whitman, among others, opened in select theaters nationwide last month. During the filming, director Rick

King, executive producer Andrew Himes, and others involved in the production decided to launch the Voices in Wartime Network, a nonprofit organization with a mission to address the collective trauma caused by war, and to allow people to express themselves artistically while working to create a less violent world. The organization’s Web site, www.voicesinwartime.org, offers poetry, stories, and essays, an online forum for live conversations, and a venue for posting original creative writing about the impact of war.