Vietnam War (and Antiwar) Literature 1
Part of the Contributions in Military Studies series, this unique collection of
essays examines the Vietnam conflict from multiple disciplines, including history,
literary analysis, and military studies.
Mark A. Heberle, ed., Thirty Years After: New Essays on Vietnam War, Literature
and Film (Newcastle upon Tyne, England: Cambridge Scholars Publishing,
2009).
Excellent collection of essays, including pieces on the Vietnamese diaspora and
on African American and Chicano representations in Vietnam War literature.
Stanley Karnow, Vietnam: A History, revised edition (New York: Penguin, 1997).
A well-written and comprehensive overview of the war that will help students
familiarize themselves with history of America’s involvement in Vietnam.
Kali Tal, “The Mind at War: Images of Women in Vietnam Novels by Combat
Veterans,” Contemporary Literature, 31 (Spring 1990): 76–96; also available at
http://www.kalital.com/Text/Articles/womenvn.html [accessed 19 March
2010].
Essay that examines the connection between healing and images of women in
novels written by veterans.
Mark Taylor, The Vietnam War in History, Literature, and Film (Tuscaloosa: Uni-
versity of Alabama Press, 2003).
An excellent overview of trends in depicting the Vietnam conflict in various
media.
PEOPLE OF I NTEREST
John Balaban (1943– )
Has written poetry, fiction, and nonfiction and has translated Vietnamese poetry.
He served as a civilian in Vietnam and later for the Quaker and Mennonite
Committee of Responsibility to Save War-Burned and War-Injured Children.
His works include After Our War (1974), Blue Mountain (1982), The Hawk’s Tale
(1988), Words for My Daughter (1991), and a memoir, Remembering Heaven’s Face:
A Moral Witness in Vietnam (1991).
Robert Bly (1926– )
Poet known for his activism who founded American Writers against the Vietnam
War. His collection The Light around the Body (1967) won the National Book
Award in 1968. Other works include Old Man Rubbing His Eyes (1974), Grati-
tude to Old Teachers (1993), Holes the Crickets Have Eaten in Blankets: A Sequence of
Poems (1997), and Eating the Honey of Words (1999).
Kevin Bowen (1947– )
Poet and translator whose works include a poetry collection, Playing Basketball with
the Viet Cong (1994), and Writing between the Lines: An Anthology on War and Its Social
Consequences (1997), which he coedited. He served in Vietnam in 1968–1969.