poetry

The War Prayer is Mark Twain's premier anti-war poem. Doves will love it; hawks will not - it is not a piece that will change anyone's mind on the ethics of war. It does, however, provide a moving illustration of how our prayers for our welfare are also prayers for the destruction of others. It recognizes that it is human nature to refuse to recognize the destructive side. It reminds one of the gap between recognized ideals and our actual conduct.

The drawings by John Groth add to the text but do not overcome the impression of a printing that was thrown together carelessly and quickly to meet political goals in our current crisis. Quality of production aside, it is worth while to see this side of Mark Twain's writing regardless of your views on war.

The "protest" writings of Mark Twain gained renewed interest during the anti-Viet Nam War Movement and the most prominant of these writings is "The War Prayer." From 1962 to 1973, it appeared in no fewer that 4 separate collections of his stories, including "A Pen Warmed Up in Hell'" and "The Damned Human Race." In 1970, Harper&Row published "The War Prayer" on its own , in hard cover, with haunting illustrations by John Groth. The story clocks in at slightly more than 1,200 words. It is Twain at his most economic. And most vehement. The story begins as an unnamed country prepares for war, its citizens awash with patriotic rapture. Parades, mass meetings and rousing speeches have almost everybody pumped and primed for a bloody good time. On the eve of battle, a service is held and the pastor invokes God's blessings on their cause and their armies. A stranger arrives "bearing a message from Almighty God." The Lord has heard their prayer, the messenger informs them, and is willing to grant it. But only after they have heard the unspoken portions of their prayer. The secret prayer, hidden in their hearts. Twain then unleashes a blunt tutorial on the ravages of war. "(H)elp us to tear their soldiers to bloody shreads with our shells,...Lay waste their humble homes,..wring the hearts of their offending widows...their little children to wander unfriended the wastes of their desolated land." Not exactly win-one-for-the-Gipper stuff. Just a handy reminder in the age of surgical strikes. In the Post Cold War Era, and 84 years after its initial publication, "The War Prayer" remains a devastating attack on any call to arms and the concept of just and winnable warfare.

Not only is this book super short and super easy to read, it is simulataneously thought-provoking. I am a fan of Mark Twain, and this book was a good one. It gives the "other side" view of war. Very eye-opening. You really should spend 5 minutes reading this book.