
Letter Composed During a Lull in the Fighting (Hardback)
Kevin Powers (author)Published: 03/04/2014
Shortlisted for the 2014 TS Eliot Prize
Shortlisted for the 2014 Forward Prize for Best First Collection
Poetry Book Society Choice
In this remarkable debut poetry collection, National Book Award finalist and Iraq war veteran Kevin Powers creates a startling, affecting portrait of a life shaped by war. LETTER COMPOSED DURING A LULL IN THE FIGHTING captures the many moments that comprise a soldier's life: driving down the Texas highway; waiting for the unknown in the dry Iraq heat; writing a love letter; listening to a mother recount her dreams. Written with honesty and insight, these poems strive to make sense of war and its echoes through human experience.
Just as THE YELLOW BIRDS was hailed as the 'first literary masterpiece produced by the Iraq war,' (Los Angeles Times) this collection will prove to be a powerful, enduring classic.
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
ISBN: 9781444780819
Number of pages: 112
Weight: 270 g
Dimensions: 223 x 143 x 17 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
Extraordinary...Brilliantly observed and deeply affecting. * Michiko Kakutani, New York Times on THE YELLOW BIRDS *
Powers is a poet first, so THE YELLOW BIRDS is spare, incredibly precise, unimproveable. * Dave Eggers, Observer *
Kevin Powers has produced a masterpiece of war literature and a classic. * Hilary Mantel, Times, on THE YELLOW BIRDS *
There is a plain-speaking, backyard tone to these poems, its ancestry stretching all the way back to such writers as Fenimore Cooper and Washington Irving... it is probably advisable to dip into this piecemeal rather than attempt to absorb its brutal richesse in one sitting... To paraphrase Samuel Johnson, perhaps every poet should think meanly of himself for not producing a debut collection quite as powerful as this one. * Sunday Express *
A powerful and very affecting collection. * Poetry London *
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“Interesting”
I'm not a poetry reader usually, but I really enjoyed this anthology. It gives a new perspective to war and some of the poems were quite moving. There were a few that I just didn't comprehend, but... More

“A wonderful collection of narrative poetry”
Powers’ poetry is almost an anecdotal representative of his life as a soldier and, while thought provoking, is often difficult to appreciate because of its specificity. Often there are only a few lines of the poem... More
“A Collection of Hidden surprises”
Not really being a poetry reader and lover this was both an interesting yet challenging book to read and explore: this being the 2nd book by Kevin Powers, a follow up to 'The Yellow Birds'.
Well it was a...
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