The Pity of War: The Remarkable Poets of World War I

As leaves fall, mid-November invites us to remember fallen soldiers, especially those of World War I. Willequet Manuel/Shutterstock

For most of us, November is one of those in-between months, in this case a pause between October’s glorious colors and the iron-dark days of winter. November brings Americans Thanksgiving, with its family gatherings, sumptuous feasts, and for some, football games, followed immediately by Black Friday, the Christmas shopping day after Thanksgiving when all the crazy sales begin and retailers long for crowds at the doors of their stores and shops. For Roman Catholics and some other Christians, November means All Saints Day and All Souls Day, when they remember their saints and pray for their dead.

And for some who are historically minded, November is the month to reflect on the disaster that was World War I.

 The War to End All Wars

The year was 1918. At the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month, the Great War, as some later called it, came to an end. World War I killed 17 million soldiers, sailors, airmen, and civilians; it wounded, crippled, and maimed many others. It toppled kings and empires, sounded the death knell of European colonialism, brought communism to Russia, ushered in the rise of fascism in other countries, and left the United States the leading economic power in the world.