What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?

Only the monstrous anger of the guns.

Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle

Can patter out their hasty orisons....

  – Wilfred Owen, 'Anthem for Doomed Youth'.

Every year, I think I won't have to write about this.

Every year, I do.

So how do we write about war?

Possible Approach

Currently, in our own Peer Review, there is an entry entitled, 'War: What It Is Good For?'

The page is left blank. This approach has garnered widespread praise from reviewers. We concur with the sentiment, but point out that, most of the time, writers can't get away with that. Most of the time, if you want to say something about the futility of war, you've got to talk about it.

Possible Attitude

Brief self-test: what attitude do you think each of these books takes to war? What does the title tell you?

• The Red Badge of Courage
• Flags of Our Fathers
• The Longest Day
• Band of Brothers
• Johnny Got His Gun
• Not a Good Day to Die
• Things They Carried

Possible Point of View

Here's a question for you: Can you write about a war if you haven't been in one?

Ask a better question: Can you write about the civilian experience of war, if you've only been with the soldiers?

Whose view is more accurate, the general's, or the fleeing farmer's?

Whose story do you really want to tell?

Do you want to write one more heart-warming piece about 'supporting our troops', or do you want to start wondering about supporting the mother whose child has just been blown to bits by a land mine?

Why are there no medals for surviving an air raid on your home town?

Possible End of the Line

One final question: When will we be able to stop talking about war?

When the last swords have been beaten into ploughshares, or when the planet is a smoking ruin?

Peace, brothers and sisters.

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Dmitri Gheorgheni

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