Poems of a past war that `speak to the present’

Poets of World War II: American Poets Project

Edited by Harvey Shapiro

Library of America, 262 pages, $20

Poet and former Air Force radio gunner Harvey Shapiro writes in his introduction that “these poems of a war fought over fifty years ago continue to speak to the present.” He has assembled the work of 62 poets, many of whom served in the military and some of whom were conscientious objectors. Together they hurtle one back into a terrifying time that feels familiar today.