Valence: Considering War through Poetry and Theory

By: Susan Hawthorne

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Synopsis: Valence in chemistry, the number of bonds in an element's atom in linguistics, the number of arguments controlled by a verbal predicate in psychology, the emotional charge something has In this remarkable annotated poem, Susan Hawthorne commits to words the horrors of war that have been left unspoken. She shatters the conspiracy of silence and dares to draw links between militarism, fundamentalism and the sex industry. She rails against the violence of war and contemplates the link between place and the history of war that is infused into the earth. With a fresh examination of her surroundings, she considers the endless cycle of war that survives on the persistence of hope--hope of an end to war, hope of an end to suffering. This is a hope that Susan Hawthorne does not ultimately share, but her courage in telling the truth about war through her poetry is a gift for readers.