In 32 words, Deadline Poet Calvin Trillin summarizes the deadly, futile U.S. government invasions of Iraq with more wisdom than Presidents Bush and President Obama have been able to muster. (If youve never heard of the Deadline Poet feature, currently published in The Nation magazine, Trillin writes doggerel connected to headline news.) In The Nations Sept. 1 issue, Trillin, using the headline Radical Jihadists Gain Ground in Iraq, writes All the neocons said we must conquer Iraq; It could harbor a terrorist crew. So invade it we did, and because of that fact, What they made up has really come true. I realize some of my Facebook friends will disagree with Trillins views about Iraq. But perhaps youll find his past and future doggerel offerings more to your liking. Ive met Trillin, a fellow Missourian who has resided in New York City for a long time. Although I dont know him well personally, Ive absorbed countless thousands of his words during an approximately 50-year stretch, much of the writing originally appearing in The New Yorker magazine.. I cannot think of any full-time writer more skilled in so many genres: investigative journalism, novels, memoirs, biographies, food writing, humor, satire (political and otherwise). One of the most touching books Ive ever read is About Alice, Trillins eulogy to his wife.
Posted on: Sun, 31 Aug 2014 10:01:14 +0000