“We Lived Happily During the War” by Ilya Kaminsky (2013)
Author: Ilya Kaminsky
Kaminsky, Ilya. “We Lived Happily during the War by Ilya Kaminsky.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, 2013, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/91413/we-lived-happily-during-the-war.
1 additions to document , most recent about 2 years ago
| When | Why |
|---|---|
| Mar-24-22 | Ilya Kaminsky reads “We Lived Happily During the War” |
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And when they bombed other people’s houses, we
protested
but not enough, we opposed them but not
enough.
I was
in my bed, around my bed America
was falling: invisible house by invisible house by invisible house.
I took a chair outside and watched the sun.
In the sixth month
of a disastrous reign in the house of money
in the street of money in the city of money in the country of money,
our great country of money, we (forgive us)
lived happily during the war.
“We Lived Happily During the War” from the Poetry International website. Copyright © 2013 by Ilya Kaminsky. Reprinted by permission of Ilya Kaminsky.
Source: Poetry International 2013 (Poetry International website, 2013
Added March 24, 2022 at 9:33am
by Paul Allison
Title: Ilya Kaminsky reads “We Lived Happily During the War”
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We had a student compete in Poetry Out Loud, she used this poem- tonight, they will show these poems, and I do believe this is one of them they will show :) Here is the link for the YouTube premiere of the Delaware Poetry Out Loud state finals:https://youtu.be/Xreu0krcYzk
It is scheduled for Thursday, March 10th, 2022 at 7pm with a 5 minute countdown.
The writer clearly shows a shift in her perspective about war and its effects on society. She starts out saying that she and others protested “but not enough” and opposed the bombing “but not enough”. She takes this a step further by saying that, for her, the war was constantly present, leading her to take a chair outside to watch the sun. This indicates a shift in understanding, showing that the writer is recognizing the reality of war even though she wasn’t able to physically be involved in the protests or oppose the bombing. This is a significant change and shows how the writer has become aware of the realities of war despite not being able to do anything to stop it. Let’s re-read the poem and find other ways it has affected the writer’s perspective.
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