War and the Arc of Human Experience (ii)

from anthropologist Glenn Petersen

Reading the author’s introduction to a book I plan to write about briefly and continually for 20 years, among all the world’s authors of Viet Nam no one has ever heard of.

Well that’s funny, I remarked, this is all common sense about the war, stuff I say, that I never have seen in print. I finished then read the thanks he makes at the end.

Cool. Some very cool people here. People I venerate and some I think highly of while disagreeing with them.

And some guy named Dan Duffy, who never has published a peer-reviewed paper, or any book under that name. I have never met the man thanking me.

Years ago when I was often thanked in books I felt bad about it. It did not seem to me that I had done much for my talented friends beyond a phone number, a recommendation.

I felt that I had somehow communicated a neediness to them. Manipulated people.

Now I think not, but then I felt bad. Bad. Medically bad.

This man, I don’t know what I did for him. But I feel really good about it.

Viet Nam letters has addressed War and the Arc of Human Experience by Glenn Petersen 7 times so far. The first posted on February 19, 2022.

Then the third came March 28, 2022 and the fourth on April 27, 2022, fifth on May 30, 2022, sixth on July 11, 2022, and seventh on June 20, 2023.

Viet Nam letters respects the property of others under paragraph 107 of United States Code Title 17. If we asked for permission it wouldn’t be criticism. We explain our fair use at length in the letter of September 12, 2022.

The colophon of these Viet Nam letters, directly above, shows the janitor speaking with poet David A. Willson on a Veterans Day.