Poet and novelist, Ocean Vuong, whose mother was a child of the Vietnam War, has said that all literature is the history of war*. He need not be taken literally, although I tend to do so. More broadly though, we may agree that literature relies on conflict or inner tension for its existence. Sometimes with resolution, sometimes without. Sometimes obvious, sometimes not.
When Caitlin O’Toole, editor of The Human Writers, called for submissions on the theme of Anzac Day in Australia, I leapt at the opportunity. The casualties of war are my specialty. As the daughter of a World War II veteran, I wanted to develop a scene from my draft memoir so that it reads as a stand-alone piece. The term Anzac stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, and is our equivalent to Memorial Day (US) or VE-Day in Europe. Having ignored the Anzac ceremony for most of my life – or worse still – been dismissive of it, in 2006 I decided to attend the dawn service for veterans. The resultant essay, One Sacred Day, was finished in time for the magazine’s deadline – 25 April, the date of the annual ceremony.
Re-reading my story now, I see that there are sentences I’d like to tighten, and that a paragraph makeover wouldn’t go astray. But basically I’m happy with the picture created. It features a young girl steadfastly refusing to acknowledge that her father is rising in the dark on Anzac Day to join fellow ex-servicemen for their march down Swanston Street to the shrine. It was going to be a long day – for both of them.
If Ocean Vuong is correct in his analysis of literature and war, then Australian writers have much to explore. Our country has participated in wars from colonisation to the First World War, Vietnam, through to modern day Iraq. I believe this domestic and international combat has left an imprint on the nation’s psyche which is yet to be fully examined. The impact of war goes well beyond the generation originally involved.
Hats off to Caitlin O’Toole for offering writers a portal into the investigation of what is affectionally or euphemistically known as the Anzac tradition.
*Actually what Ocean said was: “If you want to study literature, study war. For as long as there are soldiers there are poets.” The above is the way I interpreted it, until checking through many quotes from this wonderful writer for his actual wording.
WRITINGS AND MUSINGS OF MARGARET MCCAFFREY 
Congratulations Margaret on your ANZAC Day memoir – it is a beautiful and poignant stand-alone piece. Your observations about war and conflict give much food for thought – I agree completely that the implications go on for generations. ‘As long as there are soldiers, there are poets’ – Ocean is right on the button there. I have written a few poems now referencing family members and the impact of war on them, and clearly me.
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Thank you, Helen. Those men were vey brave, and yes, often it took its toll. I guess the trick is to show both ‘truths’.
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