When I was in hospital I found I could hardly read or writ. In these circumstances I began to write poems. I found that poetry was the only kind of writing in which I could express my thoughts. One night I dreamed I was lying on the bank of a canal, under machine gun fire. The next morning I wrote it out, Carentan O Caretan, and as I wrote I realized it was not a dream, but the memory of my first time under fire.


The Poetry of War 1939-45 ed. Ian Hamilton, London 1965 - Carentan O Carentan, 1948

Louis Simpson Quotes

When I was in hospital I found I could hardly read or writ. In these circumstances I began to write poems. I found that poetry was the only kind of...

When I was in hospital I found I could hardly read or writ. In these circumstances I began to write poems. I found that poetry was the only kind of...

When I was in hospital I found I could hardly read or writ. In these circumstances I began to write poems. I found that poetry was the only kind of...

When I was in hospital I found I could hardly read or writ. In these circumstances I began to write poems. I found that poetry was the only kind of...