Maritimes soldiers featured in new book about First World War
A new book of hybrid Canadian poetry/flash creative nonfiction has been released on the 100th anniversary of Canada’s 100 Days, the final hundred days of the First World War.
Maritimes soldiers featured among the stories in “Tweets from the Trenches: Little True Stories of Life & Death on the Western Front”, include two soldiers from Charlottetown.
Aug. 8 to Nov. 11, 1918, became known as the 100 Days Offensive, and author Jacqueline Carmichael had two grandfathers on the ground throughout the fiery battle on the Western Front. Her curiosity about the experience of George “Black Jack” Vowel and Charles W.C. Chapman led to walking on the Western Front herself as part of a research project.
Through research, she found many stories of valour and heartbreak on the Western Front, embedded in letters and journals and historical accounts of other soldiers and nurses.
Using her own poetry and excerpts from letters, journals and memoirs of others, and images on almost every page, the B.C. resident brings over 100 of these “little true stories” into Tweets from the Trenches.
Carmichael’s website, Tweetsfromthetrenches.com will feature stories and links from the war. A curriculum guide for use with the book is available for teachers hoping to bring history to life for their students.
Tweets from the Trenches: Little True Stories of Life & Death on the Western Front is available on Amazon as well as at select bookstores.