Cari Reid

The Soldier Poet Cari Reid

"Exposed to all the dangers of war, but with none of its enthusiasms or splendid élans, he is condemned to sit like an animal in its burrow and hear the shells whistle over his head and take their little daily toll from his comrades." -Alan Seeger 1914, Paris. Hagee Marshall seeks welcome into one of the many literary circles, driven by his fascination with the poet, Alan Seeger. When the Germans invade France, many of the artists and writers join the French Foreign Legion, including Seeger and Hagee. Both sign up to go to war but each has his own reason. What drives a poet to enter a battlefield? What encourages an American to fight for a foreign country? * Alan Seeger's letters and journal from the war years and Paul Rockwell's book, "American Fighters in the Foreign Legion," form the basis of this fictionalized account of the first year of WWI. Nearly every character in this story is based on one of the brave men who fought in the name of France. The afterward describes the historical significance of the events and characters in the story, comparing the characters to their true-life counterparts. It also includes a brief biography of the most famous American soldier-poet of The Great War, Alan Seeger.