August Sander has long been one of my ghosts. My family immigrated from Germany in waves between the Franco-Prussian War and the turn of the 20th century. In other words, my family witnessed the horrors of that century from across the sea, viewing a country that they had lived in spin first out of control and into a horrendous control that led to countless sufferings. A person of German heritage living in the United States naturally fills with the what ifs of whether their family would have stayed. What would I have been? Would I have resisted? Would I have fallen into line?
Adam Kirsch's new book of poems was an opportunity to engage this subject yet again. I am pleased that it appeared on Truthdig.com. This is my first article for the site.
http://www.truthdig.com/arts_culture/item/emblems_of_the_passing_world_20160219