The poem read by the poet himself at the Society of Classical Poets’ in-person Poetry Symposium held in Naperville, Illinois on September 5-6, 2025:
Video created by Andrew Benson Brown.
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“A bit dark,” as you say at the end, but a close look at a psychopath and his deadly deportment. Interesting smattering of German with some rhymes that seems so fitting. Your dramatic voice, somber tone, and accentuation add much to the reading.
During my time in the mental health profession, I encountered enough people with antisocial personality disorder to fill 10 lifetimes (and its childhood precursor, ‘conduct disorder’). It wasn’t fun, although in retrospect it makes for entertaining stories sometimes. I don’t like to think about it day to day, but there is a fascination with that type.
Roy is right about your expert accentuation, that sometimes even the poet will forget when reading in public. You sounded the stresses and the pauses perfectly. With the text before me in the reading, I enjoyed the dark war story much more–being print-oriented as I am. I have been inspired by you to think of producing more classic battle poetry. Takes a significant battle and plenty of research, as you are so well aware.
Thanks, I practiced reading this to my girlfriend before I left to nail it down. For the YouTube version I should have broken the text up into one-stanza blocks, the words are too small as they are with the screen ratio.
This Rahl seems to have been one helluva soldier. Before the American Revolution he appears to have been in combat all over Europe.
It’s common for these hard-bitten, combat-scarred veterans to hire themselves out as mercenaries when their own nations are at peace. They are very well paid, and are addicted to the hormonal “rush” of warfare.
He was every bit the professional soldier, though obviously this is wildly exaggerated. The main problem with taking on this subject as a dramatic piece is that none of the British commanders were particularly villainous, notwithstanding Banastre Tarleton.
You are a funny man, ABB, and a very good reader, indeed. I was able to hear the rhymes without any awkward end-stopping, which I take as a sign that both the reader and the writer are particularly adept at what they are about. As it happens, I grew up about a half hour south of Washington’s Crossing, PA, and our mother drove us there for many a picnic in the warm months. A bit farther north was Bowman’s Hill, which sported a stone tower that we loved. Nice going!
Ha thanks, humor is the main focus. Good to receive validation that I’m going in the right direction with the reading. Picnicking at Washington’s Crossing sounds great. The east coast has so much history, but except for Philadelphia I never got that far north to check it out.
Fabulous reading and a very, very funny extract; dark or not, it is preeminently amusing. The syntax is marvellously flexible and the rhyming inspired – it presents an unforgettable picture. Yep, writing of the highest order; great poetry.
Thanks James—I learned about poetic syntax from a master!
Andrew, sorry to get to this so late. Loved every minute of it! You don’t need any fancy media-bells and whistles in a video when it features a reading by you. You chew up the scenery without any external assists! Great performance, great poetry. I’m very much looking forward to reading Legends of Liberty III.
Thanks Brian. Maybe simplicity is better regarding this; certainly it is less time-consuming. Will be a while on LLIII, but making small progress here and there.