The Great War & Its Legacy, 1914-1918: Celebrating the Armistice

The Oklahoma State University Library will honor the 100th anniversary of the Armistice that ended the Great War with poetry and music of the World War I era presented by Dr. Randi Eldevik and Dr. Perry Gethner on Wednesday, Nov. 28. at 4:30 p.m. in the Peggy V. Helmerich Browsing Room, Edmon Low Library.

Dr. Eldevik, a member of the OSU Department of English, will be presenting an original Christopher Hassall poem: a sonnet describing his memories of how the November 1918 Armistice was celebrated in England. It is a rueful and bittersweet sonnet written in 1939, when World War II had already begun. In this sonnet, Hassall looks back over a distance of 21 years on the optimism that had been prevalent in November 1918; but from his standpoint in 1939, when he was an army officer preparing for service in a new war.

Dr. Gethner, a member of the OSU Department of Foreign Languages, will present his third lecture/recital dealing with World War I era piano music including pieces by Max Reger, Sergei Prokofiev, Alexandre Tansman, Georges Auric, Germaine Tailleferre, and Francis Poulenc.

This series commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Great War with discussions on all the aspects of life that changed in the aftermath of WWI. This series looks at the wider impact of the War on life and culture of the US and world, and also focuses on its impact on Oklahoma, the Payne County region and OAMC. Sponsored by the OSU Library, the W.P. Wood Professorship and the OSU Department of History. Learn more at info.library.okstate.edu/greatwar.