Midwatch in Verse

<p> Naval deck logs require young officers to record mundane details of a ship's condition every few hours. According to a U.S. Navy tradition the New Year's midwatch log--covering midnight to early morning of January 1--can be entered as poetry. Each chapter of this first book-length examination of midwatch poems presents verses written 1941-1946 aboard a ship engaged in combat during World War II including celebrated warships like the USS <I>Enterprise</I> and nameless vessels like <I>PC 1264</I>. Historical overviews of the ships' operations along with biographical sketches of the author(s) relate each poem to its moment in history.</p>