Vietnam/The Sixties 2, Introduction
The Vietnam War and the Sixties - A Catalog
We have issued catalogs in
this area before, and in doing so now I am again struck by how much of the
significant material from that period falls outside the realm that we usually
consider “literature.” To be sure, there have been serious literary
efforts to capture essential elements of the Vietnam war or the experience
of that time we refer to as “the Sixties.” But much of what conveys
most effectively the spirit of those times does not fall easily between the
covers of a book -- the music, the sounds, the sights. Accordingly, we’ve
broadened the usual scope of our catalogs, to include material that in some
significant way brings those times and places to life. There are records,
posters, photographs, artwork, even a Laotian quilt, in this catalog.
As much as the events of
that time have been scrutinized, analyzed and judged by any and all, there
remains an aspect of that period that seems to me deeply mysterious. There
is something about the literature of the times that is always startling,
almost shocking: contrary to what one would expect from the peace-and-love
counterculture and the horrific military experience in Vietnam, the literature
of the time often defies prediction. The Vietnam books, both novels and memoirs,
are remarkably full of tenderness, love, loss; the counterculture volumes
are often more strident, militant and angry than one expects. And, most
interestingly, there seems to be a common ground where they intersect, in
coincidences that have still not been fully understood or explored: the Buddhism
and oriental mysticism that influenced the counterculture, and the Buddhism
that was pervasive in Vietnam; the protests against the war, both from within
the military and from outside it; the drugs that colored, and linked, experiences
that were literally worlds apart.
Much of this catalog amounts
to an exploration of those areas. Where the literature of the time has left
its mark, one can find the roots of our present-day attitudes, including
some of the truths that today seem self-evident but were not always thus.
It seems important not to attempt to sit in judgement on that era but rather
to try to recognize and respect the perspectives that grew out of difficult
times, and which now help inform our present views. The Sixties -- here taken
to mean approximately the decade from the assassination of John F. Kennedy
in November, 1963, to the resignation of Richard Nixon in August, 1974, and
which coincides with the massive buildup of American troops in Vietnam and
their ultimate withdrawal -- were a time of tremendous turmoil and upheaval,
in American society and around the world. Much changed during those years,
and while critics of various persuasions can argue about whether the changes
were for the better or for the worse, they are nonetheless our legacy, and
the events of those times helped shape and define the new world that we have
entered since. A glimpse of that legacy is visible here, in the books and
artifacts of the period. I hope you find it an interesting journey.