Up From Chester

The immediate post- World War II convergence at Haverford College of pacifist Quakers and returning veterans led the writer to become a conscientious objector and anti-war activist. In 1965 he was deeply affected by the self-immolation at the Pentagon of Norman Morrison, his friend and fellow member of Stony Run Friends Meeting in Baltimore. He recounts how that event heralded the bitter atmosphere of the years that followed as opponents of the Vietnam War were driven into increasingly radical beliefs and behaviors. Returning to college teaching in 1972, he has sought to illuminate the relationships between literature and opposition to injustice and war.