The Death of Sardanapalus uniquely brings together impassioned works of insight, hope, and defiance covering the breadth and dark depths of "Operation Iraqi Freedom," and "Operation Desert Storm" through a sequence of poems beginning with the devastation of 9/11. Written during the first nightmare term of George W. Bush, up to the election of 2004, these poems speak truth to power and illuminate the major political and military indiscriminations, blunders, lies, and hoaxes of Bush's "War on Terror." The Death of Sardanapalus is a work of political expose, heartfelt opposition to a tragic, avoidable leap into the atrocities of an illegal war, and offers Ray's own grief and artistic compassion toward the betrayed muse of history, whose scorched pages overflow with the blood, suffering, and anguish of countless innocent victims. Ray has produced a literary litany and lament of such lasting clarity and poignancy as to bring tears to the eyes of those dead who gave their lives and give them daily that the intrinsic truth and humanity of our species--set on peace and brotherhood, not on war and division-- should always prevail. Selected from literally hundreds of Ray's poems written daily over a period of corrupt national policy and decision-making throughout 2000-2004, The Death of Sardanapalus my well stand to posterity as a cultural landmark of such illuminative courage that it will continue to speak truth to power for generations to come. The Death of Sardanapalus is a work of rare force, truth and beauty, a model of achievement for poets of today, a tribute to brave bards of the past, and a legacy for the future of literature. Many of the poems have been translated into the Spanish by poet Lilvia Soto, while the artwork of Delacroix (The Death of Sardanapalus) and Mike Romoth (Sardanapalus in Guernica) collaboratively emphasizes the depth of tragedy brought forth by the poems. This book belongs in every public library, every classroom--grade school to university level, inclusive--and in all collections of freedom-loving people of every nation. It is as profoundly opposed to the corruptive tyranny of government as are the works of Chinua Achebe, Dennis Brutus, Paul Celan, Anna Akhmatova, Yevtushenko, and Hiyam Bialik, but its setting is America, and this new millennium.



F.D. Reeve writes:
"There is nothing like this book in American poetry today, for it is the skilled work of a craftsman whose fine ear and deft control distinguish every poem, all of which cry out against the barbarism of war and the stupid cruelties of those who make it. From the clever metaphoric transition of "The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier" to the deeply moving elegy to Wilfred Owen, this collection of intense lyrics shines with intelligence and passion."

Anselm Hollo: "In a time of imperial wars abroad and religious wars at home, David Ray's eloquent meditations speak to all who hope and work for change."

Philip Schultz: "Zbigniew Herbert uses irony to mask his great vulnerability in the face of oppression. David Ray uses a detached classicism to distance himself (and us) from the present horror. But the outrage is there, and the great sadness. I admire these poems, and his courage in writing them."