The Story Is True: The Art and Meaning of Telling Stories

3. The True Story of Why Stephen Spender Quit the Spanish Civil War

3 The True Story of Why Stephen Spender Quit the Spanish Civil War The symmetry of form attainable in pure fiction can not so readily be achieved in a narration essentially having less to do with fable than with fact. Truth uncompromisingly told will always have its ragged edges; hence the conclusion of such a narration is apt to be less finished than an architectural finial. Herman Melville, ‘‘Billy Budd’’ Spender’s War When I was a graduate student, I drove Stephen Spender to the Indianapolis airport from Indiana University at Bloomington, where he had given a reading. I had read some of Spender’s poetry, but I knew little about him other than that he was a famous and highly respected poet. Spender talked about several things during that sixty-minute drive, but what I most remember him talking about was the Spanish Civil War. Two of my college teachers at Rutgers had fought in it. I remember one of those teachers in particular—John O. McCormick—who, whenever he could, referred to it in our European Novel class as ‘‘the last good war.’’ World War II, McCormick said, ‘‘was there, you just went and did it. And Korea, well, who understands Korea? But Spain . . . ah, Spain. . . .’’ And he’d get wistful and nostalgic. I wasn’t long out of the marines then. I didn’t understand Korea either. I envied McCormick the foresight and luck that let him, as a young man, take part in ‘‘the last good war.’’ It wasn’t just John O. McCormick’s fond memories. The Spanish Civil War had great songs, like ‘‘Viva la Quince Brigada,’’ that 40 were part of the repertoire of the Weavers, a musical group that was popular at the time. The Spanish Civil War had occasioned a painting I’d been fascinated by since I was twelve years old: Picasso’s Guernica, which was then in the Museum of Modern Art. I visited Guernica in Madrid in December 2001, and it still is for me the best painting in the world about man-made chaos and disorder and violence . It continues to have great symbolic power for others: when U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell spoke on February 5, 2003, at the United Nations in an attempt to get support for the impending U.S. invasion of Iraq, the Security Council’s tapestry copy of Guernica was covered by a blue curtain, in front of which was placed a row of blue flags. Someone, either in the American delegation or on the UN staff, thought it would be inappropriate to have that famous painting visible on television while the U.S. Secretary of State was speaking in praise of war. I didn’t tell Spender about my fascination with Guernica or my affection for the Weavers, but I did tell him about John O. McCormick and how he always referred to the war in Spain as the ‘‘last good war.’’ ‘‘I’m sure it was,’’ Spender said in a voice that was dry and flat. He was silent for a while, then he said in a lower and different voice, ‘‘I’ll tell you about Spain.’’ I don’t know what I expected: a story about privation or a story about heroism or a story about blood and guts or a story about how the Brits who volunteered for that war were every bit as idealistic and true-hearted as the Americans who had volunteered for it. Whatever it was I had expected, I got something else. A meeting was called by the officers of his unit, Spender said. There was discussion of that day’s battle and the casualties inflicted and suffered. That was followed by a description of the engagement planned for the following day. Then someone from a higher level of authority, a man Spender had never seen before, began talking about financial problems. Contributions from England had declined significantly, the man said. Something had to be done to get the contributions from England coming in again because that money paid for weapons and food and trucks and medical supplies. Why Stephen Spender Quit the Spanish Civil War 41 Everyone agreed. The British, the speaker said, were a sentimental people, so if the right pitch moved their hearts, they would be stimulated to contribute again. Everyone, including Spender, agreed with that, too, and said so. ‘‘We think,’’ the speaker said, ‘‘that they...