The number of long epic poems written the world over is increasing. World history and the history of its many nation states is characterized by epochal statements and epics of various kinds as far back as The Epic of Gilgamesh. The Declaration of Independence and Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address were both epochal if not epic statements, to choose but two from American history and one could choose many others from the history of other nations.
Then there are epic movies like Birth of a Nation and Gone With the Wind and epic figures from cinema, like John Wayne. John Wayne himself directed a film on an epic event, the Alamo. He also wrote a book on the making of this film. He called it “The Making of the Epic Film.” Epic, it seems, comes up everywhere when one thinks about America and increasingly in relation to all sorts of historical and contemporary events in today’s world. It also comes up in relation to my poetry and the Baha’i Faith and that is my reason for writing. I have brought it up. More at a later date.-Ron Price, Tasmania
