A call for poetry linked to the military operations in Afghanistan has come from Ryan Gearing, boss of military bookseller and publisher Tommies Guides. Explains Ryan, ‘In November 2011 it will be ten years since British troops entered Afghanistan following the terror attacks in New York. I want to produce an anthology of the poetry written or suggested by the men and women of all three Services involved in securing freedom for the people of Afghanistan, or poetry that has inspired them and their families as they carry out their dangerous duties.’

Tommies Guides intends to publish the anthology this November, to commemorate the anniversary, giving it the title Enduring Freedom, the original military name for operations in Afghanistan. For each book sold, a donation will be made to charity Combat Stress, whose workload is much greater as a result of operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.
 

Suggestions and contributions for this special anthology are now being welcomed. If you, or your friends and family have been inspired by poetry as a result of your role during operations in Afghanistan, Ryan urges you to get in touch. Ever since the Great War, poetry has been synonymous with inspiring and capturing the hearts and minds of the population and Service personnel, bringing home the full spectrum of feelings – those stresses, frustrations, horrors and emotions that can only be associated with being on the front line or on the home front.

Suggestions and contributions for poems to be included in the anthology should be sent, by the end of July, to: Ryan Gearing, Tommies Guides, Menin House, 13 Hunloke Avenue, Eastbourne, East Sussex BN22 8UL,
or email enduringfreedom@tommies guides.co.uk. When doing so, please include a short note explaining why you have chosen the poem and how it inspires you, or who you associate it with. The publisher welcomes any poetry (old or new) – including new work by you or your relatives over the last decade – suggestions or contributions, as long as there is a special meaning for you (although inclusion of every entry cannot be guaranteed).
 

For more information, visit www.tommiesguides.co.uk.