"For An Assyrian Frieze" first appeared in Viereck's first book, Terror and Decorum (1949). Viereck continued to publish poetry for decades; an excellent compendium and introduction to his body of work is 1967's New and Selected Poems, 1932-1967.

To see what other, similar poets were writing at this time, look at John Ciardi's 1950 anthology Mid-Century American Poets. In this book, both poetry and prose by poets such as Theodore Roethke, Robert Lowell, and Elizabeth Bishop are included.

Although somewhat dated, A.T. Olmstead's massive 1923 History of Assyria provides a great, and detailed, introduction to the subject. An even older book, George Stephen Good-speed's A History of the Babylonians and Assyrians (1915) tells the same story but is aimed at readers familiar with the Bible's stories of these cultures.

Viereck's poem responds to two of the most famous poems in the English language...