The Little Book of War Poets

An introduction to war poets and their work, from Homer to Alfred Tennyson and Walt Whitman to Siegfried Sassoon, including background information and quotes.

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A unique perspective on war and its impact.

Poets have written about the experience of war since ancient times, but the young soldier poets of the First World War established war poetry as a literary genre. Leaving an indelible mark on literature, their poems offered a powerful insight into the human experience of conflict.

This book explores the work of some of the most influential poets of the period – many of whom lost their lives in battle – including Wilfred Owen and Rupert Brooke, as well as lesser-known poets such as Australian Leon Gellert and Canadian John McCrae. Through their words, readers are transported to the trenches and battlefields of the First World War, and can glimpse the horror, trauma, and loss experienced by soldiers and civilians alike.

Packed full of intriguing background information and including moving quotes from letters, poems and other sources, this book is a testament to the power of language to capture and convey the most profound of human experiences.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
From the poem In Flanders Fields, by Canadian poet John McRae who wrote it after presiding over the funeral of his friend who was killed during the Battle of Ypres in May 1915.