Synopses & Reviews
Isaac Rosenberg was among the greatest poets of the First World War. The British-born son of impoversihed Russian Jews, Rosenberg fought as a private in the trenches of the Great Was and died on the Western Front in 1918 as the age of 27. In Isaac Rosenberg, Wilson examines the influence of Rosenbergand#39;s class and heritage on his writings, as well as the development of his poetic technique. She traces his maturation from his childhood in Bristol and the Jewish East End of London to art school, his travels to South Africa, and finally his harrowing service as a private in the British Army.and#160;Rosenberg was also a gifted painter and this beautifully illustrated volume oncludes some hitherto inseen self-portraits, along with photogrpahs of Rosenberg and his family. Wilsonand#39;s biogrpahy brings together all known Rosenberg material with a mass of important new discoveries. Isaac Rosenberg is a long-overdue consideration of a remarkable war poet.
Review
In her shrewd and readable biography, Ms. Wilson wants to make a fresh claim for Rosenberg's poetical gifts and to give us a fuller sense of his short, hard life. He was, as she reminds us, an accomplished painter as well as a poet -- in short, a man of extraordinary talent. -The Wall Street Journal
Review
"Wilson is excellent on Rosenberg's life and her comments on his poems are always grounded."-- Frances Spalding, Daily Mail
Review
andquot;Admiring and devotedly researched . . . Wilsonand#39;s account, incorporating new findings, is the fullest we are ever likely to get of his life.andquot;
andmdash;John Carey,and#160;Sunday Times
About the Author
Jean Moorcraft Wilson is a lecturer at Birbeck College, London. She has written acclaimed biogrpahies of Seigfried Sassoon and Charles Hamilton Sorley, which have become standard works in First World War literature.
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations
Authorand#39;s Note
Map
1. and#39;My WIld Little Pick-a-Back Days in Bristoland#39;
2. Lost in Translation: an East End Education
3. and#39;The Days of Youth Go Byand#39;: Apprenticeship
4. and#39;Art Is Not a Playthingand#39;: Bold Court and Birkbeck College
5. The Whitechapel Group
6. and#39;Lady, You Are My Godand#39;: Romance, Frustration, and Fulfilment
7. An Introduction to the Slade
8. Serving Two Masters
9. and#39;His Divided Selfand#39;: John Rodker, Sonia Cohen and the and#39;Slot Meterand#39;
10. and#39;It is All Cafandeacute; Royal Poetry Nowand#39;: Meeting Edward Marsh
11. South Africa: and#39;I Have Lived in the Underworld Too Longandquot;
12. and#39;If You Are Fireand#39;: Marda Vanne and Poetry
13. and#39;On Receiving News of the Warand#39;
14. and#39;No More Free Will Than a Treeand#39;: From Cape Town to Enlistment
15. and#39;Yea I a Soldierand#39;: and#39;This Rat Trap Affairand#39;
16.and#160;Moses: a Farewell to England
17. In the Trenches
18. and#39;The Desolate Land of Franceand#39;
19. and#39;Returning, We Hear the Larksand#39; and and#39;Dead Manand#39;s Dumpand#39;
20. and#39;Daughters of Warand#39; and a Last Leave-Taking
21. and#39;When Will We Go On With the Things That Endure?and#39;
22. and#39;Through These Pale Cold Daysand#39;
Abbreviations
Notes
Bibliography
A Checklist of Paintings and Drawings by Isaac Rosenberg
Family Tree
Acknowledgments
Index