Synopses & Reviews
Finally back in Penguin Classics: the poems and prose of cult WWI writer Edward Thomas, with a new introduction by Robert Macfarlane,
author ofThe Old Ways Beloved writer Edward Thomas is best known for his evocative poetry, though his writing career was varied and prolific, with more than two thousand reviews and nearly thirty volumes of topography, biography, and literary criticism published by the time of his death at age thirty-nine in World War I. After years of writing about poetry, Thomas, an intensely contemplative man who believed deeply in the power of perambulation, was encouraged by his close friend Robert Frost to write his own verse. This stunning collection includes some of his most treasured work and, with a beautiful introduction by bestselling author Robert Macfarlane, will bring Thomass extraordinary writings to a new generation of readers and aspiring writers.
Synopsis
Unrivaled in its range and intensity, the poetry of World War I continues to have a powerful effect on readers. This newly edited anthology reflects the diverse experiences of those who lived through the war, bringing together the words of poets, soldiers, and civilians affected by the conflict. Here are famous verses by Rupert Brooke, Siegfried Sassoon, and Wilfred Owen; poetry by women writing from the home front; and the anonymous lyrics of soldiers? songs. Arranged thematically, the selections take the reader through the war?s stages, from conscription to its aftermath, and offer a blend of voices that is both unique and profoundly moving.
Synopsis
Reflecting the voices of poets, soldiers, the families they left behind and their comrades who would never return, The Penguin Book of First World War Poetry, previously published as In Flanders Fields, is edited with an introduction by George Walter in Penguin Classics.
Unrivalled for its range and intensity, the poetry of the First World War continues to have a powerful effect on readers. This anthology reflects the diverse experience of those who lived through the war - bringing together the words of poets, soldiers and civilians affected by the conflict. Including famous verses from Rupert Brooke, Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen; pieces by less well-known writers such as Gilbert Frankau and Osbert Sitwell; works by women describing the emotions of those at home; and the anonymous lyrics of soldiers' songs, The Penguin Book of First World War Poetry offers a blend of voices that is both unique and profoundly moving.
This collection has been arranged thematically, moving through the war's different stages from conscription through to its aftermath, to offer the reader a variety of perspectives on the same common experiences. George Walter's introduction discusses the role and scope of First World War poetry anthologies, and how the canon has changed over the years. This edition also contains notes and biographies.
George Walter is Lecturer in English at Sussex University. His research interests are 20th-century literature; madness and creativity; constructions of Englishness; the cultural impact of the First World War. He has edited editions of the poet Ivor Gurney's work for Everyman and Fyfield Books.
If you enjoyed The Penguin Book of First World War Poetry, you might also like Robert Graves' Goodbye to All That, available in Penguin Modern Classics.
About the Author
Edward Thomas (18781917) was an English poet, journalist, and essayist who published nearly thirty books. He was killed in action during World War I.
David Wright (19201994) was an acclaimed South Africanborn poet, translator, memoirist, biographer, and editor.
Robert Macfarlane is the author of several award-winning books, including Mountains of the Mind, The Wild Places, and The Old Ways. He lives in Cambridge, England.
Table of Contents
The Penguin Book of First World War Poetry
Introduction Acknowledgements
A Note on the Text
Prelude
I. Your Country Needs You
'Let the foul Scene proceed'
'Who's for the khaki suit'
In Training
2. Somewhere In France
In Trenches
Behind the Lines
Comrades of War
3. Action
Rendezvous with Death
Battle
Aftermath
4. Blighty
Going Back
The Other War
Lucky Blighters
5. Peace
Everyone Sang
The Dead and the Living
'Have you forgotten yet?'
Coda
Notes
A Glossary of the Western Front
Biographies
Further Reading
Poem Acknowledgements
Index of Titles and First Lines