Voices of Silence: The Alternative Book of First World War Poetry

by Vivien Noakes

There are many anthologies of poetry of the First World War, reflecting the huge interest there is in this subject, but "Voices of Silence" is unlike any of them. The poetry of the First World War has determined our perception of the war itself. Yet, this perception is based on the interpretation of a few poets who have become household names - writers such as Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon and Isaac Rosenberg. Less literary but equally important, the poetry gathered together in this volume has been drawn from old newspapers and journals, trench and hospital magazines, individual volumes of verse, gift books, postcards, and an illicit manuscript magazine put together by conscientious objectors. For the first time, the huge body of rich, exciting and often deeply moving work that complements the established literary canon has been revived. It adds a new dimension to our perception of the immediate response to war - not least in the soldiers' recurring and important use of humour. Written by the men for the men, these verses reflect an aspect of the national character which contributes to our understanding of how they were able to endure.

Genres: Poetry

480 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2006

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it a lot. It is impossible to rate every poem in the book individually, but my overall impression is very positive.

The usual narrative of the WWI presents the war as aimless and melancholic affair that people just don't understand and don't want to participate in. This book shatters this narrative and presents many facets of this war: patriotic fervor of the beginning, hardships at home, disdain for pacifists and conscientous objectors, pro-war and anti-war discussion of the middle, and bitterness and unwillingness to forgive in the aftermath.

The book is very conveniently categorized by the time periods and different topics, with an introduction to each of these chapters. Finally, there are lots of poems by completely unknown authors (and of varying quality), so it is very refreshing to read. Oh, and there is even a list of such authors with a very short information about them - a quite useful thing.