The War and Culture

by John Cowper Powys

This 1914 book was written for an American readership in response to a polemic by Professor Munsterberg defending the German view of the war. Here, Powys contrasts the idea of the "omnipotent and irresistible State-machine" of the Germans to the Allies' aim of protecting "the individual against the State."

108 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 1914

About the author

Powys was born in Shirley, Derbyshire, where his father was vicar. His mother was descended from the poet William Cowper, hence his middle name. His two younger brothers, Llewelyn Powys and Theodore Francis Powys, also became well-known writers. Other brothers and sisters also became prominent in the arts.

John studied at Sherborne School and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, and became a teacher and lecturer; as lecturer, he worked first in England, then in continental Europe and finally in the USA, where he lived in the years 1904-1934. While in the United States, his work was championed by author Theodore Dreiser. He engaged in public debate with Bertrand Russell and the philosopher and historian Will Durant: he was called for the defence in the first obscenity trial for the James Joyce novel, Ulysses, and was mentioned with approval in the autobiography of US feminist and anarchist, Emma Goldman.

He made his name as a poet and essayist, moving on to produce a series of acclaimed novels distinguished by their uniquely detailed and intensely sensual recreation of time, place and character. They also describe heightened states of awareness resulting from mystic revelation, or from the experience of extreme pleasure or pain. The best known of these distinctive novels are A Glastonbury Romance and Wolf Solent. He also wrote some works of philosophy and literary criticism, including a pioneering tribute to Dorothy Richardson.

Having returned to the UK, he lived in England for a brief time, then moved to Corwen in Wales, where he wrote historical romances (including two set in Wales) and magical fantasies. He later moved to Blaenau Ffestiniog, where he remained until his death in 1963.

Reviews

[Richard]

This was the first prose work of Powys, written 15 years after his prior book of poetry and after many years as a professional lecturer to the public in England and America. It was written in 1914 at the outbreak of World War I in response to a piece of pro-German propaganda encouraging the United States to take the side of Germany.

The book reads almost like pure lunacy and yet it probably reflects much of the thinking of the time about the various races of Europe and their conflict. Some of its themes are reflected in Rolland's Jean Christophe, but really it is endless blathering. Perhaps it has some sociological interest, but not a shred of literary value.

Incredibly, the book was moderately successful and set Powys off on a great writing spree.