The Cambridge Companion to the Poetry of the First World War

by Santanu Das

The poetry of the First World War remains a singularly popular and powerful body of work. This Companion brings together leading scholars in the field to re-examine First World War poetry in English at the start of the centennial commemoration of the war. It offers historical and critical contexts; fresh readings of the important soldier-poets; investigations of the war poetry of women and civilians, Georgians and Anglo-American modernists, and of poetry from England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the former British colonies. The volume explores the range and diversity of this body of work, its rich afterlife and the expanding horizons and reconfiguration of the term 'First World War Poetry'. Complete with a detailed chronology and guide to further reading, the Companion concludes with a conversation with three poets – Michael Longley, Andrew Motion and Jon Stallworthy – about why and how the war and its poetry continue to resonate with us.

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction, War, Anthologies

346 pages, Paperback

First published October 31, 2013

Reviews

[Amalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, didn't exactly read the whole book, only read some sections for reference.

[Margarida · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't actually read the whole thing, but it's a great companion for anyone wishing to learn more about WWI and have some critical background. Will keep this baby saved for future reference.

[Chaimpesach]

The book seems fine for what it is, but I found it too academic, and I do not mean that in a good way. It is still a great overview of the war poets' biographies and contributions, but otherwise I found it lacking.

Full disclosure: I did not read the whole book. I will not give it a star rating as it would be unfair to judge the book as a cohesive piece.