Poetry and the Second World War Lives of the Poets

Discussion in 'Research Material' started by CL1, Aug 3, 2012.

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  1. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

  2. Michael Bully

    Michael Bully Active Member

    I know that this a few years old , but shame to see that the link above doesn't work.
    World War 2 poetry is still very much overlooked by that of World War 1.
    Have tried to re-dress the balance via a blog
    WorldWar2poetry
     
    Charley Fortnum, Deacs and CL1 like this.
  3. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

    well done
     
  4. Michael Bully

    Michael Bully Active Member

    Thank you.
    This thread here gets updated from time to time.

    WW2 poetry

    Looking at British World War 2 poetry- there were poets who were killed in action such as Keith Douglas, Sidney Keyes, Alun Lewis, Timothy Corsellis, and quite a number of others.
    But there were also poets born in the 1920s such as Alan Ross , Vernon Scannell, Roy Fuller, Charles Causley , who served and survived, going on to establish literary careers. Also plenty of non-combatants wrote some great poetry about World War 2. This generation has now passed away. And their work risks being forgotten.

    There are some grounds for optimism though , such as one of our most talented younger poets -Owen Sheers- enthusiasm for the work of Keith Douglas.

    Have also been trying to cover the work of poets originally published in German, Hungarian, Polish, Russian, but unfortunately the blog tends to get less 'hits' when there is a post about a poet who didn't originally write in English.

     
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  5. Grasmere

    Grasmere Well-Known Member

    Wooden Crosses

    “Go live the wide world over – but when you come to die,

    A quiet English churchyard is the only place to lie!”

    I held it half a lifetime, until through war’s mischance

    I saw the wooden crosses that fret the fields of France.



    Who says their war is over? While others carry on,

    The little wooden crosses spell but the dead and gone?

    Not while they deck a skyline, not while they crown a view,

    Or a living soldier sees them and sets his teeth anew!



    The tenants of the churchyard where the singing thrushes build

    Were not, perhaps, all paragons of promise well fulfilled :

    Some failed – though Love or Liquor – while the parish looked askance.

    But – you cannot die a failure if you win a cross in France.

    By E. W. Hornung (A bereaved father who lost his son in the War – Poem was originally published in the Times)
     
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