Marcus Clapham

A decent collection of poetry from the First World War, but it has nothing to make it stand out from others. It is rather short, so it does not have the quality of comprehensiveness. Its selections are nothing out of the ordinary (usual suspects like Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon dominate). Furthermore, there is no commentary on the poems, so there is no real gain to reading this collection over others. I would suggest The Winter of the World, edited by Dominic Hibberd and John Onions, as a far superior collection.

Favourites in this selection include: 'To a Rat' by William Eric Berridge, 'Armistice Day' by John Freeman, 'In Flanders Fields' by John McCrae, 'Dulce et Decorum Est' and 'Futility' by Wilfred Owen, 'The Death-Bed', 'Dreamers', 'A Working Party' and 'On Passing the New Menin Gate' by Siegfried Sassoon, 'I Saw a Man This Morning' by P. H. Shaw-Stewart, 'God! How I Hate You, You Young Cheerful Men' by A. G. West and 'Magpies in Picardy' by T. P. Cameron Wilson.… (mere)