A Jetblack Sunrise by
Provocative and sobering, this collection of poems reflects the timeless nature of courage and barbarity in war, full of raw emotion that paints a vivid new picture of war and conflict.
The Oxford Book of War Poetry by
There can be no area of human experience that has generated a wider range of powerful feelings than war. The 250 poems spanning centuries of human experience of war, from David's Lament for Saul and Jonathan, and Homer's Iliad, to the finest poems of the Second World War, Vietnam, the conflicts in Northern Ireland and El Salvador, and chilling visions of the `Next War'Reflecting the feelings of poets as diverse as Byron, Hardy, Owen, Sassoon, and Heaney, they reveal a great shift in social awareness from man's early celebratory `war-songs' to the more recent `anti-war' attitudes of poets responding to `man's inhumanity to man' - and to women and children.
Poems of the Great War 1914-1918.
The War Poets
There is a profound sense of discovery for each generation that comes to read the work of the war poets. This book shows how to consider the writing of war and conflict in general and then to understand the historical context. It explains the cathartic response to transmuting pain into art or literature.
Hold your own by
Kate Tempest's first full-length collection for Picador is an ambitious, multi-voiced work based around the mythical figure of Tiresias. This four-part work follows him through his transformations from child, man and woman to blind prophet; through this structure, Tempest holds up a mirror to contemporary life in a direct and provocative way rarely associated with poetry. A vastly popular and accomplished performance poet, Tempest commands a huge and dedicated following on the performance and rap circuit. Brand New Ancients, also available from Picador, won the Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry and has played to packed concert halls on both sides of the Atlantic.
Search this encyclopaedia for an overview of different wars.
World War I (Hutchins History guide)
World War II (Hutchins History guide)
Vietnam War 1962 - 75 (Australian War Memorial)
Provides an overview of this war.
Iraq (Australian War Memorial)
Scroll down the page for information about the second gulf war.
'Dulce Et Decorum Est'
Wilfred Owen: 'Dulce et Decorum Est' (The War Poetry Website)
Provide a good analysis of the poem.
Dulce Et Decorum Est (The Wilfred Owen association)
Provides a good analysis of the poem.
'High Flight'
Fighter pilot poet (BBC Home)
Provides a discussion of this poem and a short biography about the author.
70 years of 'Slipping the surly bonds' (Air & Space)
A short discussion about the author, Magee and his poem.
High Flight (Bomber Command Museum of Canada)
Provides good background information regarding the poem and the author.
'Homecoming'
Bruce Dawe (Australian Biography)
Provides a lengthy transcript from an interview with the author and includes his views on war, politics and literature.
Bruce Dawe - anti war poet (National Film & Sound Archive)
Access biographical information about this poet from here.
'Regime Change'
BBC News
Search this site for information about war poetry and Andrew Motion's poem 'Regime Change'
Reframing first World War poetry (British Library)
Provides a general discussion about World War I poetry.
Representing the Great War: overview (The Norton anthology of English literature)
Provides a good discussion of World War I poetry.
War poetry: primary sources for World War I (HSC Online)
Categorises significant World War II poems.
Poetry Foundation
Provides access to a large number of poems and discussions regarding their context.
First World War Poetry Digital Archive
700 pieces of text, images, biographies and poems by 10 poets, including Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon
