May 2014 |
New Anthology of WWI Poetry Features an Embittered Robert Graves
Graves' poem "November 11th" features a scathing critique of the "thoughtless and ignorant scum" celebrating the Armistice. Graves, a veteran of the Royal Welch Fusiliers, had suffered such serious injuries at the Somme that he was left for dead. His experiences in the war left him intensely bitter. The poem also refers to the cheering crowds as the "froth of the city," while "the boys who were killed in battle" are "peacefully sleeping on pallets of mud."
Graves was persuaded not to publish the poem in 1918, for obvious reasons. Graves did publish a modified, toned-down version of the poem in 1969; this new anthology will be the first time "November 11th" is published with Graves' original voice.
Along with Graves, the new anthology features both expected (Siegfried Sassoon, Wilfred Owen) and unexpected (American nurse Mary Borden) WWI poets.
"The rawness of their anger, their compassion and despair, still feels urgent today and cannot be ignored," said editor O'Prey in an interview with The Guardian.
