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Poets of the Great War
- Narrated by: Michael Maloney, Jasper Britton
- Length: 1 hr and 59 mins
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Classics
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In the war a great volume of poetry was written, produced and published in books, periodicals, newspapers or letters back to home. We often think of war as a necessity. We fight for a more just and better world. We often fail. But in our poets we gain a truth and a morality that shocks us, consoles us and holds our values to the light. In this volume we hear poems from the front, from home, from soldiers, from auxiliaries, from friend and from foe.
Editor reviews
Poets of the Great War presents a moving collection of poetic works produced during World War I, with authors ranging from the famous (Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon, Isaac Rosenberg) to the less-famous, but equally worthy of regard (Edward Thomas, Edith Nesbit, and Vera Brittain). Dramatic performances from a cast of respected actors of stage and screen lend these pieces an intense, emotional depth - of particular note is Michael Sheen, who, after the production of this audiobook, went on to great success in films and television series like The Queen, Frost/Nixon, and Masters of Sex. Poignant and stirring, the collection comes to an emotionally satisfying conclusion with Laurence Binyon's "For The Fallen", a eulogy for the war's dead.
Summary
Here are the extraordinary writings of a generation who fought through a war of unprecedented destructive power, and who had to find new voices to express the horror of what they discovered. The great names - Owen, Sassoon - are fully represented, but there are also many poems by lesser-known or unexpected figures, ranging from serving soldiers like Isaac Rosenberg and Richard Aldington to women such as Edith Nesbit and Vera Brittain. The poems are arranged by theme to give a sense of how the writers' feelings and attitudes evolved.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.
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What listeners say about Poets of the Great War
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- JTT
- 11-11-18
a must read
part of our debt to the lost generation. they shall never be forgotten. hard hitting as it should
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- A.
- 23-12-12
moving
this is an excellent selection of war poems. Well worth the price. Very moving and powerful
1 person found this helpful
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- Rose
- 29-07-18
What passing bells for these who die as cattle?
So, this is what war is all about. These poems are some of the best ever written about conflict I think and yet, i wonder if they’d have been so well known if war ahd not intervened or their poetry so poignant and full of emotion. I wonder too if the other side had its poets as well. However, this is a review and not a thesis so I’ll speak no more of what I think concerning poets and war and concentrate instead on the point of the book which is to bring together some of the finest work of those that in some cases never lived to see its publication. It has everything. it is emotional, angry and cynical as well plus a lot of other things besides. In some parts of the performance the telling tends to beer towards the melodramatic when more emotion might habe enhanced the reading so that it becomes a bit formulaic but otherwise it would go a very long way in making the point regarding the futility of war though war is, on one level, a necessary evil of mankind but that’s a topic for another day.
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- Michael
- 28-05-13
Great War Poets, great poetry, great work
Beautifully done, and a work worth listening to. I found I could only take this in small bouts as each poem is emotionally charged and puts you in the trenches or stretches. These poets where great writers and the narrators fantastic. I will pull this one out each Anzac Day and listen to it as it not only puts you in the mood, it makes you feel the sacrifice. Love this work.
4 people found this helpful
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- Megan Týr
- 15-01-18
Enter into the minds of the chaps fighting WWI
Loved it. A wonderful and chilling collection. Really an essential to any WWI enthusiasts book collection.