• A new anthology of First World War poetry that brings together the best poetry by soldiers and civilians, including women poets, with a fresh assessment of their work.
• Includes a generous representation of the best-known poets, such as Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon, and Ivor Gurney, as well as lesser known writers who have been previously overlooked. Includes two previously unpublished poems by Ivor Gurney.
• Selection organized by poet, with short biographical prefaces that set the poems in their historical context.
• A general introduction charts the history of the war poets' reception and challenges prevailing myths about their progress from idealism to disillusion.
• Generous notes detail the composition and publication history of the poems and gloss allusions and historical references.

 
'What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?'

The First World War produced an extraordinary flowering of poetic talent, from poets whose words commemorate the conflict as enduringly as monuments in stone. Their poems have come to express the feelings of a nation about the horrors and aftermath of war. This new anthology provides a definitive record of the achievements of the Great War poets. As well as offering generous selections from the celebrated soldier-poets, including Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon, Rupert Brooke, and Ivor Gurney, it also incorporates less well-known writing by civilian and women poets. Music hall and trench songs provide a further lyrical perspective on the War. 

The work of each poet is prefaced with a biographical account that sets the poems in their historical context. In addition, Tim Kendall's introduction charts the history of the war poets' reception and challenges prevailing myths about their progress from idealism to bitterness.