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wirsindgefangene's review against another edition
I am a little disappointed that this book only features English/British poetry. The title suggests (at least it does in my opinion) that there'd also be translations of poems by French or German authors, for example.
robynmaire's review against another edition
3.0
*2,5
Lend me your arm
To replace my leg
The rats ate it for me
At Verdun
At Verdun
I ate a lot of rats
But they didn’t give me back my leg
And that’s why I was given the Croix de Guerre
And a wooden leg
And a wooden leg
Just like every poetry compilation I’ve read so far this one has left me with conflicting feelings.
Some poems made me feel chills, even some long ones felt like being punched in the stomach -and I liked that. But others were boring and sometimes (too long), and because it is a compilation of so many different poems you aren’t going to like every single one.
Unlike so many poetry collections I’ve read, this one has an introduction. An introduction that is 77 pages long! Under all the fancy words & long sentences that could be compressed in a few words, the ideas the editor expresses were okay but didn’t feel like an introduction. The editor said he selected the poems he liked, even if they aren’t as well known, but then almost exclusively discusses the famous ones in his introduction! I sadly almost had to drag myself through the book, since I don’t do DNF’ing.
Lend me your arm
To replace my leg
The rats ate it for me
At Verdun
At Verdun
I ate a lot of rats
But they didn’t give me back my leg
And that’s why I was given the Croix de Guerre
And a wooden leg
And a wooden leg
Just like every poetry compilation I’ve read so far this one has left me with conflicting feelings.
Some poems made me feel chills, even some long ones felt like being punched in the stomach -and I liked that. But others were boring and sometimes (too long), and because it is a compilation of so many different poems you aren’t going to like every single one.
Unlike so many poetry collections I’ve read, this one has an introduction. An introduction that is 77 pages long! Under all the fancy words & long sentences that could be compressed in a few words, the ideas the editor expresses were okay but didn’t feel like an introduction. The editor said he selected the poems he liked, even if they aren’t as well known, but then almost exclusively discusses the famous ones in his introduction! I sadly almost had to drag myself through the book, since I don’t do DNF’ing.
annapurchase's review against another edition
5.0
my favourite poetry anthologies this year. i loved the structure going through the war and explaining each bit. what a beautiful selection of poems that captured the mood at this time and so valuable for studying history. this edition was also excellent as it had a solid 50 pages of notes explaining the allusions and references for each poem and if i ever studied ww1 poetry (unlikely, but nice to think) this would be so helpful.
reedg's review against another edition
4.0
While not the most useful for a quick look-up (the layout of the poems follows a non-traditional logic), this collection provides a good introduction to war poetry.
katebush5ever's review against another edition
4.0
An amazing collection!!! Covers everything you might need, with great historical notes at the beginning. Studying history through poetry is very insightful to the moods and attitudes of the time, and if you're looking to learn more about the first world war, this might be a great place to start! I recommend reading "The Soldier" by Rupert Brooke and "Does it Matter?" by Siegfried Sassoon to show contrasting viewpoints before and after the horrors of modern warfare are revealed.
serenaac's review against another edition
4.0
The Penguin Book of First World War Poetry (Second edition) edited by Jon Silkin and David McDuff is a collection of poetry from and about the WWI. Silkin and McDuff increased the number of poems in translation included in the collection. There are poems translated from German, French, Italian, Russian, and Hebrew, and Silkin was a poet himself. As expressed in the not at the beginning, “For some, war was moral athletics; others looked forward to the experience of war as a ‘vacation from life’ — a vacation from a society disjoined by class and constrained by the rigid structures of labour.” (page 12)
Read the full review: http://savvyverseandwit.com/2012/11/the-penguin-book-of-first-world-war-poetry-second-edition-edited-by-jon-silkin-david-mcduff.html
Read the full review: http://savvyverseandwit.com/2012/11/the-penguin-book-of-first-world-war-poetry-second-edition-edited-by-jon-silkin-david-mcduff.html
emma6544's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
emersongrace510's review against another edition
4.0
An amazing collection!!! Covers everything you might need, with great historical notes at the beginning. Studying history through poetry is very insightful to the moods and attitudes of the time, and if you're looking to learn more about the first world war, this might be a great place to start! I recommend reading "The Soldier" by Rupert Brooke and "Does it Matter?" by Siegfried Sassoon to show contrasting viewpoints before and after the horrors of modern warfare are revealed.