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An astonishing discovery was made in 1995 during the British
Library's removal from the British Museum. Thirty-four letters and
eighteen draft poems, including "Break of Day in the Trenches",
"Dead Man's Dump", and "Returning, We Hear the Larks" by the poet
and artist Isaac Rosenberg were found in a bundle of papers stored
by former museum keeper Laurence Binyon, himself a poet and
Rosenberg's mentor. After his death as a private soldier on the
Western Front on 1 April 1918, Isaac Rosenberg, now regarded as a
major poet of the First World War, was largely forgotten, and only
the devotion of his family and the support of his fellow poets
rescued his work for posterity. Binyon and another older poet,
Gordon Bottomley, encouraged and corresponded with Rosenberg until
his death, and then edited his poems and extracts from his letters
for publication. The newly discovered papers include all
Rosenberg's complete letters and draft poems to Binyon and
Bottomley, together with material about Rosenberg from family,
friends and mentors such as his sister Annie, Whitechapel librarian
Morley Dainow, schoolteacher Winifreda Seaton, and patron Frank
Emmanuel. All are published here, most for the first time. At first
overshadowed by the more acceptably English war poets, Rosenberg's
poetry did not fit the poetic ideals of the time, just as he, an
East End Jew born of immigrant parents, did not present the
accepted public image of the heroic soldier poet. The originality
and strength of his poetry were rooted in the struggle with the
opposing elements of his life, which did not follow the conventions
of any role he played: East End Jew, poet, painter or soldier. In
one unpublished letter from the trenches he reveals his
difficulties, 'I don't suppose my poems will ever be poetry right
and proper until I shall be able to settle down and whip myself
into more expression. As it is, my not being able to get poetry out
of my head & heart causes me sufficient trouble out here.'
(Letter to Bottomley, postmarked 11 July 1917)
'Death could drop from the dark as easily as song - But song only
dropped, Like a blind man's dreams on the sand, By dangerous tides,
Like a girl's dark hair for she dreams no ruin lies there, Or her
kisses where a serpent hides' - from "Returning, We Hear the Larks'
Selected Poems & Letters". Isaac Rosenberg's poems, such as
"Dead Man's Dump" and "Break of Day in the Trenches", have been
included in every significant war anthology and have earned him a
place in Poets' Corner.He studied at the Slade School of Art at the
same time as Stanley Spencer and Mark Gertler, showing great
promise as a painter. His poverty, education and background made
him an outsider, yet it was just that experience which equipped him
to cope with the horror of war in the trenches: 'I am determined
that this war, with all its powers for devastation, shall not
master my poeting.' Inexplicably for such a major figure,
Rosenberg's work has been out of print for many years. In this
"Selected Poems and Letters", his biographer Jean Liddiard has made
a substantial selection of his finest poems and most revealing
letters, providing also an authoritative introduction and a
detailed chronology.
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This
IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced
typographical errors, and jumbled words. This book may have
occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor
pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original
artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe
this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections,
have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing
commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We
appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the
preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.
This new selection brings together the poetry of three of the most
distinctive and moving voices to emerge from the First World War.
Here are the controlled passion and rich metaphors of Wilfred
Owen's celebrated verses such as 'Anthem for Doomed Youth' and
'Strange Meeting', along with many of his lesser-known works. The
elegiac poems of Ivor Gurney, including 'Requiem' and 'The Silent
One', reflect his love of language, music and landscape, while the
visceral works of Isaac Rosenberg, such as 'Break of Day in the
Trenches', are filled with stark imagery but also, as in 'Louse
Hunting', with vitality and humour. Each poet reflects the
disparate experiences of ordinary soldiers in war, and attempts to
capture man's humanity in the most inhumane of circumstances.
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