Monday 28 October 2013

back to the future

Writing poems about the First World War has been for some time a rite of passage for so many conservative and so-called ‘establishment’ poets. Yes, the centenary year is coming up, but just look at this lead page of Saturday’s Guardian review and you get the picture. Writing about important things is a way for these writers to guarantee their own importance. The late Seamus Heaney is a ring-in here acting as yet another good reference for the others. It’s almost a pity that time-travel isn’t possible. If it were maybe we could send this crew back to 1914.

3 comments:

Philip Harvey said...

The Wasteland.

Ken Edwards said...

What a fantasy ... ship em all back, stick em in the trenches. NOW write a bleeding poem for the bleeding Guardian, guys!

Anonymous said...

ha!