A scene of war ruins against a sunrise or sunset

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Primary Sources for World War I Poetry and the War Poets

Wilfred Owen

John McRae and In Flanders Fields

Siegfried Sassoon

War Poets: Missing Voices

• The Peters Sisters
  

  Cross-Link: America's Decision to Enter World War I

Primary Sources:  World War I Poetry

• The First World War Poetry Digital Archive

• War Poets 
• Due to the nature of the War Draft, many well-known poets served on the front lines of battle in various roles
• Here is a collection of poems written by these aforementioned soldiers: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/collections/101720/world-war-i-poets 

• In writing about their direct experiences, these poets were able to communicate the trials of war to those civilians at home.

• Here is an article detailing the influence of War Poets: https://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/world-war-one/world-war-one-poets/poetry-and-world-war-one/ 

The major works of these poets are still read and interpreted today, as they have a lasting impact on American Culture. 

Here is an animated depiction of three poems from World War I: The Owl d'Edward Thomas, Dulce et Decorum Est, and In Flanders Fields

 Biographies on Poets of WWI

• https://www.warpoetry.co.uk/biogs99.htm  

For a first-person account read Trench Warfare Begins on the Aisne.

• Click here to an archive of primary sources of World War I from BYU.

• Click here to look at Yale's library of the numerous primary sources on World War I.

• For a comprehensive list of WWI primary resources from Fordham University click here.

For songs from World War I, click here and here

The Language of World War I from the Oxford English Dictionary discusses new words that entered the English language from the war.

Wilfred Owen, World War One Poet

Owen's experiences in the war. 

Dulce et Decorum Est

In Flanders Field Diorama

John McRae-In Flanders Fields

Link to entire poem https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/flanders-fields 

Biography on John McRae https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/john-mccrae 

This poem is one of the most well known from this era of writing.

Inspired by the author's attendance of a fallen comrade's funeral, "In Flanders Fields" became an iconic remembrance poem.

Its reference to red poppies birthed the use of the remembrance poppy, one of the most notable symbols for remembering the fallen in The Commonwealth Nations. 

The Remembrance Poppy as worn by The Duchess of Cambridge (left) and The Duchess of Sussex (right).

A musical setting of the poem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ5t2dPgoG0 

Siegfried Sassoon, 1917

Siegfried Sassoon

Siegfried Sassoon from the Poetry Foundation

• War poems by Siegfried Sassoon on the excellent World War One poetry archive.

• These works and others like them give us a unique first person account of what war was like for these young men, and helps explain the effects of war after the survivors had returned home.

War Poets: Missing Voices

When thinking about War Poets, most of the prominent names are those of white men. While these men did create influential works, they were not the only ones with stories to tell.

In West Virginia, there is now a building memorializing the War Time poetry of the African American Peters sisters from West Virginia. 

• They told stories of racism and war and their experiences as civilians 
  

Poster that inspired Ada Peters' Poem 'The Colored Man is No Slacker'

Article on The Sisters and this poem: https://www.worldwar1centennial.org/index.php/articles-posts/4058-the-colored-man-is-no-slacker-wwi-poems-by-the-peters-sisters.html