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Canadian Poetry from World War I: An Anthology
While John McCrae's "In Flanders Fields" stands as the signature poem of World War 1, the Canadian contribution to the poetry of this period is far wider and deeper. This collection of verse from the men and women who experienced the first great war of the twentieth century includes Charles G.D. Roberts, Marjorie Pickthall, Helena Coleman, and Robert Service, among many others. Their poetry captures both the unfathomable loss and unequaled courage of the time.
This contemporary edition includes biographical notes and historical references. Illustrating how amidst the man-made hell of the trenches humanity still clung to the hope and dream of grace, this anthology is a hauntingly lyrical entry to Oxford's new Outlooks on Canadian Literature series.
This contemporary edition includes biographical notes and historical references. Illustrating how amidst the man-made hell of the trenches humanity still clung to the hope and dream of grace, this anthology is a hauntingly lyrical entry to Oxford's new Outlooks on Canadian Literature series.
224 pages, Paperback
First published May 27, 2009
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April 30, 2026
The Monument, by Douglas Leader Durkin, stuck with me for some reason.
From elementary school, I remembered In Flanders Fields as more somber and regretful of war. It's not anti-war.
The war-combatant poets often had a poem like The Call by Robert Service, and they gave it a similar name. Maybe it was clear to an early 19th century audience that poems like The Monument were meant to portray the real outcome of war, while poems like The Call were obviously patriotic and focused on grand ideals rather than a faithful description of the War.
I don't believe any of the poets truly held an outlook like the one expressed in The Call, at least not by November 11th, 1918. Who was still propelled by patriotism after four years of trench warfare? I'm not well-read enough to answer that question... maybe some were. I don't get the sense that any poets in this collection were particularly jingoistic, and they overwhelmingly describe the War as a defensive one.
I can see why new forms of poetry developed during and after the War, and I feel like the form of poetry these individuals had access to limited their ability to express their experience. I think it's well understood that World War I was gruesome and psychologically affecting above and beyond all previous wars, but that's not a claim based on analysis of the poetry. I feel like the descriptions and imagery of violence and warfare could be from any earlier war. Maybe I just discovered that war hasn't actually changed that much, fundamentally.
That being said, the genesis of a Canadian national identity is a strong theme in this anthology, which does give the poetry a decidedly World War I colouring for a Canadian reader.
From elementary school, I remembered In Flanders Fields as more somber and regretful of war. It's not anti-war.
The war-combatant poets often had a poem like The Call by Robert Service, and they gave it a similar name. Maybe it was clear to an early 19th century audience that poems like The Monument were meant to portray the real outcome of war, while poems like The Call were obviously patriotic and focused on grand ideals rather than a faithful description of the War.
I don't believe any of the poets truly held an outlook like the one expressed in The Call, at least not by November 11th, 1918. Who was still propelled by patriotism after four years of trench warfare? I'm not well-read enough to answer that question... maybe some were. I don't get the sense that any poets in this collection were particularly jingoistic, and they overwhelmingly describe the War as a defensive one.
I can see why new forms of poetry developed during and after the War, and I feel like the form of poetry these individuals had access to limited their ability to express their experience. I think it's well understood that World War I was gruesome and psychologically affecting above and beyond all previous wars, but that's not a claim based on analysis of the poetry. I feel like the descriptions and imagery of violence and warfare could be from any earlier war. Maybe I just discovered that war hasn't actually changed that much, fundamentally.
That being said, the genesis of a Canadian national identity is a strong theme in this anthology, which does give the poetry a decidedly World War I colouring for a Canadian reader.
Displaying 1 of 1 review