Through the Lens of a Canadian Soldier: New Book by Trent Durham GTA Prof
The First World War was a time for many Canadian poets to write about the war. Indulging readers with stories of battle, only to be forgotten years later.
Battle Lines: Canadian Poetry in English and the First World War, the newest book by Trent University Durham GTA’s Dr. Joel Baetz, discusses the celebrated and forgotten works of Canadian war poets.
In his book, Professor Baetz explores the perspective of the Canadian soldier by shedding a light on the long lost feature of the Canadian soldier in emerging war poetry during the first World War.
“I'm fascinated by the ways that some of these poems--the ones that I focus on in my book--counter popular renditions of the war's effect on Canada,” said Prof. Baetz. “In the years following the war (and these ideas are still popular today), some historians and military officials were quick to position the war as a force of good, building the nation and bringing it to prominence on the world stage. The poems by Helena Coleman, Robert Service, Frank Prewett, and WWE Ross challenge that narrative of national triumph and remind us of the costs--the physical and mental sufferings of war--and how eagerly and intensely they have been ignored.”
Posted on August 10, 2018