The War Poetry of
Siegfried Sassoon

American poet Marguerite Wilkinson(1883 — 1928) was very impressed with the World War I poetry of Sigfried Sassoon, MC (1886 – 1967) and her admiration is clearly expressed in this article which appeared in the pages of Touchstone Magazine during the Spring of 1920; coinciding with the poet’s American lecture tour and the publishing of his new collection, Picture-Show. Wilkinson lucidly explains why Sassoon’s voice was different from all the other wartime versifiers and illustrated her point by quoting liberally from his two earlier volumes, The Old Huntsman (1917) and Counter Attack (1918):

“Such wisdom is the shining power of Sigfried Sassoon. To read it is to come face to face with indelible memories of unspeakable anguish. No palliatives are offered. The truth about warfare is told, as Mr. Sassoon understands it, with vigor and in sight…It is told by a man, a soldier, who will never forget this Calvary of the youth of our generation.”