Stange Meetings - The Poets of the Great War

Harry Ricketts
Chatto & Windus - NZ$60

This handsome UK hardback book arrived out of the blue the other day from the publishers. They couldn't have known of my fascination for the poets of World War One, a fascination I have held for many years, going back probably to 5th form English at Gisborne High School where I was first introduced to  Rupert Brooke -

If I should die, think only this of me:
That there's some corner of a foreign field
That is forever England.

Later in my bookselling and publishing days I bought many collections by Brooke as well as Siegfried Sassoon, Wilfrid Owen and Edward Thomas, (most published by Faber & Faber), as well as a number of biographies, all of which I have to this day.

So for me then this is an especially fascinating book. Written by Wellington academic and author Harry Ricketts it provides a highly orginal account of the War Poets 1914-1918 , written through a series of encounters, or near encounters from Siegfried Sassoon's first meeting with Rupert Brooke over breakfast at Eddie Marsh's through famous moments like Sassoon's encouragement of Owen when they are both in hospital at the same time.

And happily and coincidentally the book is reviewed by Andrew Motion

in The Guardian last Saturday, 13 November, 2010.

I am very happy to add this fine publication to my collection.