Ever since studying their works for A level English, I've been interested in the poets of the First World War. More recently I've read quite a bit of poetry from the Second World War too - and women's poetry from both conflicts, so often overlooked and so much worth the effort to unearth and to read. There's also some excellent prose out there, which looks at the actual and imagined lives of the war poets - such as Pat Barker's Regeneration trilogy, which I've reread several times.
But last night it was a stage production that fascinated me - Flying Bridge Theatre Company's "Not About Heroes" by Stephen Macdonald at the Savoy in Monmouth, which traced the development of the relationship between Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen. The play is set during their time at Craiglockhart Hospital in Edinburgh, where Owen had been sent with "shellshock" and to where Sassoon had been shunted after his "Finished With The War" letter (sent to his commanding officer but picked up by the press and read out in Parliament). The emphasis in the play is very much on the development of the two men's poetry but it also examines other aspects of their relationship, including its probable homosexual nature. It's a brilliant and very powerful piece of work; last night was only the second night of the current tour, which runs until the middle of November, so there's still plenty of opportunity to catch a performance. You can find all the details at www.flyingbridgetheatre.co.uk
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