Women’s Poetry, War, and Modernism

Spanning two World Wars, three nations and two continents this book traces the relationships and considers the representation of the events and experiences of these conflicts by four women poets; Winifred Letts, Lola Ridge, H.D. and Sheila Wingfield.

Spanning two World Wars, three nations, and two continents, this book examines the wartime writing of Winifred Letts, Lola Ridge, H.D., and Sheila Wingfield (Viscountess Powerscourt). Focusing on four women poets whose lives intersected with conflict in different ways, this book offers fresh perspectives on modern warfare and illuminates resonances between the two global conflicts while preserving the distinctiveness of each writer's voice and perspective.

This book explores the relationship between lived wartime experience and poetic practice, revealing affinities that connect these writers across boundaries of nation, culture, and time. Through its comparative approach to these poets and their responses to war, this book studies the ways in which these women create a literary space of mutual understanding and shared concern in their reactions to the trauma, violence, and upheaval of a world at war and considers the role of poetry in confronting, recording, and reimagining conflict.