A Book of Poems for the Present Time - by Living English Poets

Oct 13, 2026

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Collection of poems by living English poets, arranged by perceived affinity rather than a systematic theme. The preface explains that nearly all pieces were written in the last five years and many were previously unpublished, with copyright remaining with each author. Editorial selection used two stages, emphasizing both quality and recentness. The text frames the wartime context, arguing that poetry can be written in crisis and provides courage for contemplation without prescribing fixed conclusions.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages110

Reading Time2 h 49 min

AccessFree to download

To the Reader

Recentness and selection

Wartime purpose and contemplation

# A BOOK OF POEMS FOR THE PRESENT TIMEBY LIVING ENGLISH POETS https://archive.org/details/fearnomore0000unse R:ke 19 1 FEAR NO MORE FEAR NO MORE # A Book of Poemsfor the Present Time byliving English Poets 发 READERS'UNION LIMITED by arrangement with CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS 1941 # DEDICATED TOTHE POET LAUREATE Made 1941 in Great Britain PBINTED BY W.LEWIS,M.A.·THE UNIVERSITY PRESS·CAMBBIDGE&PUBLISHED BY BEADERS'UNION LIMITEDCHANDO8 PLACE·CHARING CROSS·LONDON WC2&DUNHAMS LANE·LETCHWORTHHertfordshire . T0 THE READER Almost all of the poems in this book have been writtenin the last five years.They are printed here,withoutnames,by permission of the authors.Many of thepoems have never been printed elsewhere;some ofthem have appeared in journals,and one or two inbooks.The copyright of each poem remains with itsauthor. When authors were asked for contributions,nothingwas said to limit the theme or kind of poem in any way;the arrangement of the poems therefore could notbe systematic;where poems seemed to have affinity,they have been put near to each other.Poems wereexcluded only if they were not thought good enough,orif they were not recent enough.The first reason,thoughinevitably a matter of opinion,could not be escaped;thepoems have gone through two stages of selection,thecollectors making final choice of the poems originallychosen by the poets themselves.An attempt to lessenthe uncertainty of merely personal choice has beenmade by asking several of the contributors to see thewhole manuscript and to recommend exclusions. The second condition,that the poems should be recent,was held to be vital to the purpose and character of thebook. The last five years have been,too clearly,heavy withdestiny,dark and anxious years when far more thanprivate or personal well-being was in the making.Nocontemplation could exclude these anxieties.Man wasno longer the sport of the gods:his fate was seen to be inhis own charge—a new responsibility,a newly realiseddanger. Manfacing himself was the title proposed for this bookwhile it was growing;the phrase describes both War andPoetry,two ways of tackling a very old problem nowgrown so acute as to be almost new.Though the urgencyhas brought us to gigantic and desperate action,not oneof us is thereby released from the duty of contemplation.This war must be thought to a finish:it concerns thinkersas no other war ever did.There is no need to establishsuch a truism;authors,statesmen,journalists,preachers,and broadcasters were all agreed about it,especially atthe outset.The importance of poetry is that it givescourage for contemplation,not that it specifies con-clusions.The theme of a poem is not the first thing;thequestion is,at such a time,Can poetry be written?Inthe early weeks of the war requests for poetry came totwo of the contributors from many acquaintances;theyasked for poetry as hungry people ask for bread,not toescape circumstance,but to be able to hold it.Forpoetry is an example of a way of life.What was askedwas example;not the set-down wisdom of poets,buttheir way of contemplation;not still another anthologyof past poetry,but an instance and a confirmation,

FAQs

What criteria were used to select the poems in this book?

Poems were chosen for quality and for being recent, using a two-stage selection process where contributors and collectors made final decisions.

Why are the poems arranged near each other?

They are placed together where poems seemed to have affinity, since the authors were not restricted in theme or type.

What role does poetry play during the war, according to the preface?

Poetry provides courage for contemplation and must be written to a thoughtful finish, even though it does not specify conclusions.

Oct 13, 2026

Upload by Jasmine