By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
Edward Thomas’s poem ‘Rain’ was written in 1916, while Thomas was fighting in the trenches. ‘Rain’ is about Thomas’s experience of sitting in a hut all night alone, listening to the rain falling and meditating on his death and on the fates of his fellow soldiers in the First World War.
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
The American poet Sharon Olds (born 1942) was born and raised in California and educated at Stanford, although she has spent much of her adult life in New York City. Although she began writing under the shadow of other poets such as Gary Snyder and George Oppen, she resolved to write her way out from under the influence of earlier masters.
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
‘Wind’ is, after ‘The Thought-Fox’, probably the most famous and most successful poem in Ted Hughes’ debut collection of poetry, The Hawk in the Rain (1957). In the poem, Hughes describes the experience of a powerful gale which blasts through the landscape, affecting everything from the birds flying through the air to the very foundations of the earth itself.
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
The Vietnamese-born American poet Ocean Vuong is one of the most exciting new poets to emerge in the last decade or so. His poetry deals with a variety of themes, including war, family, love, and identity, with many of his poems discussing the enigmatic figure of his father.
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
‘Good Bones’ is the best-known poem by the contemporary American poet Maggie Smith (born 1977) and the title poem of her third full-length poetry collection, Good Bones (2017).