The Annotated Collected Poems

Edward Thomas wrote a lifetime's poetry in two years. Already a dedicated prose writer and influential critic, he became a poet only in December 1914, at the age of 36. In April 1917 he was killed at Arras. Often viewed as a 'war poet', he wrote nothing directly about the trenches; also seen as a 'nature poet', his symbolic reach and generic range expose the limits of that category too. A central figure in modern poetry, he is among the half-dozen poets who remade English poetry in the early 20th century.Edna Longley published an earlier edition of Thomas's poetry in 1973. Her work advanced his reputation as a major modern poet. Now she has produced a revised version, which includes all his poems and draws on freshly available archive material. The extensive Notes contain substantial quotations from Thomas's prose, letters and notebooks, as well as a new commentary on the poems.The prose hinterland behind Edward Thomas's poems helps us to understand their depth and complexity,...