War of Words: Soldier-Poets of the Somme

The 1916 Battle of the Somme remains the most famous of WW I. What is often overlooked, however, is the literary importance of the Somme: more writers and poets fought in it than in any other battle in history. The work of Siegfried Sassoon, Robert Graves, David Jones, Isaac Rosenberg and JRR Tolkien were informed and transformed by the battle. Taken together, their experiences allow us to see this dreadful historical event through multiple points of view. (bbc.co.uk)