Andrew Motion

The short, unhappy life of Ivor Gurney — wounded, gassed and driven insane

Kate Kennedy finally does justice to the neglected poet, whose musician’s ear for the sounds of the war captures the reality of trench life like no other

Ivor Gurney in uniform. He crowded his work with everyday details of trench life, giving it a documentary realism that is unique in poetry of the first world war [Bridgeman images] 
issue 03 July 2021
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  • Dweller in Shadows: A Life of Ivor Gurney

    Kate Kennedy

    Princeton University Press, pp. 488, £30

The poet and composer Ivor Gurney (1890-1937) is a classic but nevertheless shocking example of literary neglect. Although he brought out two respectfully received collections of war poetry during his lifetime, the idiosyncrasies of his style have prevented him from being widely recognised as the equal of his greatest contemporaries.

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