Wednesday 12 February 2014

Literature of the First World War - talk - 20 March

Our 2014 series of literary evenings kicks off with a session about the literature of the First World War.

We'll be joined by guest speaker Dr Guy Cuthbertson from Hope University.

Dr Cuthbertson teaches on this topic and is the author of a newly published biography of Wilfred Owen.

The event takes place at the Enterprise South Liverpool Academy on Horrocks Avenue in Garston.  Drinks (cold) are available from 6 30 with the talk starting at 7pm.

The venue has plenty of parking and is also near Liverpool South Parkway Station and the 82 and 86a bus routes.

Here is a quote from the Amazon review of Dr Cuthbertson's book

"One of Britain's best-known and most loved poets, Wilfred Owen (1893-1918) was killed at the age of 25 on one of the last days of the First World War, having acted heroically as soldier and officer despite his famous misgivings about the war's rationale and conduct. He left behind a body of poetry that sensitively captured the pity, rage, valour and futility of the conflict. In this new biography Guy Cuthbertson provides a fresh account of Owen's life and formative influences: the lower-middle-class childhood he tried to escape; the places he lived in, from Birkenhead to Bordeaux; his class anxieties and his religious doubts; his sexuality and friendships; his close relationship with his mother and his childlike personality. Cuthbertson chronicles a great poet's growth to poetic maturity, illuminates the social strata of the extraordinary Edwardian era, and adds rich context to how Owen's enduring verse can be understood."

We'll be making a small charge of £1 at this meeting. This is to help us meet our room hire and other costs.

The literary evening following this will be in April and will focus on Liverpool's maritime heritage.