The impact of war on art - specifically on literature - is a subject that I find pretty fascinating. The First World War is maybe one of the first conflicts to incubate some brilliant writers. Some of the most prominent literary figures of the First World War were two British war poets called Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen. I didn’t know much about their story until I read an excellent book called “Soldiers Don’t Go Mad” by Charles Glass which was published this year. 

In this book, the journalist Charles Glass who was the Middle East correspondent for ABC for ten years and the author of numerous books on war, describes the story of these two poets specifically in terms of their mental health, and the treatment they received for what was then called “shell shock”, which today we might call Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). These two great poets were treated together at a mental hospital called Craiglockhart at Edinburgh.

Both those poets came to Craiglockhart using different paths but connected in that institution and the book does an incredible job of describing the interplay of mental health, war and the creation of art. Siegfried Sassoon was an established poet and a war hero, whereas Wilfred Owen was just getting started but their stay together at this mental hospital would affect them both, personally and artistically. 

Siegfried Sassoon lived well into his eighties but Wilfred Owen was tragically killed on November 4th 1918, only a week before the war ended on November 11th. 

In this interview, Charles Glass & I discuss his book and specifically the themes of war, mental health and how they impact the creation of art.

Books mentioned in this episode:

Find Charles Glass:

Website: https://www.charlesglass.net/

Books: https://www.charlesglass.net/books/

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