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]
  • Comments

  • Dweller in Shadows: A Life of Ivor Gurney

    Kate Kennedy

    Princeton University Press, pp. 488, £30

Already a subscriber? Log in

This article is for subscribers only

Subscribe and get your first month of access for free. After that it’s just £10.99 a month.

There’s no commitment, you can cancel any time.

  • Unlimited access to our website and app
  • Enjoy Spectator newsletters and podcasts
  • Explore our online archive, going back to 1828

Read next

Trending

Kate Andrews

The dangers of political prosecution

Kate Andrews
From the magazine
At the start of January, Donald Trump offered up a cheery new year message for Americans. ‘If I don’t get immunity, then Crooked Joe Biden doesn’t get immunity,’ the former president declared on his social media platform Truth Social. With this, he touched on a looming question about 2024: will the presidential race be decided

Because you read about biography

Also by Andrew Motion

Latest

Comments

A blooming good offer

Join the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting the next 3 months for £3.

Already a subscriber? Log in