Henry Reed (22 February 1914 - 8 December 1986 / Birmingham)

i remember my pottery class

A handful of poets are remembered mainly because of one single, perfect poem. It's too simple to require much comment, but perfectly contrasts the boredom and meaninglessness of much that is everyday life - in this case basic military training - with the wonders of nature and the imagination. Usually - as here - the former wins. In my Top 50.

This is a beautiful war poem in which the cruelty of war in the foreground comes in contrast with the beauty and fragility of nature in the background. It depicts while the nature is reviving and grolifying in spring, humanbeing is thinking of nothing but killing and destructing life which is really shameful. And in my opinion, the bigger tragedy is when you realize that this poem does not just belong to World War II, the time in which the poem is written. Yet you see the same blood thirstiness in man nowadays everywhere in the world. But its form has changed a little bit and no more. By the way, this poem is a perfect example for juxtaposition.

I remember hearing Reed reading this poem, and it was in the same voice throughout; he is recounting the instruction he had learned by heart as part of the day's events.

I can see why you'd feel that, Francois, but the omission of italics or inverted commas here was very deliberate on Reed's part, and I feel it does highlight the unsettling sense of where the boundaries between 'nature' and 'culture' are to be drawn.Also, I recall hearing Reed say that when the poem is recited he intended that it should be without any change in the speaking voice to signal difference of character.

This peom is a dialogue between a recruit and an instructor. Utterances of one or the other should be italicised to make this more apparent.