Owen

The works of ...

... WILFRED OWEN

*Publication details of Anthem for Doomed Youth:*	Written in 1917, but published by Siegfried Sasson in 1920, in Collected Poems.
Other literary works include:	Dulce et Decorum Est Strange Meeting

A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY

Born:

18th March 1893, Oswestry, England

Early years:

Youngest of four children, Owen was raised in the Evangelical Anglican tradition.

Schooling:

Owen's family could not afford to send him to public school. Nor, when he failed to win an academic scholarship to the University of London in 1911, could they afford to pay for college education. He attended classes part-time at the University of Reading, but despite encouragement from the head of the English Department, he again failed to win the scholarship that would have financed full-time study.

Career:

Owen's first occupation was as a lay assistant at Dunsden, near Reading, but a short illness and crisis of faith resulted in his return home after two years. In 1913, he travelled to France to become a teacher of English. His first teaching post was in the Berlitz School of Languages, Bordeaux. He then tutored privately for a year (for a prosperous family in the Pyrenees, and an English family in Bordeaux). On his return to England in October 1915, he enlisted in 3/28th London Regiment which shortly afterwards became the 2nd Artists Rifles Officers Training Corps. After fourteen months of training in England, he was drafted to France.

Final years:

Owen and his "A" Company were immediately sent to the front line at Serre. Having occupied a former German bunker in no-man's-land, a sentry under his command was blinded during a bombardment (an incident which became the subject of The Sentry). Owen continued to serve at or near the front for some months, before being diagnosed as suffering from shell-shock. He was admitted to Craiglockhart War Hospital near Edinburgh in June, 1917. While at Craiglockhart, Owen met and was inspired by Siegfried Sassoon, the war poet - so much so that Owen's poetry initially imitated Sassoon's fiercely ironic and colloquial style (cf. The Dead-Beat). However, he soon developed his own style and approach to war poetry, producing his most mature works between August, 1917, and September 1918.

Died:

Killed in action on the banks of the Sambre-Oise canal on 4th November, 1918, (three months after returning to the front, and seven days before the war ended).

Owen-related
web-sites:

Stuart Lee's
WW1 "Virtual Seminars..."

Wilfred Owen
- War Poet

The Wilfred Owen
Association

Born:	18th March 1893, Oswestry, England
Early years:	Youngest of four children, Owen was raised in the Evangelical Anglican tradition.
Schooling:	Owen's family could not afford to send him to public school. Nor, when he failed to win an academic scholarship to the University of London in 1911, could they afford to pay for college education. He attended classes part-time at the University of Reading, but despite encouragement from the head of the English Department, he again failed to win the scholarship that would have financed full-time study.
Career:	Owen's first occupation was as a lay assistant at Dunsden, near Reading, but a short illness and crisis of faith resulted in his return home after two years. In 1913, he travelled to France to become a teacher of English. His first teaching post was in the Berlitz School of Languages, Bordeaux. He then tutored privately for a year (for a prosperous family in the Pyrenees, and an English family in Bordeaux). On his return to England in October 1915, he enlisted in 3/28th London Regiment which shortly afterwards became the 2nd Artists Rifles Officers Training Corps. After fourteen months of training in England, he was drafted to France.
Final years:	Owen and his "A" Company were immediately sent to the front line at Serre. Having occupied a former German bunker in no-man's-land, a sentry under his command was blinded during a bombardment (an incident which became the subject of The Sentry). Owen continued to serve at or near the front for some months, before being diagnosed as suffering from shell-shock. He was admitted to Craiglockhart War Hospital near Edinburgh in June, 1917. While at Craiglockhart, Owen met and was inspired by Siegfried Sassoon, the war poet - so much so that Owen's poetry initially imitated Sassoon's fiercely ironic and colloquial style (cf. The Dead-Beat). However, he soon developed his own style and approach to war poetry, producing his most mature works between August, 1917, and September 1918.
Died:	Killed in action on the banks of the Sambre-Oise canal on 4th November, 1918, (three months after returning to the front, and seven days before the war ended).