Books

Northampton, MA: The Gehenna Press, 1956. First edition thus. Fine/Very Good +. Copy number 9 (IX) of 35, bound in the publisher's half-leather binding with an extra proof on Japanese vellum bound in and signed by the artist, Ben Shahn. A Fine, unworn copy in a Very Good+ publisher's slipcase, with only trivial cracking at a few of the joints. Fine in Very Good + dust jacket. Wilfred Owen, a British soldier and poet, is best remembered for his verse about World War I. Killed in battle in 1918, most of Owen’s poetry was published posthumously. Owen, along with his mentor Siegfried Sassoon, departed from the wartime verse of earlier poets who celebrated the patriotic glories of conflict. Owen and Sassoon, instead, documented the terror, destruction, and horrors of modern warfare. This edition is published by the Gehenna Press, founded by Leonard Baskin in 1942. Thirteen Poems by Wilfred Owen marks the first collaboration between Baskin and Richard Warren of The Metcalf Printing and…

The War Poems is a collection of war poems written by Wilfred Owen during World War I, including his famous pieces such as 'Dulce et Decorum Est' and 'Anthem for Doomed Youth.' The impact of Owen's poetry is such that it has shaped the public's perception of war and has been used in educational settings to convey the brutal reality of conflict.

To determine if a copy of 'The War Poems' is a first edition, one should look for the original publisher's name (Chatto & Windus), the publication date (1920), and the absence of later edition statements or print numbers. Original dust jackets may also indicate first edition status.