War Primer

War Primer

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In this singular book written during World War Two, Bertolt Brecht presents a devastating visual and lyrical attack on war under modern capitalism.

He takes photographs from newspapers and popular magazines, and adds short lapidary verses to each in a unique attempt to understand the truth of war using mass media.

Pictures of catastrophic bombings, propaganda portraits of leading Nazis, scenes of unbearable tragedy on the battlefield — all these images contribute to an anthology of horror, from which Brecht’s perceptions are distilled in poems that are razor-sharp, angry and direct.

The result is an outstanding literary memorial to World War Two and one of the most spontaneous, revealing and moving of Brecht’s works.

Reviews

  • An album of pity and anger which fixes the evil of war for all time.

    Observer
  • A handsome edition of War Primer, a series of short poems illustrated and inspired by war photographs Brecht clipped from newspapers.

    David EdgarLondon Review of Books
  • Tender, angry and incisive.

    Independent