‘And you have fixed my life – however short. You did not light me: I was always a mad comet; but you have fixed me. I spun round you a satellite for a month, but I shall swing out soon, a dark star in the orbit where you will blaze.’

A deeply powerful poetry collection that lays bare both the horrors and humanity of the First World War, told with unflinching honesty and profound beauty by one of the greatest war poets in history: Wildfred Owen.

Wilfred Owen: The Selected Poems brings together the most searing and unforgettable works of the poet whose voice has come to define the tragedy of World War I. Writing from the trenches, Owen crafts poems that confront the violence, fear and tragic waste of war while elevating the humanity of those caught within it. His mastery of imagery and sound – whether in the bitter irony of ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’, the haunting tenderness of ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’, or the bleak beauty of ‘Exposure’ – transforms personal and collective suffering into timeless art. This collection not only preserves the anguish of a generation lost to conflict, but also continues to speak across time about the costs of war, the fragility of life and the enduring strength of the human spirit.

Wilfred Owen (1893 – 1918) was one of the most famous English poets writing during the First World War. A second lieutenant in the Manchester Regiment, Owen endured several traumatic experiences throughout his time in service, much of which was the inspiration for his writing. Owen was killed in action at just twenty-five years old, but his poetry depicting the horrors of warfare remain widely read to this day.