The First World War ravaged the male body on an unprecedented scale, yet fostered moments of physical intimacy and tenderness among the soldiers in the trenches. Touch, the most elusive and private of the senses, became central to war experience. War writing is haunted by experiences of physical contact: from the muddy realities of the front to the emotional intensity of trench life, to the traumatic obsession with the wounded body in nurses' memoirs. Through extensive archival and historical research, analysing previously unknown letters and diaries alongside literary writings by figures such as Owen and Brittain, Santanu Das recovers the sensuous world of the First World War trenches and hospitals. This original and evocative study alters our understanding of the period as well as of the body at war, and illuminates the perilous intimacy between sense experience, emotion and language as we try to make meaning in times of crisis.
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Review of the hardback: '… delicately nuanced, intricately subtle …' Times Literary Supplement
Review of the hardback: 'Santanu Das has written an original, closely argued and highly detailed account of the way in which touch - the physical interaction with one's surroundings and one's fellow soldiers - defined the experience of the war and the ways in which it was recorded. … it is packed with original research and is uncommonly well written.' Daily Telegraph
Review of the hardback: 'Touch and Intimacy melds a wide range of sources into a brilliantly convincing whole. Methodologically, it makes use of a sophisticated and erudite mix of theory …' CLIO
'There are some beautiful and revealing passages of writing here …' The Ivor Gurney Society Journal
Review of the hardback: 'Santanu Das has written an original, closely argued and highly detailed account of the way in which touch - the physical interaction with one's surroundings and one's fellow soldiers - defined the experience of the war and the ways in which it was recorded. … it is packed with original research and is uncommonly well written.' Daily Telegraph
Review of the hardback: 'Touch and Intimacy melds a wide range of sources into a brilliantly convincing whole. Methodologically, it makes use of a sophisticated and erudite mix of theory …' CLIO
'There are some beautiful and revealing passages of writing here …' The Ivor Gurney Society Journal
Book Description
The First World War ravaged the male body on an unprecedented scale, yet soldiers experienced moments of great tenderness and physical intimacy in the trenches. Santanu Das opens up new ways of understanding First World War writing through an intimate history of how war was experienced by the body.
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On 26 March 1917, in a front-line newspaper, some soldiers drew attention to what they thought to be the greatest reality of the Great War: At night, crouching in a shell-hole and filling it, the mud watches, like an enormous octopus. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
On 26 March 1917, in a front-line newspaper, some soldiers drew attention to what they thought to be the greatest reality of the Great War: At night, crouching in a shell-hole and filling it, the mud watches, like an enormous octopus. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
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Format:Paperback
This is one of the most sensitive and interesting academic books on the subject of First World War poetry. Das reads the poems in tremendous detail, showing us new ways of understanding works we thought we knew very well. He also gives us a deeper understanding of the historical context for the poems.
The book is written for university students and academics, but advanced school students might also find it rewarding.
The book is written for university students and academics, but advanced school students might also find it rewarding.
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