Featuring NoViolet Bulawayo, Xiaolu Guo, Daniel Kehlmann (Austria), Erwin Mortier, Elif Shafak, Kamila Shamsie, Ali Smith, Aleš Šteger, Colm Tóibín, Jeanette Winterson.
Lavinia Greenlaw, one of Britain’s most eminent poets and respected literary figures, invites 10 writers from countries involved in the First World War to respond to the title of Robert Graves’ famous book. Each take the poignant phrase ‘Goodbye to All That’ as a starting point for a personal reflection on the aftermath of war, as well as on the continuing struggle for artistic freedom in the face of conflict in all its forms.
Their written responses to Graves’ famous line are published as an anthology by Pushkin Press, and read and discussed at live events in London and Edinburgh. These stories, investigations and essays pay tribute to the spirit of Graves, an artist who remained true to himself in the face of personal trauma and public hostility.
The poet, novelist and classicist Robert Graves fought at the Battle of the Somme alongside his close friend and fellow soldier-poet Siegfried Sassoon. Among the most celebrated writers to emerge from the conflict, his autobiography ‘Goodbye to All That’, which he described as a ‘bitter leave-taking of England’, depicts the horror of war and documents the momentous social changes it brought about.
To book and for more information visit www.1418now.org.uk/whats-on/goodbye-to-all-that/