The War Poets Association is a UK-based charitable organisation established in 2004. Launched at a reception in the British Embassy in Paris, in July 2004, it aims to promote interest in war poetry of the twentieth century, primarily in English. It organises regular events, has a website and publishes an annual journal.
The term war poet most commonly refers to the many British soldiers who wrote in passionate terms during the First World War about their experiences in front line trenches. Some of these poems, for example by Wilfred Owen, Isaac Rosenberg and Siegfried Sassoon, have achieved the status of what Poet Laureate, Andrew Motion, has called an almost 'sacred national text' in Britain. The 'war poetry' of the Second World War is different in character. While a relatively small number of poets serving in the armed forces, such as Keith Douglas and Alun Lewis, wrote consciously in the tradition of Owen, Rosenberg and others, most poets writing between 1939-1945 were touched by the conflict, both men and women, and whether they were civilians or in military service.
The War Poets Association is interested in all poetry of conflict written during the twentieth century.