Edward Thomas and Wales
Edited by Jeff Towns
(Parthian Books, £9.99)

MOST people will probably come across writer Edward Thomas as part of the canon of WWI poets, including perhaps better-known figures such as Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon.

[[{"fid":"11622","view_mode":"inlineright","fields":{"format":"inlineright","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false},"link_text":null,"type":"media","field_deltas":{"1":{"format":"inlineright","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false}},"attributes":{"class":"media-element file-inlineright","data-delta":"1"}}]]And, indeed, much of his most widely celebrated work does date from when he first enlisted at the outbreak of the conflict through to his death at the horrific battle of Arras some three years later.

But, beyond that, there’s often a paucity of knowledge about Thomas. At the most obvious level, it’s worth remembering that in contrast to his colleagues little of his war poetry is actually situated on the battlefield itself — Adelstrop and Rain both being reflections on the heart of the British countryside.

While Thomas’s career as a poet was wholly tied up with the war period, his contribution to literature before that went much wider. He was central to getting the work of esteemed tramp writer WH Davies recognised and he heavily influenced his long time-friend, the legendary US poet Robert Frost.

Before his time in the army, Thomas was largely appreciated as a prodigious nature essayist in the tradition of Richard Jeffries, as an accomplished biographer and as a tireless book reviewer who often produced 15 articles for various papers within a single week.

Edward Thomas and Wales, edited by antiquarian book dealer and documentary maker Jeff Towns, is at pains to stress all of these aspects of what was a fascinating life and it includes much often neglected material.

Its main purpose, though, is to put forward the case that Thomas should first and foremost be seen as a Welsh writer, whom decidedly nationalist figures such as RS Thomas were happy to draw upon in later years.

Born to Welsh parents in London, Thomas spent a lot of time travelling in the mother country and its role in how he saw and interpreted the world is becoming increasingly clear as a more rounded appreciation of his work has developed.

Recent commentators have uncovered how Thomas’s use of sound was strongly linked to Welsh language literary forms. Thomas’s travel book Beautiful Wales has more than stood the test of time and the collections Horae Solitariae, Rest and Unrest, and Light and Twilight are all very much oriented towards the country.

It’s also of some significance that Thomas felt the need to point out that his anthology Celtic Stories was largely written “when Wales and Ireland were entirely independent of England.”

Drawing upon these and other perspectives, Towns makes a convincing case for a wider appreciation of Thomas and this valuable collection is as good a starting point for debate as any.