Herbert Read was a man of many contradictions. Though a dedicated socialist and a committed anarchist, he was knighted by Winston Churchill; he was a pacifist but was twice decorated for bravery in the First World War; he was a strong advocate for Modernism in British art but could not accept the concept of Post Modernism. His towering presence in the post-war art world (he co-founded the Institute of Contemporary Arts) almost totally eclipsed his abilities as a poet, and yet his son - the writer Piers Paul Read - believes he always thought of himself as a poet.

Brian Patten, who met Herbert Read towards the end of his life, revisits his First World War poetry and finds an impressively mature voice; cool in tone but full of humanitarian feeling towards the men - he characterised them as "children" - involved on both sides.

Piers Paul Read contributes to the programme and the poems are read by Samuel West.

Producer Christine Hall. Show less