Bid to recognise forgotten works

A NEW anthology of one of the city’s forgotten poets was yesterday recognised on the opening day of the Dundee Literary Festival.

Joseph Lee was once a highly regarded war poet, after he left his job as a reporter to fight in the First World War as a member of The Black Watch.

When he was called up, Lee was working at the Dundee Advertiser and People’s Friend, which then began to publish his short poems from the trenches before he was captured.

His work r eceived acclaim from all over the world for the honest look at the life of a soldier, before he returned from the war zones and lived the rest of his life quietly in London, his work forgotten.

Yesterday saw a new anthology of his work released and several speakers took to the stage to note the importance of Dundee man’s work.

Dundee University deputy archivist Caroline Brown was among those to take to the stage at the Bonar Hall as she gave an introduction to last night’s event.

She said: “He was very important in his time. His work was very genuine and it engaged a lot of people and I think it’s a really interesting collection.

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“I would say that even if you were to read it now it stands the test of time.”

Caroline also had her own theories on why his poetry has been forgotten.

She said: “It’s difficult to pinpoint why his work became lost over time.

“After the war, he became a very private man and kept to himself in London.

“He was working class, and that affected the success of his work at that time.”