<![CDATA[Propaganda Before The Pooh]]>During the First World War, British authors were conscripted to “rally support for the war as anti-war movements began sweeping across Europe as death counts rose and the horrors of trench warfare became known.” According to newly discovered documents, one of those conscripts included an unhappy A.A. Milne:

The documents include a collection of poems written by Milne, a well-known pacifist, in which he recounts his frustration as a wartime propagandist. His poems were found in a pamphlet called “The Green Book,” published when MI7b was disbanded in 1918. … “The Green Book” includes a collection of writings about the work the authors did for MI7b, including a poem by Milne about the moral difficulty he faced when asked to write propaganda. “In MI7b / who loves to lie with me / About atrocities,” Milne writes. “And Hun Corpse Factories / Come hither, come hither, come hither / Here shall we see / No enemy / But sit all day and blather.” …

Although Milne’s involvement in military intelligence isn’t very “Pooh-like,” it provides valuable insight into the author’s pacifist reputation and perhaps his motivation to write the peaceful childhood tales of Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore and Christopher Robin.

]]>