At the eleventh hour, on the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918, World War I ended. As we approach 100 years since the First World War began in August 1914, Michael Morpurgo reflects on why it is so important to him to write about war in his books.
“It’s very difficult to write about these things if you’re writing for young people … what literature should do is visit that same place, go to that same place, but do it in a way that is enabling you to understand better what really happens in a war, why war happens and what happens to the individual – particularly the individual – during the war.”
“… for me the most important thing I think with any war story is to write about the possibility of hope, the possibility of a time when there isn’t a war, so reconciliation is key to my stories. They are not really about war, they are about a hope for peace. That ‘s why I write them.”
You can listen to Michael Morpurgo talk about his writing in this war themed video, which forms part of Morpurgo Month, an opportunity to enjoy a book a day from one of Britain’s best-loved storytellers.
