New Apocalypse

literary movement

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July 1, 2026

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The New Apocalypse was a literary movement that emerged in England during World War II. Inspired by Neoromantic anarchism, poets associated with this movement produced three anthologies between 1940 and 1945. This period was marked by the dispersal of individuals and paper rationing, which led to the poem and short story becoming favored literary forms for those serving in the armed forces. While no major new novelists or playwrights appeared, established writers continued to produce notable wartime fiction. The New Apocalypse movement, though brief, contributed to the literary landscape of a tumultuous era.1

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English literature
The literature of World War II (1939–45)
…although the poets of the New Apocalypse movement produced three anthologies (1940–45) inspired by Neoromantic anarchism. No important new novelists or playwrights appeared. In fact, the best fiction about wartime—Evelyn Waugh’s Put Out More Flags (1942), Henry Green’s Caught (1943), James Hanley’s No Directions (1943), Patrick Hamilton’s The Slaves of…
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…although the poets of the New Apocalypse movement produced three anthologies (1940–45) inspired by Neoromantic anarchism. No important new novelists or playwrights appeared. In fact, the best fiction about wartime—Evelyn Waugh’s Put Out More Flags (1942), Henry Green’s Caught (1943), James Hanley’s No Directions (1943), Patrick Hamilton’s The Slaves of…
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Nicholas Moore
…was one of the “New Apocalypse” English poets of the 1940s who reacted against the preoccupation with social and political issues of the 1930s by turning toward romanticism.
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…was one of the “New Apocalypse” English poets of the 1940s who reacted against the preoccupation with social and political issues of the 1930s by turning toward romanticism.
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Sir Herbert Read
…1940s known as the “New Apocalypse,” who reacted against the political and cerebral poetry of the preceding decade.
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…1940s known as the “New Apocalypse,” who reacted against the political and cerebral poetry of the preceding decade.
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Henry Treece
Hendry—was a founder of the New Apocalypse movement, a reaction against the politically oriented, machine-age literature and realist poetry of the 1930s.
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Hendry—was a founder of the New Apocalypse movement, a reaction against the politically oriented, machine-age literature and realist poetry of the 1930s.
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