author
John McCrae
1872–1918
Remembered around the world for "In Flanders Fields," this Canadian doctor-soldier turned the grief of war into one of its most enduring poems. His life joined medicine, military service, and writing in a way that still feels deeply human.
1 Audiobook
In Flanders Fields, and Other Poems
by John McCrae
About the author
Born in Guelph, Ontario, on November 30, 1872, John McCrae became a physician, teacher, soldier, and poet. He studied at the University of Toronto, later worked in medicine and pathology, and built a reputation as a thoughtful, disciplined professional long before the First World War.
During the war, McCrae served as a medical officer with the Canadian Expeditionary Force. In 1915, after the death of a friend during the Second Battle of Ypres, he wrote "In Flanders Fields", the poem that made his name famous and helped fix the poppy in public memory as a symbol of remembrance.
McCrae continued his medical service in Europe and died on January 28, 1918, in Wimereux, France. Though he wrote more than one poem, his legacy rests above all on that brief, powerful response to loss, duty, and the human cost of war.