Context

• Carol Ann Duffy (1955-)Duffy was the UK's Poet Laureate from 2009 to 2019. She is friends with two famous war photographers hence why she is interested in the difficulties and responsibilities posed by their role.
• War photographer -The poem was published in 1985, ten years after the end of the Vietnam war. A contemporary reader would be aware that the line “running children in a nightmare heat” is a reference to a famous photo of a girl in a napalm attack. That photo did however, have a large impact on the public who protested and campaigned against the war. This contrasts with society today in which war photography is largely ignored.