Poetry Books

Since cuneiform symbols were first used on clay tablets 5,000 years ago, humans have been recording not only information, but also stories. Some of the oldest writings were works of literature that speak to us across the millennia and continue to be published as books today. Five Books contributing editor Tuva Kahrs brings you five of the oldest books that have made it all the way from clay tablet or papyrus scroll to printed edition or e-book, influencing countless generations of readers and writers.

Visionary, mystic, poet, etcher: the English artist William Blake (1757-1827) developed his own, highly distinct, style—but he was also in conversation with the artistic currents of his day, explains Mark Vernon, the author of a new philosophical exploration of Blake's work. Here he highlights five books that will help you gain an understanding of William Blake's life, work, and spiritual life.

Epic poems are amongst the first works of literature that survive, the earliest poems—like the Epic of Gilgamesh—likely part of oral traditions that were written down only after writing developed from the third millennium BCE. Later writers often took inspiration from earlier works and poems like Homer's Iliad have had a huge impact on Western literature into the 21st century.

Seamus Heaney argued that poetry might not change the world, but it could change our perception of the world. Now, a new prize set up in his name seeks to honour exciting new work with a political edge. Poet Paula Meehan, one of the judges of the inaugural PEN Heaney Prize, talks us through their shortlist of six poetry books and pamphlets we should be reading in 2024.

Poetry written during the First World War has remained prominent in the public consciousness for more than a century; writers like Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon, and Robert Graves are still commonly studied in British schools and universities. Here, Guy Cuthbertson—literary scholar and author of an acclaimed biography of Owen—selects five books to give an overview of the poetry produced during the Great War.

Wit, intelligence, compassion and an ability to shock are the qualities valued by the poet, author and painter, who talks about taking advice from Dad (Ted Hughes) and why she didn’t write for ten years

Virgil is one of the most influential poets in the history of Western literature. Here, another poet, Sarah Ruden, talks about the challenges of translating the Aeneid and why, although we know little about Virgil as a man, his great poem’s take on the violence and power struggles it depicts is deeply ambivalent.

The translator, poet and author of the best-selling Inspector Chen series, Qiu Xiaolong, says there is no one road when it comes to translating Chinese poetry. He chooses five anthologies that capture its magic.

The award-winning Northern Irish poet reveals why the inimitable Sylvia Plath is not always a good influence on young poets and why sublimation of the self is sometimes better than self-expression

Each year, the judges for the Forward Prize select a shortlist of the best new poetry books. In 2020, they chose five collections ranging in tone from epic love songs to domestic surrealism. Alexandra Harris, chair of the judges, tells us what they admired about each book.