Whether you are after contemporary poetry collections, such as love poems or Romantic poetry, or if you are studying poetry at school or university, Five Books has recommendations for the best poetry books to read for both study and pleasure.
Want to get into poetry but haven't kept up with the new releases? Long-time Faber poet Jamie McKendrick and American poet and critic Stephanie Burt recommend their favourite contemporary poetry collections. We even have Frieda Hughes—daughter of Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes—sharing her favourites, too. (And if Frieda Hughes's interview interests you, we have a fascinating introduction to the best books on her mother, Sylvia Plath, who 20th century poetry expert Tim Kendall calls “one of the finest lyric poets of the last century.”)
What if you're a budding poet yourself? Well, we have recommendations for the best books on How To Write Poetry. If you're still in the student phrase, we also have discussions breaking down the best examples of specific poetic forms, such as the best prose poems, recommended by the editor of The Penguin Book of the Prose Poem Jeremy Noel-Tod. If you're taking a chronological survey course, or if you're more interested in a specific period of poetry in literary history, look no further than subjects like Emily Wilson (the first woman to translate the poem fully into English) on Homer's Odyssey, Dante, the Greatest Romantic Poems, and Reading the Romantics, Coleridge, American poetry, Contemporary American Poetry, and Classical Chinese Poetry. You are bound to find your perfect poetry book here.
-
1
Poetry of the First World War: An Anthology
ed. Tim Kendall -
2
From the Line: Scottish War Poetry 1914-1945
ed. David Goldie and Roderick Watson -
3
The Penguin Book of First World War Poetry
ed. George Walter -
4
The War Poems of Wilfred Owen
by Wilfred Owen, ed. John Stallworthy -
5
The Annotated Collected Poems
by Edward Thomas, ed. Edna Longley
The best books on Poetry of the First World War, recommended by Guy Cuthbertson
The best books on Poetry of the First World War, recommended by Guy Cuthbertson
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.
The best books on Virgil, recommended by Sarah Ruden
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 Best Poetry Books of 2020, recommended by Alexandra Harris
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.
Sylvia Plath Books, recommended by Tim Kendall
Though biographical sensation has often diverted attention from her work, Sylvia Plath remains one of the finest lyric poets of the twentieth century, argues Professor Tim Kendall, Academic Director of Arts and Culture at Exeter and author of Sylvia Plath: A Critical Study. Here, he recommends the best places to start (or return to) with Plath, from a fresh look at Ariel to illuminating an oft-overlooked, brilliant appendix in her unabridged journals.
-
1
Shakespeare's Sonnets
by Katherine Duncan-Jones & William Shakespeare -
2
The Art of Shakespeare's Sonnets
by Helen Vendler & William Shakespeare -
3
All the Sonnets of Shakespeare
by Paul Edmonson, Stanley Wells & William Shakespeare -
4
The Afterlife of Shakespeare's Sonnets
by Jane Kingsley-Smith -
5
Nets
by Jen Bervin -
6
Lucy Negro, Redux
by Caroline Randall Williams
The best books on Shakespeare’s Sonnets, recommended by Scott Newstok
The best books on Shakespeare’s Sonnets, recommended by Scott Newstok
The beauty of Shakespeare’s sonnets speaks to us down the centuries, their lines peaking out at us from the titles of famous books or enjoying outings at weddings or other romantic occasions. But they were not always regarded as perfectly-formed jewels, and the relationships they portray not as conventional as many of us presume. Here, Shakespeare scholar Scott Newstok talks us through books that help us learn more about Shakespeare’s sonnets, from the best introduction to the poems for students through to their afterlife and recent creative interpretations.
The Best Poetry Books of 2019, recommended by Simone White
New collections of poetry are increasingly pushing the bounds of language and performance in intelligent, creative, perceptive ways, says Simone White, a poet and Assistant Professor of English at the University of Pennsylvania. Here, she recommends some of her favorite poetry books published (or republished) in 2019.
The best books on The Odyssey, recommended by Emily Wilson
The Odyssey has been constantly rewritten by centuries of writers, but like so much of Greek myth, it's always already open to revising its own narrative. Emily Wilson, Professor of Classics at the University of Pennsylvania and the first woman to translate the Odyssey into English, recommends the best books to read after (or alongside) the Ancient Greek epic, and offers sage wisdom about both translating ancient epics and why everyone can learn from the Odyssey today.
The Best Contemporary American Poetry, recommended by Stephanie Burt
As distinctions between traditional and avant-garde, central and marginal dissolve, poet and critic Stephanie Burt discusses some of America’s most exciting contemporary poets, who are speaking to and from diverse experiences and backgrounds – sometimes with a disco beat
-
1
Lyrical Ballads
by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge -
2
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
by Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Gustave Doré -
3
The Complete Poems of Samuel Taylor Coleridge
by Samuel Taylor Coleridge -
4
Coleridge's Notebooks: A Selection
by Samuel Taylor Coleridge -
5
Biographia Literaria
by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
The Best Samuel Taylor Coleridge Books, recommended by Seamus Perry
The Best Samuel Taylor Coleridge Books, recommended by Seamus Perry
The reputation of Romantic poet, critic and philosopher Samuel Taylor Coleridge has long been overshadowed by William Wordsworth, his friend and Lyrical Ballads co-author. Oxford professor Seamus Perry talks us through the books that showcase Coleridge’s idiosyncratic brilliance.
-
1
Troilus and Criseyde
Geoffrey Chaucer (ed. by Stephen Barney) -
2
Oxford Guides to Chaucer: Troilus and Criseyde
by Barry Windeatt -
3
The Double Sorrow of Troilus: A Study of Ambiguities in ‘Troilus and Criseyde’
by Ida L. Gordon -
4
The Tragic Argument of Troilus and Criseyde
by Gerald Morgan -
5
A Double Sorrow: Troilus and Criseyde
by Lavinia Greenlaw
Troilus and Criseyde by Geoffrey Chaucer: A Reading List, recommended by Jenni Nuttall
Troilus and Criseyde by Geoffrey Chaucer: A Reading List, recommended by Jenni Nuttall
Troilus and Criseyde has a centuries’ old backstory. Long before Renaissance dramas or realist novels, Chaucer wrote a love story set in a besieged city that was a deep psychological exploration of character and human relationships. Jenni Nuttall, author of Troilus and Criseyde: A Reader’s Guide, shares her reading recommendations after over a decade of teaching the poem to Oxford undergraduates.