Poetry Books

Book SynopsisShortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize 2023. Shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best Collection 2023. A The Irish Times Book of the Year. In his disquieting third collection The Ink Cloud Reader, Kit Fan takes enormous risks linguistically, formally and visually to process the news of a sudden illness and the threat of mortality, set against the larger chaos of his beloved city Hong Kong and our broken planet. These shape-shifting poems are sensitive to anxiety and to beauty, questioning the turbulent climate of our time while celebrating the power of ink - of reading and writing.Trade Review'In The Ink Cloud Reader, Kit Fan's moving, wise and fluid poems grapple with the forces "converting loss to some form / of chaos". The book's vivid portrait of a marriage, quickened by sickness and the threat of separation, presents love as a play of shadow and light. Fan gets stranger, more daring, with each successive book: he is an essential poet, and one I will always return to.' - Sarah Howe; 'The compressed narratives in The Ink Cloud Reader demonstrate both lyric intensity and a remarkable dramatic reach. In this impressive third collection, Kit Fan's restless, explorative, compositional impulse is evident from first to last [...] The poems in this collection - personal, political, edgy, sometimes provocative - have a unifying voice both intriguing and wholly original.' - David Harsent; 'Kit Fan's poems are a kind of lyric vortex: imagistic fictions that wrap themselves around a hard, lyrical, personal centre, something like the complexity of a seed. This collection holds at its core the tension of what to say and how to say it, gloriously in celebration of ambivalence, and questioning.' - Rachael Allen

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Book SynopsisNot In My Name, written and directed by Alice Bartlett, is a newly commissioned theatre production performed by young people. It explores the aftermath of a terror attack in a small northern town.Seventy-five per cent of the text is the actual words spoken by young people and community figures in the research phaseof the project which made for real and cutting edge theatre. Performed by young people, Muslim and non-Muslim, the play explores the impact on the local community honing in on the stories of people at the scene, the authorities and the family and friends of the attacker.This play has attracted much interest from Lancashire Police, and other forces look like they will adopt the play too. There will be a big launch for the play in London in November.Trade ReviewNot in My Name has been well received by all the pupils and teaching staff throughout the county… This play will be a powerful resource for schools and community groups in the years to come. * Superintendent Andrew Pratt, Prevent Lead, Lancashire Constabulary *

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Book Synopsis'Honest, unflinching and unforgettable... one of Britain's best writers' Stormzy'You will come away bruised.You will come away bruisedbut this will give you poetry.'Raw and stark, the poems in Yrsa Daley-Ward's breakthrough collection strip down her reflections on the heart, life, the inner self, coming of age, faith and loss to their essence. They resonate to the core of experience. 'Yrsa's work is like holding the truth in your hands. A glorious living thing' Florence Welch 'yrsa daley-ward's 'bone' is a symphony of breaking and mending. an expert storyteller. of the rarest. and purest kind - daley-ward is uncannily attentive and in tune to the things beneath life. beneath the skin. beneath the weather of the everyday.' nayyirah waheed. author of salt. and nejmaTrade ReviewHonest, unflinching and unforgettable . . . one of Britain's best writersan expert storyteller. of the rarest. and purest kind--daley-ward is uncannily attentive and in tune to the things beneath life. beneath the skin. beneath the weather of the everyday.Yrsa's work is like holding the truth in your hands. It sweats and breathes before you. A glorious living thingYou may think poetry is not for you, but please push yourself a little, go out of your comfort zone and buy bone by Yrsa Daley-Ward ... You will thank us for it * BBC Radio 5 Live *[bone] will hit you like a gut punch ... Some poems had me weeping; I printed others to pin to my wall for daily inspiration * Elle *[Yrsa Daley-Ward] is at the realm of a new wave of contemporary poets who inspire an unprecedented level of empathy and accessibility through their honest and raw approach . . . [A] powerful collection of a woman facing tumultuous inner and external battles head on, delivered with a hard-hitting directness, yet with inflections of optimism throughout that are bound to touch readers to their core * i-D Magazine *One of the must-reads of the year * Evening Standard *Another stunning excavator of human heat and light, Yrsa Daley-Ward goes straight to the messy beating heart of animal attraction with bone, mesmerizing poems that strip bare the pain and beauty of negotiating longing, sex and love * Huffington Post *Beautiful ... Moving ... Touching

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Book Synopsis‘When that bell rings, your life is entirely in your hands.’ London, 1869. Four very different Victorian women are drawn into the dark underground world of female boxing by the eccentric Professor Sharp. Controlled by men and constrained by corsets, each finds an unexpected freedom in the boxing ring. As their lives begin to intertwine, their journey takes us through grand drawing rooms, bustling theatres and rowdy Southwark pubs, where the women fight inequality as well as each other. But with the final showdown approaching, only one can become the Lady Boxing Champion of the World… Joy Wilkinson's play The Sweet Science of Bruising is an epic tale of passion, politics and pugilism. It premiered at Southwark Playhouse, London, in October 2018, in a production by Troupe.Trade Review'A fascinating, full-blooded play... takes a well-aimed swing at the politics of sex and class, putting female characters in the ring... the stage, and the story, belong to the women: a knockout' * The Times *'An unsettling mix of self-discovery and violence, which challenges traditional ideas about what women should be and what they should do... this account of female empowerment is as timely as it is original' * The Arts Desk *'A startling, visceral account of early feminist struggles' * The Reviews Hub *

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Book SynopsisA two-play dramatisation of Philip Pullman's extraordinary award-winning fantasy trilogy, first seen at the National Theatre. His Dark Materials takes us on a thrilling journey through worlds familiar and unknown. For Lyra and Will, its two central characters, it's a coming of age and a transforming spiritual experience. Their great quest demands a savage struggle against the most dangerous of enemies. They encounter fantastical creatures in parallel worlds – rebellious angels, soul-eating spectres, child-catching Gobblers and the armoured bears and witch-clans of the Arctic. Finally, before reaching, perhaps, the republic of heaven, they must visit the land of the dead. This adaptation of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials, by Nicholas Wright, was first performed at the National Theatre in London in 2003.Trade Review'Nicholas Wright... has risen to the challenge with brilliance' * Mail on Sunday *'"Unstageable" was the first reaction of the National Theatre's artistic director, Nicholas Hytner, to the idea of dramatising His Dark Materials. But last night's opening has triumphantly proved him wrong' * Sunday Times *'Children's theatre of an uncommon maturity and ambition... dazzling in just the right way... moments of heart-stopping simplicity' * Independent *'The hottest ticket in town long before press day... Book to see it next Christmas' * Financial Times *

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Book SynopsisThis major new edition of Shakespeare's greatest tragedy of love argues that that play is ultimately Juliet's. The play text is expertly edited and the on-page commentary notes discuss issues of staging, theme, meaning and Shakespeare's use of his sources to give the reader deep and engaging insights into the play. The richly illustrated introduction looks at the play's exceptionally beautiful and complex language and focuses on the figure of Juliet as being at its centre. René Weis discusses the play's critical, stage and film history, including West Side Story and Baz Luhrmann's seminal film Romeo + Juliet. This is an authoritative edition from a leading scholar, giving the reader a penetrating and wide-ranging insight into this ever popular play.Trade ReviewRomeo and Juliet continues to be a perennial favourite in the English classroom. As well as offering students a clear and spacious text to read and annotate, the latest Arden edition provides a wealth of critical and contextual material - so crucial to today's study of Shakespeare. Ideal for teachers looking to refresh and update their reading of the text, René Weis's introduction combines close attention to dramatic language with a comprehensive overview of the history of the play in performance. However familiar a reader might be with Romeo and Juliet, this new edition will bring a range of fresh perspectives, dispelling some oft-repeated myths along the way. * Dr Jenny Stevens, Teacher and Lecturer in English *... this new Arden is a thoroughly usable edition... Both introduction and commentary are sensitive, sharp-eyed and clear. Weis's account of the play's performance history brings out the excitement of modern productions by Michael Bogdanov and Tim Carroll, and the innovations of Baz Luhrmann's film... this Romeo and Juliet will serve well. -- Duncan Salkeld * Times Literary Supplement *If you are looking for something for your A-level students, particularly to start off study for Edexcel's unit four for A level, this is the perfect edition. The notes are detailed and scholarly, and there are many essays and appendices which students would find useful, including a look at playing the love scenes through the ages and some reflection on the various adaptations and original setting for Romeo and Juliet over the centuries. * Teaching Drama *Rene Weis’s Romeo and Juliet lives up to the high standards of the Arden Shakespeare, with an extensive introduction, expansive editorial glosses, and even a facsimile reproduction of Q1 in an appendix. -- Garrett A. Sullivan, Jr., Rice University * Studies in English Literature, Vol. 53, No. 2 *Prof. Weis' edition of Romeo and Juliet implements a number of important updates from the second Arden edition of the test. With a comprehensive introduction, and in-depth textual notations, it has easily become the definitive edition of the play. * Jarrod DePrado, Sacred Heart University, USA *

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Book SynopsisNotes from a Shipwreck, the third collection of poetry by Jessica Mookherjee, is a richly detailed and illuminating voyage of dislocation and longing. By turns evocative, unsettling, and full of ‘small acts of magic’, Mookherjee simultaneously finds the past, present, and future in the tempestuous, lyrical tides that flow through her poems.Here, seafaring lore and shanties interweave with wreckage and survival, drawn by strong currents of history – where migration, colonialism, pandemics and climate change shape the course we are on. The sea is a territory of grief and transformation, alluring and dangerous, where safe harbours and landfall are not always certain. Mookherjee’s enchanting, salt-sharp poetry encompasses the many journeys embarked on – whether seeking refuge, escape, or into exile – and consider not only the deep blue sea and its myriad mythologies, but to understand ‘what makes a land and person,’ – the keen human instinct to seek belonging.

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Book SynopsisCan you feel homesick and at home at the same time? Ever felt lost for words but full of things to say? Meet Andrea Davidson. In Eggenwise, Andrea explores moving to a different country, learning a new language, growing up and falling in love through poems that notice the remarkable in the everyday: a salted sprig of parsley, thundering raindrops on windowpanes, and the buzzzZZZzzz of a pesky pet fly. Through warm and conversational verse, Eggenwise invites you to step into the author's new home in Belgium, to roll your tongue around new words, savour their sound and share your own story through poetry... Fully illustrated throughout by Amy Louise Evans.

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Book SynopsisMaurice Maeterlinck, a Belgian dramatist, and poet wrote The Blue Bird. In order to discover the elusive bluebird of happiness, two kids named Tyltyl and Mytyl are set on a magical journey. A distinct stage of their trip is represented by each of the play's six acts. The fairy Bérylune pays the kids a visit in Act I and assigns them the task of locating the bluebird of happiness. They go on their trip with their dog in Act II, stopping in the Land of Memory along the way to get a glimpse of their history. They visit the Land of the Future in Act III, where they may glimpse what their futures could hold. They meet their departed grandparents as they go to the Realm of the Dead in Act IV. They are led to the Palace of Night in Act V, where they encounter the blue bird's soul. The children come home with the bluebird in Act VI's concluding scene, which they find out has been with them the whole time. The symbolist drama examines issues of human nature, happiness, and the unanswered questions of life and death.

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Book Synopsis"I would challenge you to a battle of wits, but I see you are unarmed." —William Shakespeare Arm yourself with this volume from the Knickerbocker Classics series, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, including 16 comedies, 10 histories, 12 tragedies, and all the poems and sonnets of the world's most influential writer. This collection includes poems and plays that were not included in Shakespeare's First Folio of 1623 to make one complete, authentic collection. For Shakespeare and poetry fans worldwide, this stunning hardcover edition with its elegant cover is perfect for gift giving.The Complete Works of William Shakespeare contains essential reading like Hamlet, Romeo & Juliet, King Lear, Othello, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Macbeth, Julius Caesar, and Henry V alongside many lesser-known gems for a complete Shakespearean education. The Knickerbocker Classics bring together the works of classic authors from around the world. Complete and unabridged, these elegantly designed, hardcover editions feature a comprehensive introduction providing the reader with enlightening information on the author's life and works.

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Book SynopsisFor the last decade, Rob Sears has been painstakingly combing the words of Donald J. Trump for signs of poetry. To the surprise of many, he has found riches. By simply cutting up and reordering lines from Trump''s tweets, Truths and transcripts, Sears has unearthed a trove of exquisite verse that was just waiting to be found.In this expanded edition of a poetry classic, fans can rediscover a writer of rare conviction (thirty-four felony charges and counting), and for the first time ponder the full span of Trump''s artistic flowering and the paradoxes it poses. Like: How can one and the same person unite critics with beautiful poems, yet prove so divisive in his ''other life'' as a political leader? And how can a man many consider desperately flawed produce works of such grace as ''All I ask is fairness'', ''My hands are normal hands'' and ''Shithole countries''?The Beautiful Poetry of Donald Trump is a carefully curated collection for our times that will make

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Book SynopsisClive James read, learned and recited poetry aloud for most of his life. In this, the last book he completed before his death, the much-loved poet, broadcaster and author offers a selection of his favourite poems and a personal commentary on each.In the last months of his life, his vision impaired by surgery and unable to read, Clive James explored the treasure-house of his mind: the poems he knew best, so good that he didn't just remember them, he found them impossible to forget. The Fire of Joy is the record of this final journey of recollection and celebration.Enthralled by poetry all his life, James knew hundreds of poems by heart. In offering this selection of his favourites, a succession of poems from the sixteenth century to the present, his aim is to inspire you to discover and to learn, and perhaps even to speak poetry aloud.In his highly personal anthology, James offers a commentary on each of the eighty or so poems: sometimes a historical or critical note on the poem or its author, sometimes a technical point about the poem's construction from someone who was himself a poet, sometimes a personal anecdote about the role the poem played in his own life.Whether you're familiar with a poem or not – whether you're familiar with poetry in general or not – these chatty, unpretentious, often tender mini-essays convey the joy of James's enthusiasm and the benefit of his knowledge. His urgent wish was to share with a new generation what he himself had loved. This is a book to be read cover to cover or dipped into: either way it generously opens up a world for our delight.'Clive James's joyous farewell . . . from Thomas Wyatt to Carol Ann Duffy' – Guardian, Best Poetry of 2020Clive James (1939–2019) was a broadcaster, critic, poet, memoirist and novelist. His acclaimed poetry includes the collection Sentenced to Life and a translation of Dante's The Divine Comedy, both Sunday Times bestsellers.Trade ReviewA treasure trove of poetic pleasure * The Times *The Fire of Joy is a proper pleasure. Fun and fight-picking, wise and persuasive. James loves a layman and, by the end, the layman certainly loves James . . . “It’s a dipper,” said my husband, reading over my shoulder. If I wasn’t on review duty, that’s the way I’d read it: dipping in at random, at bedtime, a poem a night. -- Laura Freeman * The Times *The Fire of Joy is a set of personal, quintessentially Jamesian commentaries on 80 of his favourite poems. * Guardian *A must for anthology lovers . . . The late, great critic and poet doesn't so much look forward as back; these are old favourites (Byron, Wordsworth, Masefield, Owen) from a lifetime’s reading, with personal notes on each one. I found it moving as well as a joy. -- Bel Mooney * Daily Mail *A wonderful anthology of 80 or so poems to memorise and read aloud, selected by the late critic and humorist Clive James. Enjoy the poems and his witty, opinionated mini-essays about his choices. * The Times Best Books of 2020 So Far… *Clive James’s joyous farewell . . . from Thomas Wyatt to Carol Ann Duffy, this valedictory volume features 80 poems he learned and loved, each accompanied by an essay to persuade us of their brilliance. -- Rishi Dastidar * Guardian, Best Poetry of 2020 *Clive James was so prolific that he’s still publishing books a year after his death . . . [These] are poems to “murmur under your breath at the bus stop, declaim aloud in the bath, roar from the rooftops”. -- James Marriott * The Times, Best Literary Non-fiction Books of the Year 2020 *A book to lighten the darkness . . . What links them all [the selected poems] are Clive James’ typically witty, sometimes abrasive and always passionate comments. It’s a book to dip into and ponder in this bleak midwinter. -- Piers Plowright * Tablet *Extraordinarily cogent . . . I have read many old men’s books over the years, and even the best writers often lose their flavour . . . But this book shows no diminution whatever of James’s talents, and it’s fueled by his obvious love of the form. -- Marcus Berkmann * Spectator *[This book] is full of boisterous life . . . His farewell is funny, intellectually sharp and a faithful companion for this age of turmoil and uncertainty . . . [it] rings and rhymes with passion and learning from a big brain who found room in his soul for poetry and in his heart for the contentment it can bring in good times and the solace it carries in bad times. -- Hugh MacDonald * Herald *The context of [this book's] composition is inescapable and each choice seems more moving in light of James’ impending demise . . . The Fire of Joy is a generous and genial valediction from one of Australia’s most famous wits. -- James Antoniou * Sydney Morning Herald *A deeply affecting book that blends autobiography with literary criticism, and is filled with James’s trademark breezy erudition and wit . . . It is indeed a joy to read, and savour. -- Troy Bramston * Weekend Australian *

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Book SynopsisShakespeare everyone can understandnow in new DELUXE editions! Why fear Shakespeare? By placing the words of the original play next to line-by-line translations in plain English, these popular guides make Shakespeare accessible to everyone. They introduce Shakespeare's world, significant plot points, and the key players. And now they feature expanded literature guide sections that help students study smarter, along with links to bonus content on the Sparknotes.com website. A Q&A, guided analysis of significant literary devices, and review of the play give students all the tools necessary for understanding, discussing, and writing about Othello. The expanded content includes:Five Key Questions: Five frequently asked questions about major moments and characters in the play. What Does the Ending Mean?: Is the ending sad, celebratory, ironic . . . or ambivalent? Plot Analysis: What is the play about? How is the story told, and what are the main themes? Why do the characters behave

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Book SynopsisSo Bright and Delicate: Love Letters and Poems of John Keats to Fanny Brawne is a testament to the love that inspired the passion and creativity of one of the greatest English Romantic poets. This Penguin Classics edition includes an introduction by Jane Campion, Oscar-winning director of the film Bright Star.John Keats died aged just twenty-five, leaving behind some of the most exquisite and moving verse and love letters ever written, inspired by his great love for his neighbour, Fanny Brawne. Although they knew each other for just a few short years and spent a great deal of that time apart - separated by Keats''s worsening illness, which forced a move abroad - Keats wrote again and again about and to his love, right until his very last poem, called simply ''To Fanny''. She, in turn, would wear the ring he had given her until her death. So Bright and Delicate contains the love poems and correspondence composed by Keats in the heat of his passion, and is

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Elegiac...eloquently told...profoundly moving...Trethewey is clearly a poet to savor." --Maxine Kumin "In a very few years Natasha Trethewey has created a small body of nearly flawless poetry." --Rodney Jones "[Natasha Tretheway’s] voice is a rare, beautiful gift to the reader." --William Ferris, Joel R. Williamson Eminent Professor of History, UNC Chapel Hill "Natasha Trethewey serves our profound need for that rare thing—artistically fine Civil War poetry...She is our Native Guard." --David Madden, Louisiana State University, author of Sharpshooter: A Novel of the Civil War —

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Book SynopsisThe She Book is a collection of 107 poems and prose written for you. Because this is your year to live the life of your dreams, to heal, to witness, to be the one who queens. Once a silent star in the sky, lost, alone and unnoticed, she began to dream her life awake. Crafting together the power of words and womanhood, writer Tanya Markul has written a completely unique poetry collection fit for the phenomenal readers of today. In Tanya's words, "May we raise the bar for how we live our lives. May we ridiculously increase the amount of peace, play, creativity, beauty, love, and joy in everything we do. May we all sip from the wisdom of our suffering. And awaken with the courage to share our stories that can heal our inner and outer worlds."

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Book SynopsisSeventy lighthearted poems, selected for both popularity and literary quality, cover a wide range of subjects: books, words, imagination, the beauty of the natural world, travel, adventure, play, and, of course, love and friendship. Features an incredible array of poets, from Lewis Carroll and Ernest Lawrence Thayer to Shel Silverstein and Ogden Nash.

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Book Synopsis'Everyone lived like we did! Well maybe not everyone, everyone. But… I wasn't any worse than anyone else.' The near future. The climate emergency is gathering pace, and our generation is being judged. The jurors are children. But are they delivering justice – or just taking revenge? Dawn King's searing play The Trials was first performed at the Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus in January 2022, and was a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. It received its British premiere at the Donmar Warehouse, London, in August 2022, directed by Natalie Abrahami. The Trials offers an exciting opportunity for theatre companies to address the climate emergency and intergenerational conflict, as the jury of 12 to 17-year-olds hold the stage alongside three adult defendants.Trade Review'A gripping climate dystopia... compelling and fascinating... a parable about the near future that's also an unsettling window into the vertiginous chaos of revolution' * Time Out *'Chillingly compelling... convincing and urgent... a really distinct sense of fury that gives this drama its emotional fuel... haunting and thought-provoking — this is the best play about our climate emergency' * The Arts Desk *'Bold, uncomfortable, urgent viewing... King cleverly nails not just the dystopian vision, but the evasions and lack of commitment to green living that have caused it' * WhatsOnStage *'Exhilarating and engrossing' * Reviews Hub *'Compelling... combines the spirit of Margaret Atwood's speculative fictions with shades of Lord of the Flies... it holds us in its grip... a play that demands self-reflection and soul-searching beyond the auditorium' * Guardian *'Gripping... A timely and troubling speculative drama [that] imagines the grim repercussions of our current climate emergency' * The Stage *

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Book SynopsisWhether writing of longing or seduction, of passion, adultery, or simple, everyday acts of love, Carol Ann Duffy perfectly captures the truth of each experience. Love Poems contains some of her most popular poems and, always imaginative, heartfelt and direct, displays all the eloquence and skill that have made her one of the foremost poets of her time.Trade ReviewMysterious yet accessible; both truthful and beautiful; this selection is a paean to the power of love and of language’s ability to capture it. * Sunday Telegraph *Carol Ann Duffy is a poet who covers the stormy waterfront of desire, devotion and despair . . . from distant yearning to wild new passion through absence, boredom and infidelity, to break-ups, grief and solitude . . . As always, she manages the rare feat of building on traditions, forebears, allusions while stirring and shaking the emotions with muscular, unpretentious force. * Independent *

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Book SynopsisThe poems in Winter Trees were written in the last nine months of Sylvia Plath's life, and form part of the group from which the Ariel poems were chosen. They reveal the poet at the height of her creative powers, exhibiting the startling imagery and dramatic play for which she became known. Published posthumously in 1971, this valuable collection finds its place alongside The Colossus and Ariel in the oeuvre of a singular talent.Nearly all the poems here have the familiar Plath daring, the same feel of bits of frightened, vibrant, indignant consciousness translated instantly into words and images that blend close, experienced horror and icy, sardonic control.' New StatesmanA book that anyone seriously interested in poetry now must have . . . Sylvia Plath's immense gift is evident throughout.' Guardian

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewThe Collected Works of Jim Morrison is a revelation for fans, particularly those eager to look beyond the Lizard King Lothario persona. — People As thought-provoking as it is provocative and, beyond the priapic bluster, Morrison is ­elegiac, too. — inews.co.uk Morrison wrote that 'we had a great visitation of energy,' proclaimed that 'the ancient ones' time has come again,' urged readers to 'enter again the sweet forest/enter the hot dream.' While he deliberately drove down toad-squirmy backroads of primal terror, ecstasy was often naked in the shotgun seat, spinning jeweled pinwheels, peeling a peach. — Tom Robbins, from the foreword, “Fireflies of the Apocalypse"

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Book SynopsisYou haven''t asked, but yes, you both may stay in our house for the time being. And use our things. I figure it''ll take a war to settle it all.A compelling story of two families - one Palestinian, one Israeli - forced by history into an intimacy they didn''t choose.''[Returning to Haifa] offers a moving confrontation between two sets of displaced people and an utterly unsentimental exploration of the complexities of home, history and parenthood . . . its call for reciprocal awareness and acknowledgement of past injustice seems more necessary than ever.' GuardianIn 1948, Palestinian couple Said and Safiyya fled their home during the Nakba. Now, in the aftermath of the 1967 Six Day War, the borders are open for the first time in twenty years, and they dare to return to their home in Haifa. They are ready to find someone else living where they once did, but nothing can prepare them for the encounter they both desire and dread

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Book SynopsisAndrew Gurr is Professor of English at Reading University.

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Book SynopsisMy Heart’s In the Highlands: Classic Scottish Poems is a glorious celebration of poetry and verse by the greatest classic Scottish poets, and introduced by the acclaimed poet John Glenday.Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket-sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. The poems in this collection are selected by editor, Gaby Morgan.With poems from famous Scottish writers such as Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott and Mary Queen of Scots herself there is plenty here to enjoy and inspire. The collection roams across so many aspects of Scottish life and culture; its landscape and its history, its people and its celebrations. It’s a country that has always inspired poets to write about love, nature and heritage, and to reflect on the important things of life.

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Book SynopsisPOETRY BOOK SOCIETY CHOICEThe Thing in the Gap-Stone Stile, Alice Oswald''s first collection of poems, announced the arrival of a distinctive new voice. Shortlisted for the T. S. Eliot Prize, the book introduced readers to her meditative, intensely musical style, and her breath-taking gift for visionary writing.''The poetry of Alice Oswald arrives like a zephyr . . . a fresh and exciting first collection.'' Kathleen Jamie, Times Literary Supplement''an inspired debut of lightly-worn wisdom and verbal panache.'' John Fuller''Alice Oswald throws the windows of the imagination open; she places a fingertip on the pulse of tradition, and proves it is still very much alive.'' The Times

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Book Synopsis''Shakespeare''s play is death-haunted from the start, and its self-glorifying lovers exist in a dream of passion'' GuardianA battle-hardened soldier, Antony is one of the three leaders of the Roman world. But he is also a man in the grip of an all-consuming passion for the tempestuous and alluring queen of Egypt, Cleopatra. And when their life of pleasure together is threatened by encroaching politics, the conflict between love and duty has devastating consequences. A tragic drama of love and loss, sex and power, told in language of poetic sublimity, Antony and Cleopatra is one of Shakespeare''s supreme imaginative achievements.Used and Recommended by the National TheatreGeneral Editor Stanley WellsEdited by Emrys JonesIntroduction by René Weis

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewReview from previous edition Catherine Phillips's excellent edition of the poems...will be the standard reading text for many years to come. * Times Literary Supplement *

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Book SynopsisThe Iliad and the Odyssey of Homer (eighth century BC) are the two oldest European epic poems. The latter tells of Odysseus’ journey home from the Trojan War and the temptations, delays, and dangers he faced at every turn.

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Book SynopsisThe title poem from this collection is set on an island that has been a site of pilgrimage in Ireland for over a thousand years. A narrative sequence, it is an autobiographical quest concerned with ''the growth of a poet''s mind''. The long poem is preceded by a section of shorter lyrics and leads into a third group of poems in which the poet''s voice is at one with the voice of the legendary mad King Sweeney.''Surpasses even what one might reasonably expect from this magnificently gifted poet.'' John Carey, Sunday Times

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Book SynopsisAttempts on her Life 17 scenarios for the theatre by Martin Crimp Attempts to describe her? Attempts to destroy her? Or attempts to destroy herself? Is Anne the object of violence? Or its terrifying practitioner? Martin Crimps 17 scenarios for the theatre, shocking and hilarious by turn, are a rollercoaster of late 20th-century obsessions. From pornography and ethnic violence, to terrorism and unprotected sex, its strange array of nameless characters attempt to invent the perfect story to encapsulate our time. Since its premiere 10 years ago, Attempts on her Life has been translated into more than 20 languages. This is its first major UK revival. Attempts on her Life 17 scenarios for the theatre by Martin Crimp

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Book SynopsisThis volume contains Harold Pinter''s first six plays, including The Birthday Party.The Birthday PartyStanley Webber is visited in his boarding house by two strangers, Goldberg and McCann. An innocent-seeming birthday party for Stanley turns into a nightmare.''Mr Pinter''s terrifying blend of pathos and hatred fuses unforgettably into the stuff of art.'' Sunday TimesThe Room and The Dumb WaiterIn these two early one-act plays, Harold Pinter reveals himself as already in full control of his unique ability to make dramatic poetry of the banalities of everyday speech and the precision with which it defines character.''Harold Pinter is the most original writer to have emerged from the new wave of dramatists who gave fresh life to the British theatre in the fifties and early sixties.'' The TimesThe HothouseThe Hothouse was first produced in 1980, though Harold Pinter wrote the play

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Book SynopsisOne wintry morning academic Prudencia Hart sets off to a conference in the Scottish Borders. Stranded there by snow, she is swept off on a dream-like journey of self discovery, complete with magical moments, devilish encounters and wittily wild music.Inspired by the Border ballads, The National Theatre of Scotland''s production of The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart by David Greig has toured throughout Scotland and the world since 2011. In 2013 the Royal Court Theatre presented the London premiere of this production as part of their Theatre Local strand of site specific productions. ''You shouldn''t miss this for the world . . . Rambunctiously life-affirming and touchingly beautiful.'' Herald''More vibrantly alive than any piece of theatre I''ve seen in Scotland for years.'' Scotsman

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Book Synopsis*WINNER OF THE FORWARD PRIZE FOR BEST COLLECTION 2018**A Finalist for the National Book Award for Poetry 2017**A Financial Times and Telegraph Book of the Year 2018*‘[Smith’s] poems are enriched to the point of volatility, but they pay out, often, in sudden joy’ The New Yorker Award-winning poet Danez Smith is a ground-breaking force, celebrated for deft lyrics, urgent subjects, and performative power. Don’t Call Us Dead opens with a heartrending sequence that imagines an afterlife for black men shot by police, a place where suspicion, violence, and grief are forgotten and replaced with the safety, love and longevity they deserved here on earth. Smith turns then to desire, mortality – the dangers experienced in skin and body and blood – and an HIV-positive diagnosis. ‘Some of us are killed / in pieces,’ Smith writes, ‘some of us all at once.’ Don’t Call Us Dead is an astonishing and ambitious collection, one that confronts, praises, and rebukes an America where every day is too often a funeral and not often enough a miracle.Trade ReviewThis book is poetry as fierce fire. There is such intelligence and fervor in these poems about black men and their imperiled bodies, gay men and their impassioned bodies, what it means to be HIV positive, and so much more. Every poem impressed me, and the level of craft here is impeccable -- Roxane GayTremendously moving, an exalting and longed-for acknowledgement of historical pain ... Smith’s ability to look death squarely in the eye and seize from it language that is fertile with myth, beauty and intellect is astonishing -- Sandeep Parmar * The Guardian *A powerful and moving read. Smith pays tribute to the young black men America has lost to police shootings, racism and injustice, and writes disarmingly about life and sex with HIV, all in a restless verse -- Maria Crawford * Financial Times, **Books of the Year** *Haunting … This material is necessarily bleak, but Smith’s mercurial invention means it’s never merely grim … The visionary 23-page opener, “summer, somewhere” […] is something truly remarkable; a song from a sunlit afterlife, an “unpopular heaven” for black boys killed young, all delivered in taut couplets …Memorable, moving and imbued with moral purpose. I read and re-read this collection (particularly its opening poem) over several weeks… “summer, somewhere” is, by any measure, a brilliant poem -- Tristram Fane Saunders * The Telegraph, Poetry book of the month *[Danez Smith’s] poems are enriched to the point of volatility, but they pay out, often, in sudden joy… they also know the magic trick of making writing on the page operate like the most ecstatic speech. And they are, in their cadences and management of lines, deeply literary. I hear Gerard Manley Hopkins, the Jesuit priest who jury-rigged his verse to express personal turmoil, and Hart Crane, whose gentleness was expressed in an American idiom full of thunderclap, and Allen Ginsberg, who loved and learned from them both. The addition of Smith’s star turns a random cluster of points into a constellation, the way new work of this calibre always does… In this moving, unsettling work, the question is not simply one of craft. It’s about how the body and its authority can be manifested in writing, with only the spindly trace of letters to stand in for it -- Dan Chiasson * The New Yorker *Danez Smith is angry, erotic, politicized, innovative, classical, a formalist, an activist, and blends all of this without seeming to strain... This will be one of the year's essential books -- Craig Morgan Teicher * NPR, 2017 Poetry Preview *Danez Smith's is a voice we need now more than ever as living, feeling, complex, and conflicted beings. These poems of love extend beyond the erotic into the struggle for unity—not despite the realities of race but precisely because of what race has caused us to make of and do to one another. Don't Call Us Dead gives me a dose of hope at a time when such a thing feels hard to come by. This is a mighty work, and a tremendous offering -- Tracy K. Smith, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Life on Mars[An] achingly gorgeous poetry collection by the brilliant Danez Smith ... There is a hope here, pleas and prayers; these poems pierce and they burn, they work as incantations, they lift you up, but refuse to settle you back down. They are miraculous, sublime; if you do one thing for yourself this summer, let it be to read this book, and linger over each and every word * Nylon *What is so extraordinary about this collection is its lyricism, its humanity, and its urgency. Don’t Call Us Dead is an historical commentary, a scientific document, a personal narrative, and a formal poetics. Smith uses every tool of craft at a poet’s disposal to deliver powerful, urgent, deliberate, crucial poems. Don’t miss this book * The Rumpus *Elegy meets celebration of the black male body on every page . . . Smith can’t help but be breathtaking in style and substance -- Porochista Khakpour * Virginia Quarterly Review *Where the stakes of living are high, Danez Smith puts their body right on the front line—‘i survived yesterday,’ they write, ‘spent it ducking bullets.’ In an America that conspires against black, brown, queer, and trans bodies, Danez writes poems of insistence and resistance; they anticipate a better world for all of us ‘where everything is sanctuary & nothing is a gun.’ -- D. A. PowellSmith transcends elegy in this intimate, humorous, and biting collection in which he writes of desire, mortality, white supremacy, and more -- Top 10 Poetry for Fall 2017 * Publishers Weekly *Danez Smith is an original – that rare blend between raw blinding light, an instinct for the well aright line, the courage to walk into his own love and pain armed only with the fragile hope of words, and a fire so unique it’s all his own. In Don’t Call Us Dead he demands we stand only in the truth of our own fear and build a love that’s so redemptive and real. If you have ever lost faith, if you want to believe in life, then you must read this book – it will humble and uplift you, leave you understanding that in the face of it all, there is only awe -- Chris AbaniPart indelible elegy, part glorious love song to ‘those brown folks who make / up the nation of my heart,’ Smith’s powerhouse collection is lush with luminous imagery, slick rhythms, and shrewd nods to Lucille Clifton, Beyoncé, and Diana Ross. Incandescent, indispensable, and, yes, nothing short of a miracle -- starred review * Booklist *The content as well as the writing is transcendent -- starred review * Library Journal *

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