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An immersive collection of poetry to open your world, curated by the host of Poetry UnboundThis inspiring collection, edited by Padraig O Tuama, presents fifty poems about what it means to be alive in the world today. Each poem is paired with Padraig's illuminating commentary that offers personal anecdotes and generous insights into the content of the poem. Engaging, accessible and inviting, Poetry Unbound is the perfect companion for everyone who loves poetry and for anyone who wants to go deeper into poetry but doesn't necessarily know how to do so. Poetry Unbound contains expanded reflections on poems as heard on the podcast, as well as exclusive new selections. Contributors include Hanif Abdurraqib, Patience Agbabi, Raymond Antrobus, Margaret Atwood, Ada Limon, Kei Miller, Roger Robinson, Lemn Sissay, Layli Long Soldier and more. ISBN 9781838856328 -
A forceful, passionate and uplifting collection of poems by women and girls that is guaranteed to inspire, delight and empower. From well-loved poets, including Maya Angelou, Wendy Cope, Lucille Clifton and Christina Rossetti, to newer voices such as Amanda Gorman, Yrsa Daley-Ward and Ada Limon, this outstanding collection from talented anthologist Ella Risbridger has poems for every mood and every moment. Ella's selection is wide-ranging but accessible and will appeal to poetry lovers both young and old alike. With sumptuous finishes including cloth binding, full colour illustrations throughout, textured paper jacket, ribbon marker, and head and tail bands. This is the perfect gift to begin a lifelong love of poetry. "A beautiful book, chock-full of treasures. It should be on every bookshelf!" - Jacqueline Wilson Illustrated by Anna Shepeta. Great for Ages 7-15 ISBN 9781788009218 -
Every time I write about my heart, I write about walking. Every time I write about walking, I write about my heart. What is it like to be born with a congenital heart defect? What does it mean to live knowing your heart will one day fail you? How do you walk without moving a muscle? In Pacemaker, poet David Toms deftly blends creative nonfiction, poetry and diary in an account of resisting, confronting, and living with a rare heart condition. His experience, including his hospitalisation during the Covid-19 pandemic, speaks to all of us in its exploration of what it means to live in a fragile yet resilient body, to walk multiple challenging paths, and to always a find a way to keep moving. ISBN 9781838312657 -
bandit country, the much-anticipated debut poetry collection from James Conor Patterson, is a rollicking, hyper-literate and at times deeply troubling account of a young man's navigation of the semi-lawless borderlands between the north of Ireland and the Republic - the 'bandit country' of the Troubles - and the criss-crossed sea border to England and beyond. Patterson shows us how the militarised boundary line of old has morphed into an invisible and semi-wild frontier, where the ghosts of a thirty-year war continue to haunt the 'ceasefire generation'. Patterson writes in a hybrid dialect of Newry street and Scots and Irish-inflected English - and in a virtuosic variety of forms: these poems crackle with vernacular wit and the rhythms of everyday speech, absorbing the influence of the poet's Belfast mentor, Ciaran Carson, and the radical poetics of Tom Leonard. Already a rising star and Eric Gregory award-winner, James Conor Patterson is an extraordinary talent at the forefront of a new wave of poets exploring the linguistic inheritance of region and community. ISBN 9781529092776 -
Of Ochre and Ash, Eleanor Hooker's third collection of poems, lends to her familiar themes of family, place and memory a trademark uncanny, even otherworldly atmosphere, in which the glimpsed, the intuited and the half-known provide a great deal of the interest. The desire to "see my home from the other side" is a constant, but so too is immersion in the moment and, indeed, the ever-present nearby "darkening lake". "Eleanor Hooker's voice guides her reader through large metaphoric visions and the consolations of ordinary life. This is a collection full of urgent, haunted poems with a subtle range of approach; they are many-faceted works, reflecting the fragmented strangeness of experience. We face wild gothic moments, whose counterweight is the familiar, calm or stormy, world of the lake she lives beside and the people whose life is shared with hers." - Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin ISBN 9781910251904 -
Michael Longley's new collection takes its title from Dylan Thomas - 'for the sake of the souls of the slain birds sailing'. The Slain Birds encompasses souls, slayings and many birds, both dead and alive. The first poem laments a tawny owl killed by a car. That owl reappears later in 'Totem', which represents the book itself as 'a star-surrounded totem pole/ With carvings of all the creatures'. 'Slain birds' exemplify our impact on the creatures and the planet. But, in this book's cosmic ecological scheme, birds are predators too, and coronavirus is 'the merlin we cannot see'. Longley's soul-landscape seems increasingly haunted by death, as he revisits the Great War, the Holocaust and Homeric bloodshed, with their implied counterparts today. Yet his microcosmic Carrigskeewaun remains a precarious 'home' for the human family. It engenders 'Otter-sightings, elvers, leverets, poetry'. Among Longley's images for poetry are crafts that conserve or recycle natural materials: carving, silversmithing, woodturning, embroidery. This suggests the versatility with which he remakes his own art. Two granddaughters 'weave a web from coloured strings' and hang it up 'to trap a big idea'. The interlacing lyrics of The Slain Birds are such a web. 'One of the most perfect poets alive. There is something in his work both ancient and modern. I read him as I might check the sky for stars.' Sebastian Barry. ISBN 9781787333901 -
W.B. Yeats was one of Ireland's greatest writers and arguably the finest twentieth-century poet in the English language. This book brings together over seventy of his poems from all stages of Yeats's extraordinary life: a wonderful legacy that shows, without a doubt, that his heart belonged to Ireland - 'I am', he wrote, 'of Ireland'. Each poem is beautifully complemented by a wide range of paintings, prints and drawings, the majority by Irish or Irish-based artists and often ones who were contemporaries of the poet. Many of the pictures can be seen in Irish public collections, particularly the National Gallery of Ireland. Complete with a detailed introduction and brief notes on the artists, this is the perfect gift for any Yeats fan. ISBN 9780717190867 -
Every Day is a Fresh Beginning: Meaningful Poems for Life is a stunning collection of poetry chosen by Aoibhin Garrihy to uplift and inspire, delight and comfort. These powerful verses will guide you through the stresses of modern life, touching on themes such as friendship, love, home, parenting, and grief. With lines of classic and contemporary wisdom taken from a wide range of poets including Emily Bronte, W.B. Yeats, Seamus Heaney, Anne Casey and Jan Brierton, this anthology will bring joy to every reader. 'It's mind-blowing how ordinary words in the hands of poets can create such powerful magic. As a lover of language Aoibhin has gathered the most beautiful collection of poetry. Now I just need her to read it to me every night!' Kathryn Thomas ISBN 9781804180815 -
From Irish Hospice Foundation, who so compassionately provide end-of-life and bereavement care, this collection provides the gift of words at a time when words can be hard to find and is designed to speak to the fears and concerns that illness and approaching death awaken. Created in conjunction with Poetry Ireland and including poems from Seamus Heaney, Brendan Kennelly, Emily Dickinson and Paul Durcan, this is a collection of words to comfort in the most troubled times. Whether you or a loved one are facing the end of life, or if you're grieving the loss of someone close, you will find solace and refuge here. ISBN 9780717193738 -
Mary Jean Chan and Andrew McMillan's luminous anthology, 100 Queer Poems, is a celebration of thrilling contemporary voices and visionary poets of the past. Featuring Elizabeth Bishop, Langston Hughes, Ocean Vuong, Carol Ann Duffy, Kae Tempest and many more. Encompassing both the flowering of queer poetry over the past few decades and the poets who came before and broke new ground, 100 Queer Poems presents an electrifying range of writing from the twentieth century to the present day. Questioning and redefining what we mean by a 'queer' poem, you'll find inside classics by Elizabeth Bishop, Langston Hughes, Wilfred Owen, Charlotte Mew and June Jordan, central contemporary figures such as Mark Doty, Jericho Brown, Carol Ann Duffy, Kei Miller, Kae Tempest, Natalie Diaz and Ocean Vuong, alongside thrilling new voices including Chen Chen, Richard Scott, Harry Josephine Giles, Verity Spott and Jay Bernard. Curated by two widely acclaimed poets, Mary Jean Chan and Andrew McMillan, 100 Queer Poems moves from childhood and adolescence to forging new homes and relationships with our chosen families, from urban life to the natural world, from explorations of the past to how we find and create our future selves. It deserves a place on the shelf of every reader keen to discover and rediscover how queer poets speak to one another across the generations. ISBN 9781529115321 -
The Poetry Issue - Featuring 240 pages of brand new writing, the Summer 2022 edition is now available to order. The Stinging Fly magazine was established in 1997 to seek out, publish and promote the very best new Irish and international writing. ISBN 9781906539962 -
Nine-year-old Ira-Abel Rawles lives on Hook Farm in the village of UNDERWHELEM. Next to the farm is Gore Woods, Ira's sanctuary, overseen by Orlam, the all-seeing lamb's eyeball who is Ira-Abel's guardian and protector. Here, drawing on the rituals, children's songs, chants and superstitions of the rural West Country of England, Ira-Abel creates the twin realm through which she can make sense of an increasingly confusing and frightening world. Orlam follows Ira and the inhabitants of UNDERWHELEM month by month through the last year of her childhood innocence. The result is a poem-sequence of light and shadow - suffused with hints of violence, sexual confusion and perversion, the oppression of family, but also ecstatic moments in sunlit clearings, song and bawdy humour. The broad theme is ultimately one of love - carried by Ira's personal Christ, the constantly bleeding soldier-ghost Wyman-Elvis, who bears 'The Word': Love Me Tender. Orlam is not only a remarkable coming-of-age tale, but the first full-length book written in the Dorset dialect for many decades. Orlam also reveals P J Harvey as not only one of the most talented songwriters of the age, but a gifted poet - whose formal skill, transforming eye and ear for the lyric line has produced a strange and moving poem like no other. ISBN 9781529063110 -
In her debut collection, Rosamund Taylor dares us across thresholds and invites us to glimpse the world as we've never seen it before. She boldly charts a journey of survival and transformation with poems on history reimagined, astronomy, sorcery, wild landscapes, talismanic creatures, and queer love. Taylor explores what it means to live in a female body that is not defined by lack, or want, or perpetual suffering, but is possessed by a real and defined sense of erotic autonomy. These poems burn from the inside out with possibility, and there is magic, mystery and reclamation at every turn. In Her Jaws is a landmark debut that extends and deepens the Irish tradition of writing the female perspective, while also breaking new ground. "A book of astonishments whose poems gaze towards the night sky and all that stirs in the dark below, swooping the reader through mysteries of desire and discovery. Taylor's voice is by turns tender, sharp, luminous; her poems are wondrous." - Doireann Ni Ghriofa. "The reader travels wild paths in skilled hands. Taylor's voice is evocative, assured and unforgettable. This is absolutely exquisite." - Deirdre Sullivan. ISBN 9781838312640 -
The Chinese poet Yau Noi (also known as Wa Lan, a former pseudonym), like many of his generation, has come to know two very different Chinas in the course of his lifetime. Born and raised on a small farm, he later came to experience the complexity of an increasingly urban world. Then as a young man in the late 1980s, he began to describe the profound changes taking place in China through those tumultuous years. Influenced by surrealism and by the ‘Misty’ poets who resisted restrictions on art during the Cultural Revolution, Yau Noi’s poetry describes distinct ‘Before’, ‘During’ and ‘After’ periods that are both a record of his own journey and that of his country. Translated by Liu Xun and Harry Clifton, and published in a dual-language edition, The Crane: Selected Poems is the first full-length collection of Chinese poet Yau Noi’s poems to be published in English. “Chinese literature has always been almost too immense to talk about …” writes Liu Xun in her Foreword to this bilingual Selected Poems. We are grateful to her and co-translator Harry Clifton for giving us a sense in English of these utterly engaging and distinctive poems, and a glimpse of the times that brought them into being. ISBN 9781910251942 -
DISCOVER THE AMAZING POWER OF POETRY TO MAKE EVEN THE MOST F**KED UP TIMES FEEL BETTER. A beautiful little book of short, simple, classic and contemporary poems to dip into, to make life feel better. From Shakespeare and Shelley to Lemn Sissay and Kate Tempest, poets have always been the best at showing us we're not alone, however sh*t things might seem. Funny, reflective, romantic and life-affirming - here is an anthology of poems to remind you to keep on looking at the stars: from that first 'what the f*ck' moment to empowering you to do something about this sh*t and ultimately realising that life is still beautiful after all. Rediscover old favourites and find some new treasures - you might be surprised just how much poetry can help. For fans of The Poetry Pharmacy, The Reading Cure and The Emergency Poet. ISBN 9781787471030 -
Full colour, illustrated and hardback poetry book containing poetry on all the seasons for young readers. It includes poems about nature, the landscape, the weather and children's experiences of the seasons from ice-creams to Christmas trees. An accompanying ebook will be free to download, introducing children to the poetic forms used in the book and chock-full of ideas to encourage readers to try their hand at writing their own poems. It will be especially helpful also to teachers who would like to include writing poetry as a classroom activity with their pupils. The full-colour illustrations are by Lauren O'Neill, winner of the Children's Books Ireland Award for Illustration in 2016. Great for Ages 6-12. ISBN 9781910411933 -
Seamus Heaney had the idea to form a personal selection from across the entire arc of his poetry, small yet comprehensive enough to serve as an introduction for all comers. He never managed to do this in his lifetime, and no edition exists which has such a broad range, drawing from first collection to last. But now, at last, the project has been returned to, resulting in an intimate gathering of poems chosen and introduced by the Heaney family. Coinciding with the National Library of Ireland launching a major exhibition dedicated to the life and work of Seamus Heaney, 100 Poems is a singular, accessible collection for new and younger readers that has the opportunity to reach far and wide, now and for years to come. ISBN 9780571347162 -
This is an inspiring, magical and beautifully packaged collection of Celtic poetry compiled by a leading authority on Celtic tradition. Arranged into five thematic chapters, this anthology reflects the uniquely Celtic love of nature, history, love, myth, magic and spirituality. From the earliest times, the language-loving Celts revered their bards: they established a poetic tradition beginning in the 6th century with the intricate magical verse of Taliesin. It continued in the rich medieval works of Dafydd ap Gwilym and Rhys Goch and stayed strong in the 19th and 20th centuries with Gerald Manley Hopkins, and writers such as R.J. Stewart, Robin Williamson and Catherine Fisher. Matthews has chosen the finest works by the most diverse range of poets and translated many of the oldest for this volume. His selection will offer readers a window on to the world of the ancient Celtic peoples, celebrating their culture and the great masterpieces of lyricism and brilliance that have survived the ages. ISBN 9781786786654
