Full Description
The Best British Poetry 2011 presents the finest and most engaging poems found in British-based literary magazines and webzines over the past year. The material gathered represents the rich variety of current UK poetry, including lyric, formal and experimental poetry. Each poem is accompanied by a note by the poet themselves, explaining the inspiration for the poem and why they decided to write the poem in that form. The format of the book will be familiar to those who have seen similar annual selections made in other countries such as Ireland, Australia and especially the US, where the equivalent annual book is a popular yet controversial landmark in each year's literary calendar. At a time when print journals still retain their significance and popularity and when new sites are flourishing on the web, this book offers a snapshot of current poetry practices in the country by offering a diverse selection of excellent poems.
Contents
Introduction by Roddy Lumsden
Gillian Allnutt, "in her kitchen"
Mike Bannister, "Satin Moth"
Chris Beckett, "Boast of the Fly-Whisk"
Emily Berry, "Sweet Arlene"
Liz Berry, "The Year We Married Birds"
Nina Boyd, "Lanterns"
James Brookes, "Opiates: Kaliningrad"
Judy Brown, "The Helicopter Visions"
Mark Burnhope, "Twelve Steps Towards Better Despair"
Kayo Chingonyi, "Andrew's Corner"
Jane Commane, "Music"
Fred D'Aguiar, "The Rose of Toulouse"
Emma Danes, "17"
Amy De'Ath, "Lena at the Beach"
Isobel Dixon, "A Beautifully Constructed Cocktail"
Sasha Dugdale, "Shepherds"
Ian Duhig, "Jericho Shandy"
Josh Ekroy, "78 rpm"
Laura Elliott, "White Lace Nightgown"
Carrie Etter, "Prairie"
Dai George, "Poolside at Le Domaine"
Giles Goodland, "Waves"
Matthew Gregory, "Young Pterodactyl"
Philip Gross, "Later"
Kelly Grovier, "A Butterfly in the British Museum"
Jen Hadfield, "The Ambition"
Aiko Harman, "Hitodama ('Human Soul')"
Emily Hasler, "Valediction"
Oli Hazzard, "Sonnet"
W.N. Herbert, from "Errant"
Alexander Hutchison, "Deil Tak The Hinmaist"
Sarah Jackson, "Light Over Ratcliffe"
Christopher James, "The Retired Eunuch"
Katharine Kilalea, "Hennecker's Ditch"
Nick Laird, "Collusion"
Pippa Little, "Coal End Hill Farm 1962"
Chris McCabe, "Kingfisher"
Ted McCarthy, "Beverly Downs"
John McCullough, "Sleeping Hermaphrodite"
Patrick McGuinness, "House Clearance"
Kona Macphee, "My Life as a B Movie"
Lorraine Mariner, "And then there will be no more nonsense"
Sophie Mayer, "Of Other Spaces (Tate St. Ives)"
Gordon Meade, "Rats"
Matt Merritt, "Pluvialis"
Kate Miller, "The Apple Farmers' Calendar"
Esther Morgan, "Short-hold"
Catherine Ormell, "Delicacy"
Richard Osmond, "Logo"
Ruth Padel, "Only Here On Earth"
Emma Page, "California"
Nii Ayikwei Parkes, "Lapse"
Abigail Parry, "Hare"
Andrew Philip, "10 x 10"
Heather Phillipson, "At First, the Only Concern is
Milk, More or Less"
Kate Potts, "Three Wishes"
Vidyan Ravinthiran, "Anti-circ"
Deryn Rees-Jones, from "The Songs of Elisabeth So"
Sam Riviere, "Honeymoon"
Colette Sensier, "Orpheus"
Penelope Shuttle, "The Year Strikes the Rock"
Jon Stone, "Mustard"
Matthew Sweeney, "Communiqué"
George Szirtes, "Some Sayings about the Snake"
Lizzi Thistlethwayte, "Scart Gap"
Eoghan Walls, "The Long Horizon"
Ahren Warner, "Hasard"
Chrissy Williams, "Sheep"
Samantha Wynne-Rhydderch, "Table Manners"
Michael Zand, "on a persian cairn"
Contributors' Notes and Comments
List of Magazines
Acknowledgements
