The New Poetry

The New Poetry is the first anthology of the new British and Irish poets of the 80s and 90s. It captures the excitement, energy, diversity and ambition of a new generation of writers. The book shows how the new poets have responded to times of great change and political upheaval by forging a radical new poetic, rethinking the techniques, language and processes of poetry. These writers believe that poets should take risks and not be afraid to take on any subject, from science to psychosis; that poetry and politics are inseparable; and that poetry can be both serious and playful. The New Poetry has generous selections of work by over 50 poets from Britain and Ireland, including John Ash, Ciaran Carson, Robert Crawford, Peter Didsbury, Michael Donaghy, Carol Ann Duffy, Paul Durcan, Selima Hill, Michael Hofmann, Liz Lochhead, Glyn Maxwell, Sean O’Brien, Peter Reading and Pauline Stainer. Their work provides an exhilarating variety of responses to our times. Even personal or domestic poems take on broader political or historical meaning, as in the poetry of Simon Armitage and Eavan Boland; and language itself has a powerful cultural relevance in the work of new Black or Scots poets such as Linton Kwesi Johnson, Fred D’Aguiar and W.N. Herbert.