Poetry > A Poetry > by Author Surname (First Letter)

Advantages: Funny and original, and the CD is a huge plus
Disadvantages: None that I can think of

...the title of the book, All the Hits So Far, makes you think of a CD rather than a book. That is not all that strange though, because inside the cover of the book you'll find a CD attached. The CD is 33 minutes and 57 seconds long and on it you get to hear instrumental music as well as Hathaway reading the poems in the book. Sometimes the music is just played inbetween the poems, but every now and then he actually reads to the music. It's not quite ...
...and he does so in all of his poetry, still the overall stucture is free. Hathaway does not hesitate to write about controversial topics, such as religion/the existence of God (Short and Untitled, The Hug Poem, and others), masculinity (Manly Man), social issues (The Annoying Hardcore Dude That Goes Too Far) or the standards of beauty (Big Things in Big Packages), but he does so without disrespecting anyone. He has strong opinions, but he communicates ... Read review

Advantages: It's probably printed on recycled paper.
Disadvantages: It's dire. Totally dire.

There's a rule written somewhere which says "stick to what you know", and if Jewel had done this, as a Jewel fan, I wouldn't have to be writing this review. Jewel the musician is excellent, heartfelt and meaningful. How on earth this went on to be one of the best selling books of poetry in the US, ever, is simply inconceivable. This collection is basically distilled teenage angst, a pop star whining about her awful life while wearing Versace and ... Read review

Advantages: Poetry of Coleridge, Essay by Hughes
Disadvantages: Only 160 pages

...died in July 1834. A Choice of Coleridge’s Verse edited and Introduced by Ted Hughes was published by Faber and Faber on March 18th 1996 and is available from most good book shops for £7.99. There are two reasons why this book is so special, the poetry of Samuel Taylor Coleridge and the introductory essay written by Ted Hughes. Hughes entitled his essay, 'The Snake in the Oak'. Ted Hughes held a belief in the presence of an inner force behind ...
...suggests that Coleridge was fighting a losing battle between a 'Christian Self' and the 'unleavened Self '. Hughes states that it was whilst Coleridge was in this 'unleavened Self' that his three visionary poems, 'Kubla Khan', 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner', and 'Christabel' were written. Hughes dramatically presents Coleridge's career as a self-torturing flight from the possibility of a psychic wholeness, a state which he could only achieve by ... Read review

Advantages: Accessible and easy to read
Disadvantages: Poetry put some people off!

...have to admit I’m not a great reader of poetry but from time to time I come across something that seems to connect with me. With this in mind I thought I’d do a review of one my favourite poetry collections, ‘A Sense Of Movement’ by British born poet Thom Gunn. Those of you who have read some of my previous opinions will know that I an a fan of the Beat movement, a loose collection of American poets and writers who managed to give an alternative ...
...music. Thom Gunn was not a fully paid up member of this literary movement but in this collection he covers the same ground. Youth angst and culture in general is the principal subject as it was for many writers of the Beat movement like Kerouac, Burroughs and Ginsberg. A BIT OF BACKGROUND Thom Gunn was born in Gravesend in 1929 and was brought up in Hampstead North London. After leaving school, Gunn did two years of National Service and then got ... Read review

Advantages: lots
Disadvantages: none

this is a strange and highly original collection. it appears at first to be rather innocent but quickly progresses under the guise of his hauntingly playful verse into a disturbing but tender recount of youth. a young man passes thru differetn phases of his life becoming differetn things and watching his friends depart for war and never returning and thus he becomes accutely aware of how precious life is. it is a truly wonderful collection and i ... Read review