Poetry > J Poetry

Advantages: Classic Literature, Entertaining and Thought Provoking
Disadvantages: Old Language, Lengthy, Very Lengthy

...casting out of Eden, hence Paradise Lost. His version of 1st book of The Bible, Genesis. It is entertaining and thought provoking, bringing a fascinating chain of events into a story accesible by the people of his time. I really enjoyed reading (grafting :P) through it. It was tough but extremely fullfilling, to have found it entertaining to the last and to be able to say i've read one of the all time great pieces of English literature. It is ...
...of it was based around Paradise Lost. If you like fantasy (or perhaps reality?), were prepared to get a grasp on the language and, in all seriousness, were prepared to spend the next few years of your life reading it then read this book. Otherwise stick to modern day novels. Be warned, this is a heavy piece of English, not for the faint hearted. It's deep, long and hard to read. You have to really want to read it. I did and i enjoyed it. Hopefully ... 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: Artful, a good dual-language edition
Disadvantages: -

...Michelangelo's poetry was one of the books we used, as it gave us the opportunity to explore different aspects at the same time. How would someone whose creative genius in some media (painting, sculpture, architecture) made him an immortal in history translate onto the written page? Would Michelangelo's sexual orientation, always a topic of debate based upon various images in paint and stone, as well as personal stories and correspondence, be more ...
...to falsehoods, for in truth, the liar's the one who doesn't believe. James Saslow presents a truly excellent volume of Michelangelo's poetry - 302 completed poems, and an appendix of 41 fragments (some as brief as one line), formatted in dual language, Italian and English. The translations are verse translations, rather than literal, word-for-word renderings, but the annotations are very detailed, so as to explore the nuances and meanings perhaps ... Read review

Advantages: very good read
Disadvantages: controversion

John Donne is one of the most fantastically interesting metaphysical poets. Just to give you a brief description of what metaphysical poetry is about: metaphysical poets were a group of poets in the 17th century whose name was given to them after they had been writing by Samuel Johnson. It's hard to describe exactly what a metaphysical poem is just because, well there isn't really a strict pattern they follow as most of them were not famous until ...
...Anyway, the key thing that more or less all of the metaphysical poems contain is an extended metaphor or conceit throughout the poem. For example in John Donne's 'The Flea' the conceit is that he imagines himself and his lover throughout the poem making love inside of the flea, their "marriage temple". Sounds strange, i know but it really is fantastically hilarious if you read the rest of his poems and see that he is essentially trying to chat up ... Read review

Advantages: Funny, childish, funny...
Disadvantages: Childish, funny, childish...

...since been moved to purchase These Were Your Father’s for £4.99 from Waterstones, published by Mandarin. ****************************************************** The collection is illustrated by Hegley himself in a memo-jottings style of relatively few lines in thick felt-tip pen (my interpretation). They are used with great effect to compliment the silly, the inane, the meaningful and the insightful poems alike. On the cover is a sketch of what ...
...glasses to an upturned dog in a cradle. Why? I have no idea, we're all going to have to make up our own little stories for this one! I have it on good authority that more often than not the children’s section of any good booksellers will have a full compliment of Hegley's work: and I can see the appeal. Simple, short, funny and insightful, his poems always enjoy a simplicity that must certainly appeal to children in their direct approach. Indeed, ... Read review