Poetry > L Poetry

Advantages: Touching without being depressing
Disadvantages: None

Another pocket-sized treasure from the Scottish Poetry Library, 'Lament' accompanies 'Handfast' as a book of Scottish poetry carefully selected by Lizzie MacGregor and with a certain theme, this time 'funerals and consolation'. In common with 'Handfast', 'Lament' has contributions from a range of Scottish poets, from classic to modern. Some are written in English, some in Scots and some in Gaelic, but please don't let this deter you from at least ...
...by complete translations in English, and the Scots have glossaries alongside. As I wrote in my 'Handfast' review, anyone with any familiarity with Scots shouldn't have a problem anyway, but for those that don't this would be a nice introduction, these poems are so expressive. For those that have an interest in Scots, there are several versions of well-known texts re-written here in the language, as Richard Holloway points out in his very useful ... Read review

Advantages: Breathtakingly virtuosic and knowledgeable writing
Disadvantages: Can become rather obscure at times

Towards the end of London Orbital, Iain Sinclair concludes “The M25 goes nowhere; it’s self-referential, postmodern, ironic. Modestly corrupt, it won’t make sense until it’s been abandoned, grown over.” And there was I thinking it was just a road. That quote, though, hints at the layer upon layer of symbolism, history, politics and art that Iain Sinclair creates and discovers in this furious, fascinating, multifaceted book. What starts as a walk ...
...poet, novelist, chronicler of unseen London – embarked on a series of one-day walks. Starting in September 1998, and ending up on Millennium Eve 1999, he worked his way up the Lea Valley and then methodically anticlockwise round the orbital motorway from Waltham Abbey in Essex. This book is his account of that vast circuit. Does it sound boring? It’s anything but. Because Sinclair brings to the walk a wealth of knowledge, research and just a little ... Read review

Advantages: Easy to read, great for kids.
Disadvantages: if you dislike cats.

This book of poetry is upon which 'Cats, The musical' is based upon. The rythmical reading of Shimbleshanks: the Railway cat is just beautiful and i would suggest any parents with children interested in cats or pets should but this, it'll keep them entertained night after night and they will probably start joining in with funny lines and the clap of the 'train' rhyme. Even if you haven't seen Cats you'll still enjoy this book. If you and children ... Read review

Advantages: Easy to read
Disadvantages: too thoughtful and melancholy for some

I really enjoyed reading this collection of poetry. Plath has a graphic imagination evident in poems such as 'Cut' and her imagery is at times explicit but so apt. 'Morning song' is yet another beautiful poem. The title plays upon the two seperate meanings of 'morning' and 'mourning'. Describing a mother's feelings after birth, Plath describes her as 'cow heavy' using the image of the lactating mother and effortlessly transferring it to the accurate ...
...Plath's poetry is as intriguing as her life. People might suggest her poetry is depressing and such but i urge you to read it. She has such a way with words. Also i would highly recommend reading 'The Bell Jar'. A fascinating insight into the world of insanity through the eyes of a young girl. ... Read review

Advantages: Strong yet simple messages
Disadvantages: May be hard to understand these messages fully for younger readers

Beautiful poems, with both simple and complex meanings and I definitely recommend it to anyone who appreciates poetry or literature. After studying Heaney's poetry for GCSE, and loving it, I personally went to Heaney's birthplace in Ireland, and now all his poems have an even more vivid meaning to me. My 2 favourites - 'Death of a Naturalist' and 'Digging' 'Death of a Naturalist' tells of a young boy's fascination with nature, presented through ...
...and 'sweltering'. Heaney uses imagery and phonology to great effect, and contrasts the boy's emotions to those of the reader. In the 2nd stanza, we return to the pond scene, but now the narrator - presumably Heaney - is terrified by the violent, grotesque nature of frogs, contrasting his earlier love for frogspawn. 'Death of a Naturalist' reflects growing up, and how children lose their childhood fancies as they mature. 'Digging' tells of a man - ... Read review