Review

'Her introduction will come to be seen as the summary of the age. I haven't seen any description of where and who we are that's as clear, balanced and inspiring.' Jo Shapcott 'Many of us who like poetry but are ignorant about how a good poem is put together have learned to read unfamiliar poetry with greater understanding as a result of this weekly analysis. An Independent on Sunday reader

Back in 1999, Ruth Padel, poet and writer, began a weekly poetry column in The Independent on Sunday. This was an experiment to introduce modern poetry to the many people who felt sidelined by it, believing it 'difficult' or 'elitist'. What began as a six-week trial ran for two and a half years, during which time Padel was deluged with letters, phone calls and e-mails from readers who declared she had completely changed their response to modern verse. This is a selection of 52 poems and the related articles. Padel suggests ways of interpreting each poem, from a syntactical point of view and also from close analysis of the text. She provides some details of each poet's background, with reference to their other work and explains how the poem under discussion fits into the canon. Yet this outstanding book is far from just being a study guide. Padel's intention is to make the glorious diversity of modern poetry accessible to all, whatever their intellectual background. In the challenging essay that prefaces the poems she demystifies poetic style and structure in a lucid explanation of metre, rhyme and rhythm. She revels in unveiling the hidden rhyme patterns in the poems she discusses, and her boundless enthusiasm is infectious. She never attempts to claim her personal reading of a given poem is to be taken as gospel - in fact, alternative viewpoints from her readers fill her with delight. The poems have all been published in Britain, although the poets themselves come from all over the world. There are as many women as men represented, influential poets whose work has on occasion been dismissed as 'formless' and 'whimsical'. Ruth Padel has no truck with such criticism, and points out how women poets are often misunderstood and under-represented, simply because their poems are read and interpreted by men. There are poems about the enormous issues of death, sex and love, families and war. But there are also poems about feeling fat on the beach, a blind man making a cup of coffee, the loneliness of listening to the shipping forecast. For those of us who missed out on the chance to read her columns, Padel's collection will become a much-loved friend, to be returned to again and again for her wisdom, her perception and her unrestrained passion for poetry. (Kirkus UK) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

An Independent on Sunday reader

‘Many of us... have learned to read unfamiliar poetry with greater understanding as a result of this weekly analysis.' --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Times

"She chooses her poems with impeccable taste, an anthologist of the very best contemporary poetry" --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

Modern poetry is often represented as difficult or remote from most people's experience. This is a passionate attempt to introduce and examine all aspects of contemporary poetry and make it a familiar part of our lives.

From the Publisher

Based on Ruth Padel’s popular ‘Sunday Poem’ column in the Independent on Sunday which aimed to make contemporary poetry accessible and less intimidating by, each week, showing how to go about reading a poem. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.