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Best Poetry Books of 2012?

Who knows?  Eyewear has some ideas, but wants to hear from you, its mostly silent readers: what were your favourite poetry collections of 2012?  Most intriguing answer will win some goodies from Eyewear Publishing.  So do post your comments.

Comments

Jon Stone - School of Forgery

One of the ambitious and inventive collections I've read this year.

Rhian Edwards - Clueless Dogs

Edwards writes with so much wit and charm that it's not hard to love this debut.



Norman Crabtree said…

I don't like using superlatives when it comes to listing poets & collections etc but I have read some outstanding ones this year & i think any of these should amongst a list.

Ross Sutherland's 'emergency window' PITM
sam riviere's 'austerities' FABER
Sally Jenkinson's 'sweat borne secrets' BURNING EYE
Luke Kennard's 'planet shaped horse' NINE ARCHES
Rhyming Thunder Anothology of Alternative Poets - BURNING EYE

although when writing that list I realised how many collections I havn't got round to getting yet this year!! anyway this is a list of collections that I have left an impression in my memory this year
Anonymous said…
Just last night, I re-read my copy of Emer Gillispie's "The Instinct Against Death". The collection opens with an astounding long poem - a retelling of the Demeter and Persephone myth (30 sections, 30 pages), an uncanny mix of contemporary and mythical and any-time settings. The first person voice is that of Demeter. It's passionate, unforgettable. Lets me imagine being a mother AND being a goddess!! There's a mini-sequence about how it feels to get "tested" to find out whether or not one is a witch. Also unforgettable! Gillespie is not afraid to tackle the deep dark depths. But the depths also include the everyday living stuff of our lives - and she tackles those too - the mid-life thing, and the glad to be alive thing. Good stuff, all of it. Oh and I love the cover art: "Lady Hare in a Forest with Trees" by Sophie Ryder.
C.L. Umsy said…
I don't know if I'm allowed to post twice...but after I posted about Gillespie's collection, a couple of other books from 2012 came to mind -

- the pamphlet by Kim Moore "We Could Speak Like Wolves"
- Karen Dennison's collection "Counting Rain" which the best moon landing poem I've ever read!
- Lindsey Holland's "Particle Soup" which is super clever the way she's sectioned, titled and contented it - it tickles my scientific inclinations

Zachary Bos said…
"Bewildered" by David Ferry, and its UK counterpart, "On This Side of the River". I daresay that "Dangerous Cakes" *will* be one of the best books of the year...

Already I see much to argue against in http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/nov/30/christmas-gifts-2012-best-poetry-books.
Anonymous said…
Kaddy Benyon's 'Milk Fever' - when I try to describe the effects her poems have on me I find myself using tired cliches like 'haunting' and 'multi-layered' so I'll just highly recommend her book.

Louise

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