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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

shadow in the corner said…
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.



Thu Nov 22, 02:35:00 pm 2012
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
Thu Nov 22, 05:57:00 pm 2012
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.
Sun Nov 25, 12:44:00 pm 2012
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

Sun Nov 25, 02:38:00 pm 2012
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.
Fri Nov 30, 08:15:00 pm 2012
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
Sat Dec 01, 12:51:00 pm 2012
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