The book represent a genuine & important discovery in the canon of Betjemans poems often considered closed with the publication of the Complete Poems". Between 1953-57 John Betjeman read a series of poems on " The Faith in the West" program airing on the BBCs West of England Home Service. This series called " Poems in the Porch" was so popular that Betjeman received constant requests to publish the poems. Although he deprecatingly referred to the poems as mere verses Betjeman at last capitulated to the public. The result was a slim volume of six poems entitled Poems in the Porch. What few people now realize is that Betjeman read at least 20 original poems on the radio in this series perhaps even more although owing to the haphazard records of both the BBC & Betjeman himself it is impossible to reconstruct with complete accuracy the history of this series. Kevin Gardner has been able to identify & collect 26 of these poems & has written a fascinating introductory essay recounting the story of Betjeman as a radio poet & discussing the artistry of these poems. Most have never been published & currently exist only in manuscript. Despite the gap between the BBC records on the one hand & the printed & manuscript texts on the other Gardner has been able to construct a relatively reliable edition of " Betjemans Poems in the Porch"." ...

Marvell: Complete Poemsis a complete works of the seventeenth century poet Andrew Marvell. Marvells poetry is renowned for its irony subtlety & allusiveness & Nigel Smith shows how such literary qualities were developed & the various ways in which the complexity of meanings may be interpreted. This revised edition contains new information available since the original publication: newly recovered versions of some poems further details of historical context & updated translations of all the Latin poems. ...

York Notes Advanced offer a fresh & accessible approach to English Literature. This market-leading series has been completely updated to meet the needs of today's A-level & undergraduate students. Written by established literature experts York Notes Advanced intorduce students to more sophisticated analysis a range of critical perspectives & wider contexts. ...

Published to commemorate the eightieth anniversary of Armistice this collection is intended to be an introduction to the great wealth of First World War Poetry. The sequence of poems is random
- making it ideal for dipping into
- & drawn from a number of sources mixing both well-known & less familiar poetry.

...

In his draft Preface Wilfred Owen

Includes:: his well-known statement My subject is War & the pity of War.

...

The apparent suicide of his policeman brother sets Denver crime reporter Jack Mc Evoy on edge. Surprise at the circumstances of his brothers death prompts Jack to look into a whole series of police suicides & puts him on the trail of a cop-killer whose victims are selected all too carefully. Not only that but they all leave suicide notes drawn from the poems of writer Edgar Allan Poe in their wake. More frightening still the killer appears to know that Jack is getting nearer & nearer. An investigation that looks like being the story of a lifetime might also be Jacks ticket to a lonely end. ...

Maureen Paschal goes to Florence where she begins training in the secret teachings of The Order of the Holy Sepulchre. Under the guidance of her new teacher Destino she discovers the fascinating story of Lorenzo de Medici
- the godfather of the Renaissance & the greatest patron of the arts in history. But Lorenzo's obsession was not with culture alone. Instead he worked carefully to create a body of work which would preserve a series of ancient secrets
- secrets too powerful & dangerous to be committed to writing. But Maureen's most explosive discovery affects the person closest to her as she realizes that her lover Berenger shares an extraordinary legacy with Lorenzo de Medici. Both men were born under the auspices of a prophecy found in the early writing of the Bloodline
- the prophecy of the Poet Prince. But as Berenger & Maureen explore the daunting task of filling Lorenzo's place in the 21st Century they find themselves the subject of an ancient vendetta hell-bent on destroying the heresy & ending Maureen's life in the process.


...

This book offers still more insight into the highly influential writer & poet Edward Thomas through his correspondence with Walter de la Mare: 318 letters from between 1906 & 1917 of which only three have been previously published. They are presented in an accessible enjoyable but scholarly volume. The letters provide new & crucial evidence about Thomass poetic processes & the start of his mature poetry. They also show the mutual support the two poets enjoyed; & give new information on the closeness of the Thomas & de la Mare families. They include some beautiful natural descriptions & track Thomass progress as a reviewer & writer. The physical spacing in the letters provides evidence of often hurried & tired writing but also of a sensitivity to what is not said to pauses to rhythm which prefigure his poems. His idiosyncratic handwriting also underlines key ideas about poetic composition & illuminates his understanding of his journey from prose writer to poet
- topics of great interest to Thomas scholars. Poet to Poet offers a moving epistolary account of the developing personal & poetic relationship of both poets with biographical revelations & increased understanding of their influence on each other & key points relating to their poetic processes. The letters are arranged chronologically & are divided into three sections which illuminate Thomas & De la Mares relationship: 1906-09 The Reviewer & the Poet; 1910-13 Two Writers; 1913-17 Two Poets. Each section has a short introduction highlighting general points of interest & change in their epistolary relationship. The book

Includes:: a transcriptors preface brief biographical information on the two poets suggestions for further reading & an index. The Introduction highlights essential points from the letters in particular revelations about both poets writing processes how Thomass criticism of De la Mares verse informs his own information on their relationship & details of de la Mares character.


...

It is 1841. Patty is married to John Clare: peasant poet genius & madman. Travelling home one day Patty finds her husband sitting footsore at the side of the road having absconded from a lunatic asylum over eighty miles away. Hopeful that his condition has enhanced she takes his hands in delight but he fails to recognize her. She is devastated to discover that he has not returned home to find her but to search for his childhood sweetheart Mary Joyce to whom he believes he is married. Patty still loves John deeply but he seems lost to her obsessed with the idealised image of a woman that she cannot possibly match. Plagued by jealousy she seeks strength in memories: their whirlwind courtship the poems John wrote for her their shared affinity for the l&. She must try to heal John's turbulent unhappy soul & restore him to the man she married. But as John descends further into delusion & his behaviour becomes increasingly volatile hope seems to be fading. Will she ever be able to conquer her own anger & hurt & reconcile with this man she now barely knows? ...

Essential reading for all students of Greek theatre & literature Aristotles Poetics" remains equally stimulating for anyone interested in literature. This " Penguin Classics" edition is translated with an introduction & notes by Malcolm Heath. In his near-contemporary account of classical Greek tragedy Aristotle examine the dramatic elements of plot character language & spectacle that combine to produce pity & fear in the audience & asks why we derive pleasure from this apparently painful process. Taking examples from the plays of " Aeschylus" " Sophocles" & " Euripides" the " Poetics" introduced into literary criticism such central concepts as mimesis (imitation) hamartia (error) & katharsis which have informed serious thinking about drama ever since. Aristotle explains how the most effective tragedies rely on complication & resolution recognition & reversals while centring on characters of heroic stature idealised yet true to life. One of the most perceptive & influential works of criticism in Western literary history the " Poetics" has informed serious thinking about drama ever since. Malcolm Heaths lucid translation makes the " Poetics" fully accessible to the modern reader. It is accompanied by an extended introduction which discusses the key concepts in detail &

Includes:: suggestions for further reading. Aristotle (384-22 BC) studied at the Academy of Plato for 20 years & then established his own school & research institute The Lyceum. His writings which were of extraordinary range profoundly affected the whole course of ancient & medieval philosophy & are still eagerly studied & debated by philosophers today. If you enjoyed " Poetics" you might like Aristotles " The Metaphysics" also available in " Penguin Classics"."

...