52 Ways Of Looking At A Poem

Over the last twenty years there has been a massive renaissance in British poetry. Never have so many published poets developed such new ways of saying things, or of touching people in so many different parts of society. And yet modern poetry is often represented as difficult and remote from most people's lives and interests. When once poets were an important part of culture, they are now hardly represented in the media. In a passionate attempt to rectify this omission and to show that today's poems are no more difficult to decode than modern films - we are simply less used to them - Ruth Padel proposed to the Independent on Sunday that she write a weekly column in which she offered a possible reading of a contemporary poem. Neither she nor the newspaper anticipated the response. Letters cascaded in revealing just how hungry people were to be introduced to poetry being written today. In this selection of fifty-two of her 'Sunday Poem' columns, Ruth Padel uses a broad range of poets to examine all aspects of modern poetry from the intricacies of rhythm and rhyme to the choice of subject matter.;As she argues in her lively and provocative introduction, poetry should not intimidate us. It should be as much a part of our everyday lives as reading a novel or listening to music.

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. Ever wondered about how to really interpret poetry? Puzzled about metre, rhyming and stanzas? Presented in language thoroughly accessible for all, poet and writer Ruth Padel demystifies poetic style, structure and meaning in this comprehensive anthology of modern poemsBased on the author’s popular column in The Independent on Sunday, each poem is accompanied by an informative and entertaining explanatory excerpt by Padel. Featuring an assortment of contemporary poets from Carol Ann Duffy to Seamus Heaney, the collection thematically encompasses universal subjects of love, sex, family, death, as well as more obscure matters – for instance, loneliness when listening to the shipping forecast. A poem for each week of the year, Padel’s exploration of the literary form expertly combines technical analysis with imaginative, creative interpretation – sure to make any reader fall in love with the modern verse.‘She argues away the idea that contemporary poetry is "difficult": all it needs is a little work and the rewards are great’ Sunday Times