The Oxford Book of Short Poems

by P.J. Kavanagh (Editor)

Memorable, witty, bawdy, profound--the short poem observes no limits except those of length. They can range from subjects as diverse as a child's first words, a woman's feet, or human destiny. The verses within this collection vary greatly in theme, style, and tone, but in each case, brevity reveals the poets at their best, both as individual artists and as exemplars of their times.
The short poem is often overlooked in verse collections, where poets tend to be represented by their longer, more sustained work. Defining "short" as any poem of under fourteen lines, P. J. Kavanagh and James Michie have chosen those poems, which they consider to be the best in the English language, from medieval times to the present day. Their selection extends from Chaucer to Philip Larkin, from Shakespeare to Emily Bronte, from Blake to Edith Sitwell, and from Yeats to Emily Dickinson, demonstrating the gradual changes in style, subject-matter, and tone from one generation of poets to the next.

Genres: Poetry, Anthologies

307 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

P. J. Kavanagh was a poet, writer, actor, broadcaster and columnist. Born in 1931, son of the radio comedy writer Ted Kavanagh, he went to a Benedictine school, served in the Korean war during national service, and worked for the British Council in Barcelona and Indonesia. He acted on stage and TV – his last appearance in an episode of Father Ted. The Perfect Stranger, awarded the Richard Hillary Memorial Prize in 1966, describes his early life. His columns for The Spectator and the Times Literary Supplement (he called them substitute poems) are collected in People and Places (1988) and A Kind of Journal (2003).

Poetry remained his major occupation. His New Selected Poems came out in 2014. Earlier collections include Presences (1987), An Enchantment (1991) and Something About (2004). His Collected Poems was given the Cholmondeley Award in 1992.

His novel A Song and Dance won the 1968 Guardian Fiction Prize. His other novels are A Happy Man, People and Weather and Only by Mistake, and for younger readers Scarf Jack and Rebel for Good. A travel-autobiography Finding Connections traces his Irish forebears in New Zealand. He edited G. K. Chesterton and Ivor Gurney, and the anthologies Voices in Ireland, The Oxford Book of Short Poems (with James Michie) and A Book of Consolations.

P. J. died in August 2015 in the Cotswold hills, where he had come to live with his wife and two sons over forty years before.

Reviews

[Catherine Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book for amateur poets and experts alike to sink their teeth into famous poetry ranging from the 13th century through the 20th. They are all short so it takes no time at all to read.

These were my favourite poems:

Sir Walter Raleigh 'What is our life?' 'Even such is time'

John Donne 'The Computation'

John Fletcher 'The River-God's song'

Anonymous 'As life what is so sweet?'

William Strode 'On a Gentlewoman walking in the snow'

Henry Vaughan 'The Eclipse'

John Bunyan 'Upon the snail'

Matthew Prior 'A letter to the honourable Lady, Miss Margaret Cavendish-Holles-Harley'

William Blake 'Great things are done'

[Karsen De Jarnett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enlightening

[Samuel Sadler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic collection of short poems. I have been introduced to a number of good poems and poets in the year I spent moving through this book.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll be honest, I'm not a big poem gal. I treasure this book because it was a gift. In a previous lifetime I was engaged to a guy, and his grandmother was a former English teacher. I always looked forward to holidays because I knew she'd get me a fabulous book. She stocked my shelves with items that I should be exposed to - even if I discovered that they're not my favorites. I don't miss the guy, but I really miss that granmother! I still catch myself wondering at times, "I wonder what she would be recommending to me this year?"

[SBC · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting.

[Shouvik Hore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Formidable.