What do you think?
Rate this book
The Forward Book of Poetry 2017
This glorious anthology showcases the best of contemporary British and Irish poetry over the last year and is the perfect introduction both to poets at the top of their form and a new generation of startling 65 writers in all. The book includes poems from collections shortlisted for Britain's most coveted poetry awards - the Forward Prizes - plus 50 poems highly commended by the judges. It features poems by Alice Oswald, Sharon Olds, Sarah Howe, Helen Mort, Luke Kennard and Michael Rosen plus this year's three Forward Prizes Vahni Capildeo, Tiphanie Yanique and Sasha Dugdale. The anthology - the 25th of its kind - is introduced by Malika Booker, who chaired the 2017 Forward Prizes jury. Her fellow jurors, Liz Berry, Don Share, George Szirtes and Tracey Thorn, read a total of 161 recently published collections before settling on the poems they felt best represented the excitement of good new poetry. If you buy only one anthology this year, this is the place to start.
- GenresPoetry
173 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 27, 2016
14 people are currently reading
39 people want to read
About the author
Malika Booker
11 books50 followersMalika Booker is a writer, spoken word and multidisciplinary artist, whose work spans literature, education and cross-arts. She was born in the UK to Guyanese and Grenadian parents.
She first began writing and performing poetry in 1989 while at Goldsmiths University, studying anthropology. During her last year there, she realized that her sole career goal was writing poetry.
She spent the first 13 years of her life in Guyana before returning to the UK with her parents. She now lives in South London.
She first began writing and performing poetry in 1989 while at Goldsmiths University, studying anthropology. During her last year there, she realized that her sole career goal was writing poetry.
She spent the first 13 years of her life in Guyana before returning to the UK with her parents. She now lives in South London.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 19, 2016
I enjoyed each of the poems in this anthology
December 26, 2017
Some fantastic poetry
The poetry of Mark Waldron and Melissa Lee-Houghton especially, made this book for me. Melissa's poetry was harrowing and a stunning insight into her life and thought processes. Mark's was both funny and fragile. Sometimes the books in this anthology seemed to define 'poets at the top of their game' as 'the most obscure' and it was hard to keep track of what in the world the judges must have been looking for!
The poetry of Mark Waldron and Melissa Lee-Houghton especially, made this book for me. Melissa's poetry was harrowing and a stunning insight into her life and thought processes. Mark's was both funny and fragile. Sometimes the books in this anthology seemed to define 'poets at the top of their game' as 'the most obscure' and it was hard to keep track of what in the world the judges must have been looking for!
February 16, 2022
Three and a half stars
There are some very good poems,some good poems and some not quite so good. There are only one or two outstanding poems. Not one of the best Forward books, but worth reading.
There are some very good poems,some good poems and some not quite so good. There are only one or two outstanding poems. Not one of the best Forward books, but worth reading.
May 20, 2021
4 star rating only because there are some poems I enjoyed less than others.
This is the fifth volume of Forward poetry prize winners and poems of note that I have read, chronologically I am going in reverse now, the next to be 2016 if I can find it out there in the poetry ether. Once again it is an eclectic collection of sensory experiences that shows that poetry is not dead but lives on in the imaginations and strength of voices that speak from the pages of the Forward annual prize. Some are straightforward in the reading, others are experimental and take more time to read between the lines and stanzas to arrive at a conclusion of its meaning or what it is saying to the reader. As always in the nature of such a collection, there will be poems that are, based on personal taste, not enjoyed; but because it is not a collection of one poet there isn't an underlying theme to the poetry, just a number of the best contemporary voices of that year.
Among my favourites of this year are: Cathal McCabe's 'Snow'; Luke Wright's 'To London'; Michael Rosen's 'Dustman'; Rachel Hadas' 'Roosevelt Hospital Blues'; Vahni Capildeo's 'Stalker'; and Ian Duhig's 'Blockbusters'. To read one book of poetry a year I would recommend the Forward Book, but I would also recommend at least one poem a day to enrich the reading experience.
This is the fifth volume of Forward poetry prize winners and poems of note that I have read, chronologically I am going in reverse now, the next to be 2016 if I can find it out there in the poetry ether. Once again it is an eclectic collection of sensory experiences that shows that poetry is not dead but lives on in the imaginations and strength of voices that speak from the pages of the Forward annual prize. Some are straightforward in the reading, others are experimental and take more time to read between the lines and stanzas to arrive at a conclusion of its meaning or what it is saying to the reader. As always in the nature of such a collection, there will be poems that are, based on personal taste, not enjoyed; but because it is not a collection of one poet there isn't an underlying theme to the poetry, just a number of the best contemporary voices of that year.
Among my favourites of this year are: Cathal McCabe's 'Snow'; Luke Wright's 'To London'; Michael Rosen's 'Dustman'; Rachel Hadas' 'Roosevelt Hospital Blues'; Vahni Capildeo's 'Stalker'; and Ian Duhig's 'Blockbusters'. To read one book of poetry a year I would recommend the Forward Book, but I would also recommend at least one poem a day to enrich the reading experience.
February 3, 2017
The Forward anthologies are a good way to keep up with what's happening in British and possibly Anglophone Irish verse, but I read this year's and last and I am starting to think that perhaps I don't need to.
There are good things in it - for example Sasha Dugdale's poem won the best single poem in the awardy bit that follows the book, and it is very good - but there a LOT of autobiographic vignettes memorialised in Fine Writing with under-motivated line breaks and I'm kind of done with that stuff tbh.
I think next year I'll take a punt on one of the shortlisted volumes for the TS Eliot prize instead - I read the last two winners and they were both pretty good - and stop trying to believe there's a lot of strength in depth out there.
There are good things in it - for example Sasha Dugdale's poem won the best single poem in the awardy bit that follows the book, and it is very good - but there a LOT of autobiographic vignettes memorialised in Fine Writing with under-motivated line breaks and I'm kind of done with that stuff tbh.
I think next year I'll take a punt on one of the shortlisted volumes for the TS Eliot prize instead - I read the last two winners and they were both pretty good - and stop trying to believe there's a lot of strength in depth out there.
November 6, 2016
Some of these poems have gone over my head, others seem totally nonsensical, but there was enough there for me to want to explore other poetry works in the future.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews