The World Record

by Neil Astley (Editors), Anna Selby

The World Record is an international anthology of work by poets from all the countries taking part in the 2012 London Olympics, featuring a poem from each of the 204 Olympic nations, from Armenia to Tuvalu, Azerbaijan to Turkmenistan. With this book you can discover the world through its keenest observers, political activists, and most articulate wordsmiths. There's something for every taste: new voices as well as world greats, rappers and spoken word artists, as well as poets and storytellers. The World Record marks the first time so many living poets from so many countries have been gathered together in one anthology - and 2012 is the first time so many poets have been gathered in one place.

Genres: Poetry

359 pages, Paperback

First published September 28, 2012

About the author

Neil Astley is editor of Bloodaxe Books, Britain’s leading poetry imprint, which he founded in 1978. His own books include novels, poetry collections and anthologies, most notably the Bloodaxe Staying Alive trilogy. He is also a trustee of Ledbury Poetry Festival and Newcastle Centre for the Literary Arts, and a development committee member of Cúirt International Festival of Literature in Galway, Ireland.

Reviews

[Wendy Lavery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having attended the event and exhibition in London, I was happy to see the poems published. I first saw some of them on the outside walls of the South Bank Centre and was moved by them enough to seek out the book. So many different voices from all over the world gave an alternative and complementary vison of the world during the Olympic year.