Selected Poems

by U.A. Fanthorpe

U.A. Fanthorpe was that rarest of literary beings, a poet who was hugely popular with the general public and at the same time very seriously regarded by fellow poets and literary critics for her originality, wit and humanity. Since her death, much of her work has been out of print. Selected Poems, chosen from over thirty years of Fanthorpe’s distinctive and accessible writing by her partner R.V. Bailey, will delight all her existing fans as well as those who come to her poems for the first time.

Genres: Poetry

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Ursula Askham Fanthorpe (published as U. A. Fanthorpe) was an English poet. She was educated at St Catherine's School, Bramley in Surrey and at St Anne's College, Oxford, where she received a first-class degree in English language and literature, and subsequently taught English at Cheltenham Ladies' College for sixteen years. She then abandoned teaching for jobs as a secretary, receptionist and hospital clerk in Bristol - in her poems, she later remembered some of the patients for whose records she had been responsible.

Her first volume of poetry, Side Effects, was published in 1978. She was "Writer-in-Residence" at St Martin's College, Lancaster (now University of Cumbria)(1983–85), as well as Northern Arts Fellow at Durham and Newcastle Universities.

In 1987 Fanthorpe went freelance, giving readings around the country and occasionally abroad. In 1994 she was nominated for the post of Professor of Poetry at Oxford. Her nine collections of poems were published by Peterloo Poets. Her Collected Poems came out in 2005. Many of her poems are for two voices. In her readings the other voice is that of Bristol academic and teacher R.V. "Rosie" Bailey, Fanthorpe's life partner of 44 years. The couple co-wrote a collection of poems, From Me To You: Love Poems, that was published in 2007 by Enitharmon.

Reviews

[Therese A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picked this up from a secondhand bookshop on a whim. Was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed reading the poems. A nice, easy read.

[Jordan Phizacklea-Cullen · Rating 4 out of 5]

An accessible selection of works from a very English poet, full of wit, invention and pastoral charm.

[Alistair · Rating 4 out of 5]

U.A. Fanthorpe was a mid-to-late 20th century English poet, I suspect all but forgotten now. Which is a pity, for, on the basis of these ‘Selections’, she is a fine - and wise- poet. Her poetry is for us, the people (and I realise how condescending that sounds). But it’s true: she speaks to us, not the intellectuals, nor the elite. Unlike some recent (and today’s) poets who want to dazzle with their baroque erudition, but at the cost of connecting with readers. Her range is impressive; she effortlessly moves between classical allusions to the problems with the NHS. For me, her crowning achievement is the masterful “You will be hearing from us shortly”, both hilarious and heartless.

[Hakon Soreide · Rating 1 out of 5]

This collection only contains only a handful of actual poems and the rest are what I usually call prose with inconsistent line breaks, that add absolutely nothing to the text, I should add.

Prose pieces aren't inherently bad, of course, but in this case they were also exceedingly dull, uninteresting and unengaging to me.

That said, the four or five actual poems in this book were actually quite decent, and had the volume been full of the same quality, it would have been a four-star collection. As it is, it averages out very poorly.

[Jackie Howell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Found by chance, loved, adored. But then English old maids are so lovable/not - Barbara Pym, Stevie, I am looking at you.

[Andrew H · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are poems filled with humanity and wit-- poems for the poetry reading with an ability to turn the face of Classicism towards a political world gone mad.

[Ambrose Miles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quirky, yet interesting poetry. I was looking for a Christmas gift for my sister. I found it.
4 1/2 stars

[robyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

but how, dearest, will even you retain your/special brand of hard-bitten stoicism/among the halleluyas of the triumphant dead?

i hadn't read this since i was in sixth form (the year she died, incidentally) but my beloved ursula still quietly holds up <3

[Bridget · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny poetry that I actually like