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White Teeth, Red Blood: Selected Vampiric Verses
Seductive, sinister, glamorous, this collection brings together the best poems inspired by the undead, from Goethe and Byron to Emily Dickinson and Ishmael Reed
A nest of vampires literal and metaphorical, this poetry collection ranges across centuries and languages to bring readers a bevy of dark delights.
The undead have long provided the perfect vessel for humanity's fears and desires—from spine-tingling chills to sinister sexiness, vampires are the ultimate representation of the most frightening and alluring parts of ourselves. They've inspired poems that tell stories, proffer warnings, and imagine life from inside the eternal night, by authors like J.W. Goethe, Lord Byron, Emily Dickinson, Charles Baudelaire, Anna Laetitia Barbauld, Delmira Agustini, and Ishmael Reed, brought together with many more in this one-of-a-kind collection.
With an introduction by Claire Kohda, author of Woman, Eating.
Contents
Chilling poems by Gottfried August Burger, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Robert Southey, Anne Bannerman, John Stagg, Lord Byron, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Rafael Campo Dire poems by Heinrich August Ossenfelder, John Keats, Henry Thomas Liddell, James Clerk Maxwell, Charles Baudelaire, Christina Rossetti, Madison Julius Cawein, Rudyard Kipling, Conrad Aiken, Edna St Vincent Millay, James Weldon Johnson The Vampire poems by Anna Laetitia Barbauld, Emily Brontë, Emily Dickinson, Walter Pater, Delmira Agustini, William Butler Yeats, Ishmael Reed, Dorothy Barresi, John Yau
A nest of vampires literal and metaphorical, this poetry collection ranges across centuries and languages to bring readers a bevy of dark delights.
The undead have long provided the perfect vessel for humanity's fears and desires—from spine-tingling chills to sinister sexiness, vampires are the ultimate representation of the most frightening and alluring parts of ourselves. They've inspired poems that tell stories, proffer warnings, and imagine life from inside the eternal night, by authors like J.W. Goethe, Lord Byron, Emily Dickinson, Charles Baudelaire, Anna Laetitia Barbauld, Delmira Agustini, and Ishmael Reed, brought together with many more in this one-of-a-kind collection.
With an introduction by Claire Kohda, author of Woman, Eating.
Contents
Chilling poems by Gottfried August Burger, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Robert Southey, Anne Bannerman, John Stagg, Lord Byron, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Rafael Campo Dire poems by Heinrich August Ossenfelder, John Keats, Henry Thomas Liddell, James Clerk Maxwell, Charles Baudelaire, Christina Rossetti, Madison Julius Cawein, Rudyard Kipling, Conrad Aiken, Edna St Vincent Millay, James Weldon Johnson The Vampire poems by Anna Laetitia Barbauld, Emily Brontë, Emily Dickinson, Walter Pater, Delmira Agustini, William Butler Yeats, Ishmael Reed, Dorothy Barresi, John Yau
192 pages, Hardcover
Published September 9, 2025
12 people are currently reading
209 people want to read
About the author
Lord Byron
4,394 books2,113 followersGeorge Gordon Byron (invariably known as Lord Byron), later Noel, 6th Baron Byron of Rochdale FRS was a British poet and a leading figure in Romanticism. Amongst Byron's best-known works are the brief poems She Walks in Beauty, When We Two Parted, and So, we'll go no more a roving, in addition to the narrative poems Childe Harold's Pilgrimage and Don Juan. He is regarded as one of the greatest British poets and remains widely read and influential, both in the English-speaking world and beyond.
Byron's notabilty rests not only on his writings but also on his life, which featured upper-class living, numerous love affairs, debts, and separation. He was notably described by Lady Caroline Lamb as "mad, bad, and dangerous to know". Byron served as a regional leader of Italy's revolutionary organization, the Carbonari, in its struggle against Austria. He later travelled to fight against the Ottoman Empire in the Greek War of Independence, for which Greeks revere him as a national hero. He died from a fever contracted while in Messolonghi in Greece.
Byron's notabilty rests not only on his writings but also on his life, which featured upper-class living, numerous love affairs, debts, and separation. He was notably described by Lady Caroline Lamb as "mad, bad, and dangerous to know". Byron served as a regional leader of Italy's revolutionary organization, the Carbonari, in its struggle against Austria. He later travelled to fight against the Ottoman Empire in the Greek War of Independence, for which Greeks revere him as a national hero. He died from a fever contracted while in Messolonghi in Greece.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
September 29, 2025
2025 reads: 276/300
i received a digital review copy from the publisher via edelweiss. i am leaving this review voluntarily.
this is a collection of vampiric poems spanning several centuries. we meet both literal and metaphorical vampires. i appreciated how the foreword introduced these poems, as i had never seen the connection between vampires and colonization, racism, loneliness, sexuality, etc. so clearly laid out before. in terms of colonization, the author points out, “often their bloodsucking stands for the real-life draining of a country’s and a people’s culture and resources.” i would’ve loved even more poems to be a part of this collection, especially ones capturing a variety of experiences outside the “status quo,” but i enjoyed what we did get. i’d recommend this to fellow vampire lovers, especially with halloween coming up.
i received a digital review copy from the publisher via edelweiss. i am leaving this review voluntarily.
this is a collection of vampiric poems spanning several centuries. we meet both literal and metaphorical vampires. i appreciated how the foreword introduced these poems, as i had never seen the connection between vampires and colonization, racism, loneliness, sexuality, etc. so clearly laid out before. in terms of colonization, the author points out, “often their bloodsucking stands for the real-life draining of a country’s and a people’s culture and resources.” i would’ve loved even more poems to be a part of this collection, especially ones capturing a variety of experiences outside the “status quo,” but i enjoyed what we did get. i’d recommend this to fellow vampire lovers, especially with halloween coming up.
January 19, 2026
I find it quite hard to rate since there's so many different kind of poems in here that I feel differently about. I suppose, all encompassing it was a pretty medium rare experience.
This volume of poems made me realise that poetry about vampires are really not about vampires. Rather, the vampire is used as a tool to convey some other theme: death, violence, disease, pregnancy, grief, desire etc. Which makes it a lot more profound and intimate to read about than just some poetically written gothic themed story about humanoid leeches.
It also makes sense that the birth of Vampiric literature, and most of the poems in this book, happened around Victorian times, when there was a lot of death due to things like Tuberculosis among other things, as we all know.
I must admit that I read a bit hastily through most of the older, longer poems in here. after a while, they just felt like they pointlessly dragged on forever to no particular satisfying or profound end.
I did enjoy most of the modern poems in here. One that stuck with me was "The Distant Moon" by Rafael Campo where they write about the loss of a lover due to Aids. And another one called "I am a cowboy in the boat of Ra" by Ishmael Reed. The last one of the two's meaning remains a mystery to me.
But poetry is meant to be reread and it's supposed to sink in for a hot minute and I am nothing if not a patient woman.
Perhaps some of these poems need to find me at a later date, perhaps they have yet to sink in and click, or perhaps they aren't meant for me at all.
And that's okay.
This volume of poems made me realise that poetry about vampires are really not about vampires. Rather, the vampire is used as a tool to convey some other theme: death, violence, disease, pregnancy, grief, desire etc. Which makes it a lot more profound and intimate to read about than just some poetically written gothic themed story about humanoid leeches.
It also makes sense that the birth of Vampiric literature, and most of the poems in this book, happened around Victorian times, when there was a lot of death due to things like Tuberculosis among other things, as we all know.
I must admit that I read a bit hastily through most of the older, longer poems in here. after a while, they just felt like they pointlessly dragged on forever to no particular satisfying or profound end.
I did enjoy most of the modern poems in here. One that stuck with me was "The Distant Moon" by Rafael Campo where they write about the loss of a lover due to Aids. And another one called "I am a cowboy in the boat of Ra" by Ishmael Reed. The last one of the two's meaning remains a mystery to me.
But poetry is meant to be reread and it's supposed to sink in for a hot minute and I am nothing if not a patient woman.
Perhaps some of these poems need to find me at a later date, perhaps they have yet to sink in and click, or perhaps they aren't meant for me at all.
And that's okay.
October 13, 2025
I don’t usually choose to read poetry anthologies but this vampire-themed collection sounded appealing, particularly with Halloween just a few weeks away.
White Teeth, Red Blood contains the work of famous poets such as Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Christina Rossetti, Rudyard Kipling, Emily Dickinson and Alfred, Lord Tennyson, as well as some lesser known names and some contemporary writers. Some of the poems feature traditional undead, blood-sucking vampires, while in others there is no actual vampire character; as we are told in the introduction, the vampire ‘acts as a metaphor for many things, from pregnancy and art to racism and colonialism’.
I can’t possibly talk about all the poems in the book, so I will just highlight my favourite, which was actually the first poem in the book, Lenore by the German author Gottfried August Bürger. Originally published in 1774, it’s not technically a vampire story, but does feature a character who has returned from the dead. Lenore is a young woman who loses her faith in God when her lover, William, fails to return from the Seven Years’ War. Late that night, a man who looks like William appears and asks her to join him on a midnight horseback ride to their wedding bed. The translation by Dante Gabriel Rossetti is wonderful – I always find it impressive that poetry translated from another language manages to retain its rhythm and rhyming words.
Although I enjoyed this collection overall, it does feel very uneven. The first section, Chilling Tales, which takes up around three-quarters of the book, is made up of long narrative poems (or extracts from them); a lot more pages are devoted to Byron’s The Giaour than to anything else. The poems in the second and third sections, Dire Warnings and The Vampire Within, are much shorter, sometimes less than a page long. I can appreciate that there’s some logic in the way the poems are divided into these three groups (explained in the introduction by the author Claire Kohda), but I think I would have preferred them mixed together for more variety. Also, the poems are ordered chronologically within each section and as the majority are from the 18th and 19th centuries, the small number of very modern ones feel a bit out of place.
With some of the poems, I struggled to see why they were included and what the connection with vampirism was, so it would have been nice to have been given some context, but this really is just a straightforward anthology with no additional material or notes apart from Kohda’s introduction. I didn’t find it completely satisfying, then, but I think it would make a nice gift for a poetry lover or someone with an interest in vampire mythology.
White Teeth, Red Blood contains the work of famous poets such as Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Christina Rossetti, Rudyard Kipling, Emily Dickinson and Alfred, Lord Tennyson, as well as some lesser known names and some contemporary writers. Some of the poems feature traditional undead, blood-sucking vampires, while in others there is no actual vampire character; as we are told in the introduction, the vampire ‘acts as a metaphor for many things, from pregnancy and art to racism and colonialism’.
I can’t possibly talk about all the poems in the book, so I will just highlight my favourite, which was actually the first poem in the book, Lenore by the German author Gottfried August Bürger. Originally published in 1774, it’s not technically a vampire story, but does feature a character who has returned from the dead. Lenore is a young woman who loses her faith in God when her lover, William, fails to return from the Seven Years’ War. Late that night, a man who looks like William appears and asks her to join him on a midnight horseback ride to their wedding bed. The translation by Dante Gabriel Rossetti is wonderful – I always find it impressive that poetry translated from another language manages to retain its rhythm and rhyming words.
Although I enjoyed this collection overall, it does feel very uneven. The first section, Chilling Tales, which takes up around three-quarters of the book, is made up of long narrative poems (or extracts from them); a lot more pages are devoted to Byron’s The Giaour than to anything else. The poems in the second and third sections, Dire Warnings and The Vampire Within, are much shorter, sometimes less than a page long. I can appreciate that there’s some logic in the way the poems are divided into these three groups (explained in the introduction by the author Claire Kohda), but I think I would have preferred them mixed together for more variety. Also, the poems are ordered chronologically within each section and as the majority are from the 18th and 19th centuries, the small number of very modern ones feel a bit out of place.
With some of the poems, I struggled to see why they were included and what the connection with vampirism was, so it would have been nice to have been given some context, but this really is just a straightforward anthology with no additional material or notes apart from Kohda’s introduction. I didn’t find it completely satisfying, then, but I think it would make a nice gift for a poetry lover or someone with an interest in vampire mythology.
June 13, 2025
This anthology gathers poetry with at least a vaguely vampiric theme. About half of the poets fit into the category of well-known to a general readership (e.g. Goethe, Byron, Coleridge, Tennyson, Yeats, Dickinson, Kipling, Baudelaire, Millay, etc.) and the others will be less familiar to most readers -- either by virtue of being modern poets or having a body of work that didn't age as well, on the whole. Even the pieces from familiar poets don't tend to be among those artists' most anthologized works by virtue of the specialized theme of the selection. Most of the pieces are older works, but there are modern poems included as well, and it follows that most of the works are rhymed / metered, with free verse mostly seen among the newest poems.
The twenty-nine poems in the anthology are arranged between three sections. The first is the longest part, taking up about 3/4th of the book, and consists of nine poems (including a few excerpts of book-length narrative poems,) all of long format. The second section includes eleven shorter poems (between one and a few pages long,) and the last section contains nine poems, most of which are quite short (as short as a quatrain.)
There is a brief introduction by Claire Kohda, but otherwise there is no ancillary matter. That was fine by me. There is no padding, and -- even though there are fewer than thirty poems -- the poems fill out the book because so many of them are long pieces or excerpts.
I enjoyed this book and its varied selection of poems. While I read poetry extensively and have read my share of vampire fiction, this was the first work I can remember reading at their intersect. This meant that, for me, there was a good amount of unfamiliar material (despite there being relatively few recent poems.) If you're in the same boat, you'll probably enjoy this anthology.
The twenty-nine poems in the anthology are arranged between three sections. The first is the longest part, taking up about 3/4th of the book, and consists of nine poems (including a few excerpts of book-length narrative poems,) all of long format. The second section includes eleven shorter poems (between one and a few pages long,) and the last section contains nine poems, most of which are quite short (as short as a quatrain.)
There is a brief introduction by Claire Kohda, but otherwise there is no ancillary matter. That was fine by me. There is no padding, and -- even though there are fewer than thirty poems -- the poems fill out the book because so many of them are long pieces or excerpts.
I enjoyed this book and its varied selection of poems. While I read poetry extensively and have read my share of vampire fiction, this was the first work I can remember reading at their intersect. This meant that, for me, there was a good amount of unfamiliar material (despite there being relatively few recent poems.) If you're in the same boat, you'll probably enjoy this anthology.
October 5, 2025
I was really expecting to like this book more than I did, but oh well atleast it looks cute as decoration on my bookshelf...
August 21, 2025
Fantastic collection of vampire related snippets and extracts, pulling from poetry and prose alike.
White Teeth, Red Blood is well thought-out if traditional, these are the pieces of literature at the heart of the vampire genre as you have seen them before, and will likely see them again. The collection is somewhat lacking the addition of notes, or greater context - I couldn't help but wonder if this would benefit from the same introductory passages seen in Penguin Black Classics Books of e.g., the Black Classics book of the Undead. This isn't helped by the introduction writer's admission that she is no great fan of the vampire genre, I think, whilst any vampire fan would recognise the literary and narrative potential of the creature, and themes often associated with it, this is a book that might have benefitted from the input of a real vampire lover, and the addition of some wider context!
Nevertheless, the majority of the content is the excerpts, all of which are faithfully reproduced! Can't fault White Teeth, Red Blood for being exactly what it said on the tin - 4 stars.
White Teeth, Red Blood is well thought-out if traditional, these are the pieces of literature at the heart of the vampire genre as you have seen them before, and will likely see them again. The collection is somewhat lacking the addition of notes, or greater context - I couldn't help but wonder if this would benefit from the same introductory passages seen in Penguin Black Classics Books of e.g., the Black Classics book of the Undead. This isn't helped by the introduction writer's admission that she is no great fan of the vampire genre, I think, whilst any vampire fan would recognise the literary and narrative potential of the creature, and themes often associated with it, this is a book that might have benefitted from the input of a real vampire lover, and the addition of some wider context!
Nevertheless, the majority of the content is the excerpts, all of which are faithfully reproduced! Can't fault White Teeth, Red Blood for being exactly what it said on the tin - 4 stars.
July 26, 2025
A very good collection of vampiric verses.
As it can be understood by the subtitle of this book, it does not only contain verses about the vampires but also the poems that could be considered as “vampiric”. For example, we cannot say for certain that a few of the poems at the beginning of the book or some famous poems like La Belle Dame Sans Merci by John Keats are about vampires. However, they have been analysed as they could be by academics. I have known some of these poems before this book, and analysed them during my English literature degree, but I have never considered them as vampiric. This was an interesting point of view from my experience. I feel like it could be a great reading/analysing activity for the readers.
The categorizations were simple and helpful. However, my only wish for the book would be to read why the editor has chosen these poems to be included in this book. Claire Kohda in the introduction makes good points and I enjoyed reading them but reading more about the poems, especially before each section or selected poems would be more helpful and engaging.
Overall I quite enjoyed this collection and would recommend it to anyone, especially gothic literature and poetry lovers. I also need to add that I really liked the book cover.
Thanks to Netgalley UK and Pushkin Press for this advanced reader copy.
As it can be understood by the subtitle of this book, it does not only contain verses about the vampires but also the poems that could be considered as “vampiric”. For example, we cannot say for certain that a few of the poems at the beginning of the book or some famous poems like La Belle Dame Sans Merci by John Keats are about vampires. However, they have been analysed as they could be by academics. I have known some of these poems before this book, and analysed them during my English literature degree, but I have never considered them as vampiric. This was an interesting point of view from my experience. I feel like it could be a great reading/analysing activity for the readers.
The categorizations were simple and helpful. However, my only wish for the book would be to read why the editor has chosen these poems to be included in this book. Claire Kohda in the introduction makes good points and I enjoyed reading them but reading more about the poems, especially before each section or selected poems would be more helpful and engaging.
Overall I quite enjoyed this collection and would recommend it to anyone, especially gothic literature and poetry lovers. I also need to add that I really liked the book cover.
Thanks to Netgalley UK and Pushkin Press for this advanced reader copy.
August 10, 2025
A stunning collection of poems and verses about vampires in literature.
I received this book as an ARC but this has not affected my review.
I loved this! I hadn’t read a lot of these before this book, and it was so interesting to see how vampires were written and thought about back in the 1700s onwards. Even including some literature that may not be directly related to vampires, but reading it through that ‘lens’ gave the piece a totally different meaning!
The introduction written by Claire Kohda was a perfect start to this vampiric collection. I also want to add I felt like these pieces were well picked and thought out, and not just a case of compiling everything that said ‘vampire’ into one place.
I would recommend this book to vampire lovers, those who love the history of vampires and want a snapshot of how they were perceived in the past, those who want to get into the Halloween mood without reading a horror book, and a perfect “coffee table book” for the upcoming spooky season.
Thank you to Netgalley UK and Pushkin Press for sending me an ARC of this wonderful anthology 💗
I received this book as an ARC but this has not affected my review.
I loved this! I hadn’t read a lot of these before this book, and it was so interesting to see how vampires were written and thought about back in the 1700s onwards. Even including some literature that may not be directly related to vampires, but reading it through that ‘lens’ gave the piece a totally different meaning!
The introduction written by Claire Kohda was a perfect start to this vampiric collection. I also want to add I felt like these pieces were well picked and thought out, and not just a case of compiling everything that said ‘vampire’ into one place.
I would recommend this book to vampire lovers, those who love the history of vampires and want a snapshot of how they were perceived in the past, those who want to get into the Halloween mood without reading a horror book, and a perfect “coffee table book” for the upcoming spooky season.
Thank you to Netgalley UK and Pushkin Press for sending me an ARC of this wonderful anthology 💗
March 26, 2025
White Teeth, Red Blood offered a collection of vampire-inspired poetry from different time periods, with many of the stories from well-known poets. I had already read, at various times in my life. all but a handful of these poems, so there was little new here for me, but it was nice to find all the works in a single volume, making it a good way for vampire fans to get into reading some poetry about their favourite supernatural creatures without having to go searching for each piece individually. The only thing missing for me was a little more commentary on the pieces, which would have added an extra layer of interest, as the introduction really only brushed the surface. I am giving this book 3 stars. There's nothing here you wouldn't easily find online or in other classic poetry collections, but having it as a themed compendium does make it more easily accessible for interested readers.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
July 28, 2025
NetGalley Review:
Dark, twisted, and bloody poems you will want to sink your teeth into.
I've never been one for poetry, but these had me gripped. poems from writers of both the past and present, bringing us tales of vampires old and sometimes the heartache that comes with it. These have gotten me in the mood and anticipation for my upcoming winter production of Dracula at the theatre, and whatever role I receive, I hope to use these poems to guide me. Have I mentioned that vampires have always been my favorite? I look forward to reading more of these to come.
Dark, twisted, and bloody poems you will want to sink your teeth into.
I've never been one for poetry, but these had me gripped. poems from writers of both the past and present, bringing us tales of vampires old and sometimes the heartache that comes with it. These have gotten me in the mood and anticipation for my upcoming winter production of Dracula at the theatre, and whatever role I receive, I hope to use these poems to guide me. Have I mentioned that vampires have always been my favorite? I look forward to reading more of these to come.
July 31, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher Bonnier Books for the digital ARC, it has not affected my honest review.
This fascinating collection of poems about vampires through different historical eras pulled me in so quickly, and even though some felt a little overlong, I loved how I could see exactly what the authors intended. I loved Christabel, The White Witch, Witch Wife and A Daughter of Eve the most!
This fascinating collection of poems about vampires through different historical eras pulled me in so quickly, and even though some felt a little overlong, I loved how I could see exactly what the authors intended. I loved Christabel, The White Witch, Witch Wife and A Daughter of Eve the most!
November 9, 2025
Deeply disappointed in this collection after finding it in one of my usual bookstores. After giving it a serious chance, this just wasn't for me. The writings were obscure and left me wanting something more polished
December 29, 2025
This was a wonderful collection of verses and poems with a wide selection across 2 centuries of literature, I thoroughly enjoyed it, however, some excerpts held my attention better than others. Overall it’s given me some interesting authors to look out for in the future.
January 23, 2026
Old English is hard as fuck to read without modern translation or notes
Some of these passages barely count, frankly
Whilst some passages are just inherently weak
There’s some good stuff here but not much unfortunately
Some of these passages barely count, frankly
Whilst some passages are just inherently weak
There’s some good stuff here but not much unfortunately
November 28, 2025
I loved all the poems in this book. My favorite would be The Vampyre- James clerk maxwell and witch wife- Edna St Vincent Millay
December 10, 2025
The first section was a little slow at times, but after the halfway point was back-to-back bangers. Loved this selection!
December 26, 2025
couldn’t finish this in its entirety. the definition of a “poem about vampires” is stretched to its absolute limit here. some stand-outs, a lot of filler
August 21, 2025
WHITE TEETH, RED BLOOD: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is a selection of various vampiric poems and it was so fun to read. My personal favourite was The Vampyre by James Clerk Maxwell. I really enjoyed this.
This is a selection of various vampiric poems and it was so fun to read. My personal favourite was The Vampyre by James Clerk Maxwell. I really enjoyed this.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews