The Forward Book of Poetry 2017

by Various

The Forward Book of Poetry 2017 showcases the best contemporary poems published in the British Isles over the year, including the winners of 2016's Forward Prizes for Poetry. This anthology, for seasoned poetry lovers and new readers alike, is the 25th in a series that offers an invaluable annual overview of the current state of poetry. If you buy only one anthology a year, this is it.

With a foreword by Malika Booker, who chairs the 2016 Forward Prizes jury.

Genres: Poetry

144 pages, Paperback

Published September 15, 2016

About the author

Various is the correct author for any book with multiple unknown authors, and is acceptable for books with multiple known authors, especially if not all are known or the list is very long (over 50).

If an editor is known, however, Various is not necessary. List the name of the editor as the primary author (with role "editor"). Contributing authors' names follow it.

Note: WorldCat is an excellent resource for finding author information and contents of anthologies.

Reviews

[Răzvan Ionescu · Rating 5 out of 5]

I tend to agree with the last cover: if you only read one book of poetry a year, make it the Forward book! (But also read a lot more than one poetry book a year)

A diverse collection of strong voices painting a picture of what it is like to exist on this weird rock orbiting in space with this weird, awkward, wonderful beings. Poetry is alive and kicking and, after getting my daily dose, so am I.

[Tim Rideout · Rating 4 out of 5]

'He leaves
and slams the door. I breathe again. The TV
leaks a sour myrrh meaning evening. I scuff
my breath on the edges of an empty room.
Here is the moon, poor feme sole,
and the orange stars in their cold swoon.'

'Melpomene' by Fran Lock

Percy Bysshe Shelley once famously claimed that 'poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world'.

This claim, should it ever require it, is full supported by the latest annual Forward Book of Poetry. This collection of award winning and highly commended poetry engages head on with our troubled world, using poetry to address violence to women and children, loss of personal identity, the failings of neo-liberalism, adoption, marriage, and disease amongst many other subjects.

For me the poetry functions most effectively when the poet expresses modern sentiments within strict metrical forms, the dissonance between subject matter and form adding to a poem's power to expose the paradoxes of modern life (Ian Duhig's work does this brilliantly).

However within this collection there is also evidence of much formal innovation, as form is fragmented and reconstructed in a myriad of ways in order to convey complexity. Inevitably some poems succeed in this respect more than others, while in a few cases the formal gymnastics distract the reader.

For me, the most powerful work in the collection is by female poets writing of the current increase in violence (physical and mental) against women. Such voices are essential and it is to Forward's credit that they give so much space to this work.

[Andy Armitage · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good poems in here and some great poems such as Ron Carey’s ‘The Murderer’s Dog’.

[Kevin Doherty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Always great to find new poets: Ruby Robinson, Kate Dempsey, Will Eaves, Roy McFarlane, Katharine Towers, Grace Wells and Sarah Westcott in particular.

[P.D. Dawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A stellar collection of poetry, which is only to be expected from a Forward Book of Poetry. This is a diverse mix, as mentioned in the opening introduction, and I feel wiser and more in touch with the world just by reading it. Poetry collections from single authors often have a central theme or feeling running through them, which is great, but occasionally it's a beautiful thing to find yourself at the hands of a collection like this that is full of tremendous variety and so many different nuances of thought and feelings.

[Jackarandos · Rating 5 out of 5]

By the nature of collections it's almost impossible to love everything in this book. However what I did love, I LOVED. I'v never really been one for poetry but this fantastic collection totally opened my eyes to some brilliant modern poets. I've already added a bunch of the collections featured to my TBR.

[Gavin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mostly bad.

I adore Harry Giles though; his big one here, 'Brave', is a roaring, bouncing Orlando Furioso schtick with more point and more verbal invention than the rest summed up, paist-apocalptic RPGs and all:

Acause incomer will ayeways be a clarty wird
acause this tongue A gabber wi will nivver be the real Mackay, A sing
Acause fer aw that we’re aw Jock Tamson’s etcetera, are we tho? Eh? Are we.
Acause o muntains, castles, tenements n backlans,
acause o whisky exports, acause o airports,
acause o islans, A sing.
acause of pubs whit arena daein sae weel oot o the smokin ban, A sing.
a cause hit's grand tae sit wi a lexicon n a deeskit mynd, A sing.
acause o the pish in the stair, A sing.
acause o ye,
A sing o a Scotland whit wadna ken working class authenticity gin hit cam reelin aff an ile rig douned six pints n glasst hit in the cunt.

whit hit wadna

by the way.

A sing o a google Scotland

o laptop Scotland

o a Scotland saw dowf on bit-torrentit HBO
drama series n DLC packs fer paistapocalyptic RPGs that hit wadna ken
hits gowk fae its gadjie,
fae whas lips n fingers amazebawz cams
mair freely as bangin.

...
A sing o a Scotland bidin in real dreid o wan day findin oot
juist hou parochial aw hits cultural references mey be,

n cin only cope wi the intertextuality o the Scots
Renaissance wi whappin annotatit editions,
n weens hits the same wi awbdy else.

I sing o a Scotland whit’ll chant hits hairt oot dounstairs o the Royal Oak, whit’ll pouk hits timmer clarsach hairtstrangs, whit like glamour will sing hits hairt intae existence, whit haps sang aroon hits bluidy nieve hairt,

whit sings.

The eventual winner, Tiphanie Yanique, is particularly glib: she wins for a series glorifying gratuitous insensitivity.


[Data #1, Values #3]

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 but rounded up to 4 because I enjoyed it way more than what a 3 star rating means to me.

As always with poetry, I didn’t like everything, but the poems I did like I REALLY liked. Dopamine shots.
Recommended, even if you have to skip some poems.
Happy reading.