Selected Poems

by Brian Patten

A selection of Brian Patten's best work over the last forty-five years, chosen by the poet himself. The earliest of these poems, 'Sleep Now', was written when Patten was fifteen, the latest when he was sixty. Presented in rough chronological order, the selection includes a dozen new poems.

Genres: Poetry

192 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2007

Reviews

[Karlos · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have The Mersey Sound which is part of the original Penguin Poets and love, so took this collection out of the library to get a feel for other Patten. Not disappointed.

Sometimes I hear Frost, Brautigan and Horovitz all in a British easy to read sensibility that is often touching and delicate, but most of all real and relatable.

Favourites are Frogs in the Wood with its last 2 stanzas a summary of Buddhism imo, Old Ladies in a Churchyard, A Boat in the Snow, The Tragedy, The Stolen Orange (the best Brautigan like poem not by Brautigan I’ve read since Raymond Carver), and many more. A great collection- I will probably buy the original copies on the back of this, from 2nd hand resellers as I find them.

[Rhys · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book of poetry! I plucked this off a library shelf at random, and I am glad I did. Only one of the poems I recognised (I think I must have read it in a school anthology many many years ago). These are exactly the kinds of poems that resonate most strongly with me: they seem to transfer an idea and/or a feeling directly from the poet's mind into my own, and I found myself frequently nodding and saying to myself, "Yes, it's exactly like that; thank you for crystallising a sensation or an experience that had been vague and unsatisfying at the back of my awareness until now; you have scratched the itch of that feeling by giving it crispness and clarity and precision; I feel a bit better." This process is almost like a kind of telepathy.

[Cooch · Rating 4 out of 5]

The most recent poems are the best

There are strong poems at the start and even stronger ones at the end. Perhaps the children's poems do not belong here. This would be five star if the rest was as strong as the later poems.

[Marva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beauties

An excellently balanced collection of beautiful or thought provoking or silly poems. And sometimes all three at the same time. Enjoyed them all and marked the ones I'll go back to.