Poems of the Decade: An Anthology of the Forward Books of Poetry 2011–2020

by William Sieghart (Editor)

Poems of the Decade 2011-2020 celebrates the thirtieth anniversary of the Forward Prizes for Poetry. Gathering one hundred poems by writers and performers who have drawn new audiences to the artform, it highlights poetry as a space for fresh powerful language, feeling and thought. It includes poems by Raymond Antrobus, Simon Armitage, Fiona Benson, Liz Berry, Caroline Bird, Vahni Capildeo, Alice Oswald and Claudia Rankine.

Genres: Poetry

176 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2021

Reviews

[chad chrysanthemum · Rating 4 out of 5]

A month or so ago I read a poetry book I really hated, which had me revisiting poetry I LOVED, which included the previous Poems of the Decade. I love an anthology, it's a wonderful way to be introduced to lots of different poets I wouldn't have read otherwise across lots of different themes, and if I don't get on well with a few poems it's fine because there's always more. Of course, due to this property it makes these books a little hard to review sort of by definition. So! As before, I'll just highlight some of my favourite poems from this book. Also, it's worth noting this is my FIRST IMPRESSIONS, poems that stood out to me on this first read and that I enjoyed. (Added: Guys, flipping through the book to write my thoughts is just getting me so excited already about other poems that hadn't sparkled before. I'm trying to just highlight the ones that already did!! It's hard!! So many wonderful things in this world). In my experience, to really find which ones you love, you have to keep reading and digesting and revisiting poems. So I'm highlighting that. Alright!

(Under spoilers in the hopes it will collapse this section)

Partition by Fatimah Asghar -- Brutal in its uncapitalised full-stop-punctuated simplicity. Every line hits and hurts as it embellishes nothing, spits only truths. "your grandfather wrote persian poetry on glasses. maybe. you can't remember. you made it up. someone lied. you're a daughter until they bury your mother".

Aura by Emily Berry -- I LOVE the way Berry plays with form here, separation into a bridge bleeding back into separation. "Listen to me little water/I called you up believing something". Clever and powerful meditation on grief.

The Republic of Motherhood by Liz Berry -- Somehow I didn't mark it on my first read through, but I've continued thinking about it since, which is always a good sign. "In snowfall, I haunted Motherhood's cemeteries/ the sweet fallen beneath my feet --/ Our Lady of the Birth Trauma, Our Lady of Psychosis".

The Little Miracles by Malika Booker -- "happy no nails hammer plywood, building/ a coffin, to house her dead weight, happy her journey/ crawls as we her children hold on like drought holds out/ for rain, learning what it is like to begin again." Oh! Oh! This one really really got to me. Beautiful imagery, terrifyingly evocative, taking something horrible and focusing on the little miracles.

The Night Watch by Niall Campbell -- I'll be honest on my first read I thought this was about forbidden love (which works) but it is in fact about fatherhood, LOL. It works well for both, simple and beautiful. "Was it the moon -- because I see it:/ the first good bead on a one-bead string;"

Something wonderful has happened it is called you by Emily Critchley -- I mean, from the title alone it's already incredible. A similar theme to the previous one. Holding the fears of the future together with the incredible joy of new life. Another great use of form here, the floating of thoughts inter-cut with bright images. Wonderful

A Night in at Nohant by Helen Farish -- SO COOL!! Little snippets that paint word-pictures of musical keys. "C major -- blocks of colour: the sea,/ a field, kittens, a child, a daffodil."
The Radio by Leontia Flynn -- A fantastic long poem that covers the Troubles through a really interesting window.

Bulletin from The Daily Mail by Alan Gillis -- The less common rhymes appear to get in poetry the more deeply I fall in love with them. This is an excellent example, intra- and inter-line rhymes providing the scaffolding for this poem, a satisfying rhythm that the content hangs upon. Great fun.

Tree by Jorie Graham -- Literally mind-blowing SO SO GOOD!!! "Momentary blindness/ follows. Correction. There are only moments. They hurt./ Correction. Must I put down/ here that this is long ago." I fear any attempt to put this into words will be a disservice to it. READ IT !!! READ IT!!!

The break by Lavinia Greenlaw -- "Deep in the dark of that year/ I ussed a warning. I'm going to break, I said." Unreal. Very very good discussion of illness, of pain. "For months I woke beside my pain/ and waited for it to knit itself to me".

Dispute Over a Mass Grave by Choman Hardi -- Jesus Christ. Horrible. Very very good poetry. It is the finding of a moment, a tiny little moment, that says everything.

Crow Baby by Luke Kennard -- I do wonder how these themes end up in the collection -- there's a lot about new parenthood, and a lot of those are good. I like the free-flowing nature of this poem, it's casualness. "and I'm like, come on, crow, don't worry I'm your father and I love you. Come and perch on my shoulder. And the crow just flies around the ceiling like a fan stuck on doublespeed -- CAAAAAWWWWWW! -- stopping only when it reaches total exhaustion".

FURY by David Morley -- Pitch-perfect right from the beginning. "The fight's over. My corner-man and cut-man/ are mist and water, mist and slaughter." Begs to be read allowed.

On the Third Anniversary of the Rape by Shivanee Ramlochan -- I love the way this poem looks at the ongoing effects of rape, years later, and the culture surrounding it. "Say/ he took something he'll be punished for taking,/ not something you're punished for holding/ like red thread between your thighs."

Bees by Jo Shapcott -- I am such a sucker for bee metaphors in poetry (see: Carol Ann Duffy's The Bees). There's just something about the old tradition of telling the bees about a death that makes it perfect for looking at grief, and Shapcott does so excellently.

dinosaurs in the hood by Danez Smith -- I think there's really cool about the way Smith takes a concept/title that sounds a little I guess silly and turns it into something incredibly profound. "no chicken jokes in this movie./ no bullet holes in the heroes. & no one kills the black boy. & no one kills/ the black boy. & no one kills the black boy."


Would I recommend? Yes. Go read some of these poems I mentioned NOW!

[Iulia · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5* rounded up
Many of these I’ve encountered in another Forward anthology, but from the new-to-me poems in here I particularly admired:

John Burnside: “On the Vanishing of My Sister, Aged 3, 1965”
Tishani Doshi: “Girls Are Coming Out of the Woods”
Kate Edwards: “Frequency Violet”
Vicky Feaver: “The Larder”
Roger Robinson: “Trinidad Gothic”
Jo Shapcott: “Bees”

[Russio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some great poems here - really invigorated my interest in the scene. I ordered 9 different collections as a result and wish-listed 6. Don Paterson, John Burnside, Paul Farley, Lorraine Mariner, Tishani Doshi, Daljit Nagra, George Szirtes, Hugo Williams, Jo Shapcott, Leontia Flynn all stood put, with Lorraine Mariner possibly being the most exciting find for me.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a middle of the road some of the poems I absolutely adored others I didn't enjoy as much. A 3 star I think is a good rating especially when it's anthologies as you know there is a variety and there is a bunch of different authors and none of them were repeated

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed doing into this anthology, but on the whole these didn't fulfill my current poetic itch - a matter of personal taste rather than quality

[Stephanie Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

I couldn’t put it down so many interesting poems I hadn’t read before