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The Forward Book of Poetry 2023
The Forward Book of Poetry is the indispensable annual guide to contemporary poetry. In bringing together the best new work published in the UK and Ireland, as chosen by the jury of the annual Forward Prizes, this anthology offers vital overview of the literary landscape to seasoned poetry lovers and new readers alike.
- GenresPoetry
176 pages, Paperback
Published October 6, 2022
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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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
February 25, 2023
Where will you go now?
You who have never known
which shore to swim for
or which rock to call your own.
Ahead of you,
the coarse hair of the trees,
the bog beyond,
the path towards the sea.
Behind you, sunlight
and the knuckled limestone,
ground brindled with moss,
the cricket's single tone.
And God, how easy
it would be to let your arms
go slack and let the water
veil your face, lean back
and into it, your mouth
slow-opening like a fish.
But even as you almost
grant yourself the wish,
you know you are at heart
a woman who must swim.
Above your head,
three swallows dive and skim
in navy uniforms,
unbuttoned from the sky.
Watch this. How close they swoop
before they're lifted high.
("Loch Allua", Helen Mort)
***
Do you remember the pure world? I remember it
from being a kid. All was at stake in that place,
one moved through it sideways, through forests
of time, lost in them, and had to be called back
to the moment. Infinities growing in stone,
in moss, in the hayshed, the rain, the wind,
in the darkness under the cattle grid.
...
The Milky Way meandering like the Ballinderry,
though the night has come with work to do.
It sits with you and broods. It wants you
to come at your own pace. And at this moment
you might get up and speak clearly to everything,
creation, extinction, infinities rising within you.
...
The light breaks and the night breaks and the line
breaks and the day is late assembling. Rows
of terraced houses are clicking into place. Clouds
decelerate and make like everything is normal:
the children wanting porridge, voices forcing
pattern out of circumstance, pitching rhythmic
incident on little grids of expectation, satisfaction,
disappointment, and this new awe, and walking to]
school, at the corner where the halfway is,
leaves animated in a briefest circle by the wind.
("Up Late", Nick Laird)
***
One week, though, I recall, the pollen came,
piled in our street like snow...
its carriage on the air from home to home,
over fences, yards, the apple blossom,
in through kitchen windows
to where we stared at screens on makeshift desks;
its waver on warm currents of my breath,
how my eyes streamed with tears.
Tell me that you noticed.
And did you close the window too,
uncertain, now, what you were meant to
with all that tenderness?
("Pollen", Claire Pollard)
***
You wonder where all the fog has come from.
Not the fog that creeps
in every September,
smudging the streetlights, but one
that's been made
from the scraps of your life.
...Somewhere
beyond here, a river is bending to velvety stones
along the bank, listening to their news.
On the hillside where you used to play
spears of emerald grass are folding
under the weight of rain. Jewel by jewel,
water passes to the earth, and the blades
straighten to sun again. A storm fritters
to breath. Traffic gathers. Things will work out.
("Things Will Work Out", Carolyn Jess Cooke)
***
The very last thing poetry is
is a poem.
("The Wind in the Willows", Zaffar Kunial)
***
Some days it is easier to remember
than to live
("Each Pebble Its Part", Jake Morris-Campbell)
***
The smell of an old book is a memory of trees.
A boy can tilt into it, the way a drunk
tilts her glass, and lean back emptied.
("The Tilt", Mark Pajak)
***
...That it's fair - it has to be -
how our hands hurt us, then give us
the world. How you can love the world
until there's nothing left to love
but yourself. Then you can stop.
Then you can walk away - back into the fog
-walled minefield, where the vein in your neck adores you
to zero. You can walk away. You can be nothing
& still breathing. Believe me.
("Tell Me Something Good", Ocean Vuong)
You who have never known
which shore to swim for
or which rock to call your own.
Ahead of you,
the coarse hair of the trees,
the bog beyond,
the path towards the sea.
Behind you, sunlight
and the knuckled limestone,
ground brindled with moss,
the cricket's single tone.
And God, how easy
it would be to let your arms
go slack and let the water
veil your face, lean back
and into it, your mouth
slow-opening like a fish.
But even as you almost
grant yourself the wish,
you know you are at heart
a woman who must swim.
Above your head,
three swallows dive and skim
in navy uniforms,
unbuttoned from the sky.
Watch this. How close they swoop
before they're lifted high.
("Loch Allua", Helen Mort)
***
Do you remember the pure world? I remember it
from being a kid. All was at stake in that place,
one moved through it sideways, through forests
of time, lost in them, and had to be called back
to the moment. Infinities growing in stone,
in moss, in the hayshed, the rain, the wind,
in the darkness under the cattle grid.
...
The Milky Way meandering like the Ballinderry,
though the night has come with work to do.
It sits with you and broods. It wants you
to come at your own pace. And at this moment
you might get up and speak clearly to everything,
creation, extinction, infinities rising within you.
...
The light breaks and the night breaks and the line
breaks and the day is late assembling. Rows
of terraced houses are clicking into place. Clouds
decelerate and make like everything is normal:
the children wanting porridge, voices forcing
pattern out of circumstance, pitching rhythmic
incident on little grids of expectation, satisfaction,
disappointment, and this new awe, and walking to]
school, at the corner where the halfway is,
leaves animated in a briefest circle by the wind.
("Up Late", Nick Laird)
***
One week, though, I recall, the pollen came,
piled in our street like snow...
its carriage on the air from home to home,
over fences, yards, the apple blossom,
in through kitchen windows
to where we stared at screens on makeshift desks;
its waver on warm currents of my breath,
how my eyes streamed with tears.
Tell me that you noticed.
And did you close the window too,
uncertain, now, what you were meant to
with all that tenderness?
("Pollen", Claire Pollard)
***
You wonder where all the fog has come from.
Not the fog that creeps
in every September,
smudging the streetlights, but one
that's been made
from the scraps of your life.
...Somewhere
beyond here, a river is bending to velvety stones
along the bank, listening to their news.
On the hillside where you used to play
spears of emerald grass are folding
under the weight of rain. Jewel by jewel,
water passes to the earth, and the blades
straighten to sun again. A storm fritters
to breath. Traffic gathers. Things will work out.
("Things Will Work Out", Carolyn Jess Cooke)
***
The very last thing poetry is
is a poem.
("The Wind in the Willows", Zaffar Kunial)
***
Some days it is easier to remember
than to live
("Each Pebble Its Part", Jake Morris-Campbell)
***
The smell of an old book is a memory of trees.
A boy can tilt into it, the way a drunk
tilts her glass, and lean back emptied.
("The Tilt", Mark Pajak)
***
...That it's fair - it has to be -
how our hands hurt us, then give us
the world. How you can love the world
until there's nothing left to love
but yourself. Then you can stop.
Then you can walk away - back into the fog
-walled minefield, where the vein in your neck adores you
to zero. You can walk away. You can be nothing
& still breathing. Believe me.
("Tell Me Something Good", Ocean Vuong)
April 26, 2023
Reflections and lessons learned/the content of this book made me feel…
“The smell of an old book is a memory of trees.
A boy can tilt into it, the way a drunk
tilts her glass, and leaned back, emptied.”
The Tilt, Mark Pajak
After a chance mishearing, and an ongoing gag/partial misconstrued self belief that my husband has transferable skills for most jobs, this was bought as an apology. Now a family joke, this collection is funnily enough not comprised of poems simply made up of four words…
Instead an insightful anthology as a summary to a range of poetry from the year. I can highly recommend the work of one of the winners, Kim Moore, but wide anthologies like this are such a fantastic way to find an introduction to a poet that may interest. In the same way, not all pieces land though. Other noteworthy thought provoking/must read more from pieces for me for instance were from Nick Laird, Helen Mort, and the above piece from Mark Pajak. Many of the cool things associated to literature for me begin with an ‘f’ - Foyles, Faber and Faber, and Forward can’t be left out of this list
“The smell of an old book is a memory of trees.
A boy can tilt into it, the way a drunk
tilts her glass, and leaned back, emptied.”
The Tilt, Mark Pajak
After a chance mishearing, and an ongoing gag/partial misconstrued self belief that my husband has transferable skills for most jobs, this was bought as an apology. Now a family joke, this collection is funnily enough not comprised of poems simply made up of four words…
Instead an insightful anthology as a summary to a range of poetry from the year. I can highly recommend the work of one of the winners, Kim Moore, but wide anthologies like this are such a fantastic way to find an introduction to a poet that may interest. In the same way, not all pieces land though. Other noteworthy thought provoking/must read more from pieces for me for instance were from Nick Laird, Helen Mort, and the above piece from Mark Pajak. Many of the cool things associated to literature for me begin with an ‘f’ - Foyles, Faber and Faber, and Forward can’t be left out of this list
January 8, 2024
The forward book of poetry had an eclectic amount of poems that spoke to me. Although my favorite poem from the book is "Reza's Resturant, Chicago, 1997" by Kaveh Akbar, I also like "50 mg of India ink" by Padraig Regan. The book overall had good meaningful poems. I belive that the poems toward the beginning of the book were more touching than the poems toward the back. When reading the poems in the front of the book the mood was more peaceful, where as the mood changed after the poems "42." and "16." and became more hostile. There were many poetic tech. that influnced the mood and tone changed. Such as, the word choice and rhyme/rythum. The word choice in "42." allowed the poem to be more touching by blacking out some of the words.
January 8, 2023
A gorgeous little book on modern poetry. Great variety, some poems were great sparks of beauty, some unreachable to me, but the variety makes it ideal for anyone who wants to find out what they enjoy. At least I did.
It’s only from British poets, unfortunately.
It’s only from British poets, unfortunately.
January 9, 2024
The overall mood of these poems spoke out to me. One poem that I enjoyed was 50ml of Indian ink by Padraig Regan. Although this was a short poem, the poem used a tone of admiration showing how much they appreciated the ink and how important it was. Another poem I loved was Midnight in the Foreign Food Aisle by Waresn Shire talks about the endeavors of being an outcast to what one calls their "background" can be foreign to them.
August 30, 2023
Day 30
#thesealeychallenge #poetry #forwardpoetry
The Forward Book of Poetry 2023 by various
- The Best Poems from the Forward Prizes -
“Poetry is the art of the ordinary, the invisible, and the everyday. It is the true art of the people.” Fatima Bhutto, Chair of Judges, June 2022
For the penultimate day of #thesealeychallenge 2023, the fresh delights of this years Forward Prize rise to the top of this years column of books, standing lower than the column of those that have been read: both towers of poetic prowess that have been delightful companions each day through August again this year. The Forward Book 2023 is the book reserved for today, acknowledging its importance as a yardstick for contemporary poetry as well as a measure of the range and breadth of poetry that has been read for this years challenge. Something else has been reserved for day 31.
The Chair of Judges will always find something poignant to say about poetry in the foreword, this year is no exception: another persons insight of poetry that helps us all understand the nature and beauty of poetry, it’s reading and it’s writing. This is an anniversary edition, 30 years since the first recipient, our current Poet Laureate won with his collection, Kid.
Some of the poems that stand out for me, include:
Fran Locke’s ‘Hyena Q & A’ (“A hyena is a punchline in search of a joke.”); the highly amusing ‘Monster Tinder’ by Anna Cheung; Lila Matsumoto’s ‘All of the pans in the kitchen’; ‘Queen’s Speech’ by Briancia Mullings; Mark Pajak invokes a memory in ‘The Tilt’ with “The smell of an old book is a memory of trees.” (My memory is my mum who loved to smell the pages of old books).
#thesealeychallenge #poetry #forwardpoetry
The Forward Book of Poetry 2023 by various
- The Best Poems from the Forward Prizes -
“Poetry is the art of the ordinary, the invisible, and the everyday. It is the true art of the people.” Fatima Bhutto, Chair of Judges, June 2022
For the penultimate day of #thesealeychallenge 2023, the fresh delights of this years Forward Prize rise to the top of this years column of books, standing lower than the column of those that have been read: both towers of poetic prowess that have been delightful companions each day through August again this year. The Forward Book 2023 is the book reserved for today, acknowledging its importance as a yardstick for contemporary poetry as well as a measure of the range and breadth of poetry that has been read for this years challenge. Something else has been reserved for day 31.
The Chair of Judges will always find something poignant to say about poetry in the foreword, this year is no exception: another persons insight of poetry that helps us all understand the nature and beauty of poetry, it’s reading and it’s writing. This is an anniversary edition, 30 years since the first recipient, our current Poet Laureate won with his collection, Kid.
Some of the poems that stand out for me, include:
Fran Locke’s ‘Hyena Q & A’ (“A hyena is a punchline in search of a joke.”); the highly amusing ‘Monster Tinder’ by Anna Cheung; Lila Matsumoto’s ‘All of the pans in the kitchen’; ‘Queen’s Speech’ by Briancia Mullings; Mark Pajak invokes a memory in ‘The Tilt’ with “The smell of an old book is a memory of trees.” (My memory is my mum who loved to smell the pages of old books).
January 8, 2024
Personally, I found the selected poems boring and incompetent. The poems were unequivocally in a negative tone, and were nowhere near "uplifting". Undeniably the poems were all eclectic and quite unique, which was refreshing, but the poems were unnecessarily hard to follow and lacked substance. Furthermore, out of the entire book, 1 poem stuck out to me specifically, and I found it relatable. Most of these poems were undeniably very unrelatable and seemed quite random. But "Midnight in the Foreign Food Aisle" really spoke to me. Although some of the vulgar word choice and language could have been avoided to appeal to more audiences, the poem's use of poetry techniques was notable. Although the author of this poem was not revealed, meaning I cannot cite them. The poem consists of immigrant difficulties and feeling alone, which I can relate to at certain times. Many other poems talked about and touched on the subject of immigrants, but this one spoke to me since it mentioned food, which can be a huge element of culture. Another poem that I found quite beautiful was "Boy Sells Gum at Qalandiyah (El-Kurd 24). This poem was not specifically relatable to me, but I found it touching and insightful to read about the Palestinians' lives in Israel. Although these 2 specific poems were great, the book as a whole felt more like it was addressing social issues rather than providing quality literacy and content. The book was filled with liberal ideologies and victimaztion, which aren't necessarily bad to have, but the book was overmined by these topics and lacked diversity.
January 8, 2024
I liked the concept of how it was a collection of diverse poems from different authors because this allowed me to get a better look at different types of poetry and find some that I like best. I enjoyed 'Midnight at the Foreign Food Aisle' and 'My Dad is a Terrorist' because of how I related to it as a second generation immigrant, who has experienced religious stereotypes first hand. I also loved the different point of views of the authors and enjoyed poems with a theme of family and heritage. A lot of the poems had situational irony and symbolism like the ones I mentioned, which really elevated the poem and pushed the poems' motifs further. For example in 'My Dad is a Terrorist', the irony is what made the poem stick out to me. Furthermore, this technique allowed me to deeply understand how stereotypes affect people and how they mostly are not accurate. Additionally, these eclectic poems helped me better like poems. Though, some of the longer poems where a bit overwhelming and there where some which didn't resonate or make sense to me. Overall, I enjoyed this book, even though poetry isn't what I usually read. I would recommend it to people who want to get into poetry (but understand how it can not be for everyone).
January 10, 2024
All in all I found this book very well structured, organized and an imperative read for all individuals. An imperative read for the individuals who enjoy poetry or might not. The poems included in this arrangement consist of a variety of eclectic writing styles and main topics/themes. I must admit it exceeded my expectations and I found the book quite inspiring and insightful. More specifically, certain poems in this book. One of the poems called “50 ml of India Ink” by Padriag Regan provides me this thought of legacy, leading to a larger universal theme that applies to all. The theme that ink allows freedom of thought, and gives the opportunity for individuals to communicate the significance of legacy. Furthermore, another poem that sparked my attention and grasped my interest was one of the name “Sunset on 14th Street”, by Alex Dimitrov. This poem in particular reminded me of the unfortunate effects of social media and technology leading to a bigger theme. The theme that through the use of irony, the author is able to reveal how the world nowadays people no longer develop real connections, causing the environment around us to be noticed and observed. These two poems where certainly worth reading and provided a lot of insight into life itself.
January 8, 2024
My overall thoughts on "The Forward Book of Poetry 2023" was a meaningful and emotional story which interacted the readers through external and internal complications of each and every author. Every single poem had a unique style of writing, which helped expand my understanding of different writing techniques. firstly, one of my most memorable poems has to be " Reza's Restaurant Chicago, 1997," by Kaveh Akbar. The author and I related to each other, on the idea and feeling of immigration and not being in a familiar environment. His ability to utilize various poetic techniques such as visual imagery, and characterization helps envision his true theme/ message of embracing your own culture and identity. In addition "Bulldozers Undoing God," by Mohammed El-Kurd was also a poem which helped me understand the struggles of individuals going through a civil war. Mohammed's symbolism of olive trees to human's helped understand that political wars has an unequivocal effect on each person's personal state and also help outsiders feel the internal conflicts those are facing in struggle.
January 8, 2024
Having concluded our poetry unit in our 9th grade English class, I have mixed feelings about poetry and a guide to it. I truly love poetry and I find it to be a great form to express your feelings and opinions and yet this book didn't fulfill my poetic dreams. Although there were some poems that spoke to me within this book such as bulldozers undoing god, Loch Allua and My dad is a Terrorist. There was a clear pattern within the motifs of the poems which was the ideology of wokism and the feeling of victimization. Although I wholeheartedly believe that it is great to represent people from all backgrounds and ethnicities in books of poetry there should still be poems that can relate to a broader audience. Even though it is possible to locate similarities between your life and the poems within this book it is anomalous to find a poem that resonates with you. At the end of the day, this poetry can tend to be incredibly depressing and draining because it constantly focuses on victimization and conflicts which can lead readers to lose interest and passion for poetry as a whole.
January 9, 2024
"My Dad is a terrorist"
Really spoke out to me because it shows a life very different to mine. Using verbal irony I can see how a difference in faith and the islamaphobia in the world is something that I know very little about. The main motif of injustice in society is something that I don't normally give a lot of thought to because I lived in a priveleged society.
"Rezas Restaurant"
Secondly, Rezas Restaurant is another poem similiar to "My dad is a terrorist" because it demonstrates the main motif of Sterotyping. This spoke out to me because when first reading the poem I didn't see much wrong with what was going on. However, after conffering with my teacher I was able to understand how even if it seem like harmless assumptions, tat were most of the time correct, it was the micro agressions that cause injustice in this world. All in All, these poems along with many others evoked an eclectic variety of understandings about the world that I did not know, and illustrates how much more I still have to learn about the world.
Really spoke out to me because it shows a life very different to mine. Using verbal irony I can see how a difference in faith and the islamaphobia in the world is something that I know very little about. The main motif of injustice in society is something that I don't normally give a lot of thought to because I lived in a priveleged society.
"Rezas Restaurant"
Secondly, Rezas Restaurant is another poem similiar to "My dad is a terrorist" because it demonstrates the main motif of Sterotyping. This spoke out to me because when first reading the poem I didn't see much wrong with what was going on. However, after conffering with my teacher I was able to understand how even if it seem like harmless assumptions, tat were most of the time correct, it was the micro agressions that cause injustice in this world. All in All, these poems along with many others evoked an eclectic variety of understandings about the world that I did not know, and illustrates how much more I still have to learn about the world.
Read
January 9, 2024The poem book of Poetry 2023 had poems that reference ideas about love, self-love, stereotypes, humans, nature, and the world. Two poems that sparked my soul were "The Butterflies the Mountain and the Lake." by Shane McCrae and "Sunset on 14th Street" by Alex Dimitrov. The Butterfly poem got my attention because it related to nature, and it made me imagine the butterflies making their journey, I love nature, it transmits peace to me, and I enjoyed reading that poem, it didn't make my energy wane like other scrupulous poems. Furthermore, Alex Dimitrov's poem made me relate to, it because it speaks about how we need more human connection, and how we are supposed to be social, enjoy life, and share our love with everyone we love. In addition, I am very social and I love spending time with my friends, it's my favorite time of the day, so it really touched me how this poem expresses similar feelings that I experience, and it also taught me and sort of gave me a heads up, kind of telling me to enjoy life more.
January 8, 2024
The forward book of poetry was assigned to us for our 9th grade English class poetry unit, it is a book from various diverse authors, which mainly focus on contemporaneous themes and motifs. Most of the poems are about current conflicts and themes, for example the war between Russia and Ukraine, the again rising conflict between Israel and Palestine, Family, sexual abuse, sexual assault…
Although I feel like most poems didn’t “speak” to me I enjoyed reading Bulldozers undoing God and Loch Allua. Each of these poems uses varied poetic techniques ranging from caesuras to characterization.
Furthermore, the poems in the book talked about an eclectic amount of issues and were unequivocally written by diverse authors most of them were written from what could be interpreted as “oppressed” or “victims” which sometimes makes it hard to resonate with them, still I believe it is important to have people from all backgrounds represented in every aspect of our society.
Although I feel like most poems didn’t “speak” to me I enjoyed reading Bulldozers undoing God and Loch Allua. Each of these poems uses varied poetic techniques ranging from caesuras to characterization.
Furthermore, the poems in the book talked about an eclectic amount of issues and were unequivocally written by diverse authors most of them were written from what could be interpreted as “oppressed” or “victims” which sometimes makes it hard to resonate with them, still I believe it is important to have people from all backgrounds represented in every aspect of our society.
January 8, 2024
I liked the forward book of poetry because it had a large variation of writing styles, motifs and writers. If you like poems which require interpreting symbols and eclectic characterization, this book is definitely for you! I really liked the poems "Pollen" and "16.". These poems had motifs which I thought are very important to read about. In addition, I liked that their opinions were part of the poem but still left room for interpretation. "Pollen" had motifs of love, separation, and sickness. I thought this poem was very fitting for 2023 because of Covid. "16." had motifs about abuse, pain and letting go. Even though I thought the book was interesting, I did not like that the book had more poems with palpable sad tones and moods. In all, I think the book should have had some more joyful poems.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 8, 2024
Overall, this book is good for poetry enthusiasts who like reading different kinds of poetry. However, this wasn't the best book for me because I like to read more fantasy kind books but like I said earlier it is a great book for those who like reading different kinds of poetry. Although I am not one to like poetry there were some poems that I did like, they were, "Loch Allula" because I was a swimmer for part of my life and it compares swimming to life, I also liked "Moster Tinder" because it adds a fun twist to what Tinder is like, and the last one that I liked was, "My Dad is a Terrorist" because it shows how just because someone looks like they could be one thing you can never really know until you get to know them. I feel like an eclectic amount of the poems used a lot of imagery which I liked because I feel like it added to the reading experience.
Currently reading
January 8, 2024The poetry collection in this book was an interesting mix of poems, most of which conveyed a theme relevant in today's society, except the dog airplane one. Many of the poems talked about the author's personal experience and their current lives, whether it's their love life or their heritage. There's at least a few poems you could relate to personally if you look hard enough.
Some poems that I felt spoke to my soul were "Explanation for Those Who Don't Know Love" by Holly Hopkins and due to the mother-child relationship being conveyed as unbreakable, and "Bulldozers Undoing God" by Mohammed El-Kurd due to the importance the author has about their heritage. El-Kurd uses an eclectic range of vocabulary to convey a desolate tone make us feel somber. On the other hand, Hopkins uses a passionate tone to show how much her family means for her.
Some poems that I felt spoke to my soul were "Explanation for Those Who Don't Know Love" by Holly Hopkins and due to the mother-child relationship being conveyed as unbreakable, and "Bulldozers Undoing God" by Mohammed El-Kurd due to the importance the author has about their heritage. El-Kurd uses an eclectic range of vocabulary to convey a desolate tone make us feel somber. On the other hand, Hopkins uses a passionate tone to show how much her family means for her.
January 8, 2024
The "Forward Book of Poetry 2023" wasn't a book that I enjoyed there were a few poems in the book that I had read, that were interesting to me. One poem I enjoyed in the "Forward Book of Poetry 2023" was a poem called "Breath" by Anthony Joseph. I like the poem "Breath" because of how I could feel the pain that the poet is going through even though the theme doesn't relate to me. In addition the poem "Breath" by Anthony Joseph uses imagery to reveal the story of death, grief, and dealing with the loss of a loved one. Another poem I was able to relate to was "I'm Shouting I LOVED YOUR DAD at my Brother's Cat" because I learned that you have to cherish all the good times you have with all the people around you, even if you sometimes prevaricate them. Overall I didn't really enjoy or relate to any other poem in "The Forward Book of Poetry 2023" and I wouldn't read this book again.
January 9, 2024
Most of the poems in The Forward Book of Poetry 2023 has driven moods that the reader can connect to easily, therefor making the poems easy to read and joyful to do so too. A couple of poems which spoke my heart were "Flowers for my ego and a dark stage", this one spoke about the feeling of loneliness and it expressed in such a perfect manner which even if you don't connect to, it is unequivically sentimental towards the reader and structured in a particular way which makes it fun to read, using eclectic vocabulary which makes it worth to learn from. Another poem which I felt was joyful and I would recommend would have to be page 26, "My dad is a terrorist", this one talks about the societal stereotypes towards arabic people which exposes the cruel reality that some people have to go through, which if you get to know, are heart warming people.
January 9, 2024
In my opinion, "The Forward Book of Poetry 2023" includes a variety of poems that include tones that vary from negative and dark to positive and uplifting. I can definitely say that if this book werent handed to me, I wouldnt have read it. These kinds of books dont really interest me because the topics in each poem dont fascinate me. While it was nice learning about different topics, I enjoy reading books I can relate to and make me feel something because it's familiar. Since the book was full of poetry I didnt have enough time for each poem to fully be absorbed into the writing. I would not read this book again. The poems were unequivocally mostly negative and the poetic techniques were almost impossible to find in a few of them. Also, the structure of some poems made them extremely difficult to read.
January 9, 2024
In the book “The Forward Book of Poetry 2023” I think all the poems were all very distinct. The mood of all the poems fluctuated a lot because this book contained different poets and poems with different causes and backrounds. In my opinion, 2 poems that really spoke to me were “My dad is a Terrorist” from Qudsia Akhtar and “Bulldozers under God” by Mahfoutha Ishtayyeb. The poem by Qudsia was unequivocally meant to show the motif of stereotypes and racism. This really touched me since I never had to experience any of that making me more aware of the world around me. And the poem by Mahfoutha also kind of had the same effect since the motif of war was also something I never had to experience.
January 9, 2024
This book was cool to read because the different poems connect with everyone. While reading this book I saw that the idea was to convey concepts of life nowadays through poetry. This book was good at using poetic techniques but some of the main themes were hard to find. Although, I did like two poems which were Monthlies by Polly Atkin and Jogie Road by Anthony Joeseph. I really enjoyed reading Monthlies because it showed how unique and shattered her life is compared to the everyday person. Secondly, when I was reading Jogie Road I saw that Anthony Joeseph used a lot of graphic details other known as imagery to reveal violence and the pain the protagonist is going through. This book was scrupulously written and others might enjoy this book too.
January 9, 2024
I enjoyed this poetry collection book for its unique poems from best single poems to best collections. The poems had a range of length and style which made it also helpful to read over when learning about poetic techniques.
However, many poems talked or hinted towards the Israel-Hamas conflict with plenty bias and lack of perspective. This factor definitely changed my mind over this book’s rating, as I believe political bias, generalization, direct /indirect attack, and lack of empathy is disappointing to witness when dealing with such issues.
Moving on, Fanny poems also contained lots of culture which each poem a world of its own.
Which is why I partially recommend this book for poetry students, poetry lovers, poets, and readers alike.
However, many poems talked or hinted towards the Israel-Hamas conflict with plenty bias and lack of perspective. This factor definitely changed my mind over this book’s rating, as I believe political bias, generalization, direct /indirect attack, and lack of empathy is disappointing to witness when dealing with such issues.
Moving on, Fanny poems also contained lots of culture which each poem a world of its own.
Which is why I partially recommend this book for poetry students, poetry lovers, poets, and readers alike.
January 10, 2024
The poetry collection was very eclectic due to all the diverse authors and their certain perspectives on things, as a 9th grade student I don’t exactly enjoy reading poetry all the time but I think I could really understand the meaning of some of the poems. For instance, the butterflies the mountains and the lake, gabe me a whole different perspective on the cycle of life by talking through a butterfly’s migration journey. Another one that really spoke to me was “Rezas Restaurant”, this is because it talks about acceptance of identity and who you are, as someone that travels a lot and has lived in many different places my culture and where I’m from can sometimes be things that are confusing to me.
January 9, 2024
I found that the overall mood of the poems in this book was unequivocally sentimental. One of the two poems that I found interesting and touched my heart was Rezas Restaurant by Kaveh Akbar because it talks about loving someone for who they are. Secondly, I chose the Butterflies the Mountain and the Lake by Shane Mcrae because the main theme was children are the most beautiful things in life which I felt was a nice and loving message to the readers. It spoke to me because I try to find people who are nice on the inside and value my friends and children smaller than me as they are one of the most beautiful things on this planet.
January 9, 2024
The Forward Book of Poetry had poems that reflected on the real world. It attempted to reveal different themes. Some of the most common ones were stereotypes. Two of my favorite poems were My Dad Is a Terrorist by Qudsia Akhtar and Pollen by Claire Askew. I like the poem "My Dad Is a Terrorist" Because it helps us understand the racist stereotypes that happen in the real world. I also think it is really important that people understand how they feel when that happens. Furthermore I also liked "Pollen" because it uses a lot of eclectic language that makes what it is trying to express very palpable.
January 8, 2024
First of all the forward book of Poetry 2023 is an eclectic and outstanding book because it’s a book where there’s many different type of poems where it talks about the problems in life, different moods, etc. 2 poems that really spoke to me were “The Worries” by Molly Naylor and “Things Will Work Out” by Carolyn Jess Cooke because these are two poems that talk about the struggles anyone can have in there life. Finally some poetic techniques the some authors used were enjambment which is when a poem ends without a punctuation and without completing a sentence or clause.
January 9, 2024
My overall mood of these poems they all have a deeper meaning to what they say. The poem "42.Kim Moore" really got me thinking about how your feeling towards someone change overtime. In the poem "Dog on a Britis Airways Airbus 319-100" by louisa Campbell we can see how the one dog there brings a smile to your faces and how you can see two point of views from the dog or from the humans and it is unequivocally simple but with a big meanings.
December 18, 2023
I thought the poems were more accessible this year, with the inclusion of a number of different poem constructions, (sorry, don't know the correct term), giving variety to the reading experience.
I particularly enjoyed the section entitled Highly Commended Poems, especially My Dad is a Terrorist by Qudsia Akhtar.
I particularly enjoyed the section entitled Highly Commended Poems, especially My Dad is a Terrorist by Qudsia Akhtar.
January 8, 2024
Personally I thought there were some poetries that spoke to my soul, however there were many that were hard to understand and that I couldn’t connect to the real life. For example, the poem “16.” and “42.” unequivocally helped me understand multiple perspectives. Furthermore, rhetorical questions in those poems helped me understand what it is like when somebody is sexually assaulted.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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