Happy UK National Poetry Day! We're all poetry fans here at Continuum and if you are too, you’ll be keen to check out the official website which lists poetry-themed events going on up and down the country, including a National Poetry Live event happening right across the road from our London office at Waterloo’s South Bank Centre.
National Poetry Day has also seen the announcement of the winner of the 2011 Forward Prize, one of the most high profile poetry prizes in the country. The winner this year was Scottish writer John Burnside, who took the £10,000 prize for his collection Black Cat Bone in the face of stiff competition from the likes of Geoffrey Hill and Sean O'Brien.
For anyone interested in brushing up on their poetry (either for study or personal pleasure), you might be interested in taking a look at one of our most popular books here at Continuum, The Poetry Toolkit by Rhian Williams of the University of Glasgow. It’s a really accessible (and easy to reference) guide to how to get the most out of reading poetry. As usual, I’ve posted a free preview so you can judge for yourself!
And here’s another sneak preview: I’ve just received the manuscript for a new book we’re publishing next year, On Modern Poetry: From Theory to 'Total Criticism'. From what I’ve read so far, it’s shaping up to be a fantastic book that offers us a new holistic approach to reading poetry that transcends traditional academic divides between theory and close reading. Robert’s book is out in May, so keep your eyes peeled on this blog for more details in the very near future.
Happy reading!
David
Senior Editor
Continuum Literary Studies
Happy reading indeed! Thank you for this and happy holidays.
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