Poetry anthology recommendations

[Scarlet Nettle]

I am more of a prose kind of person and I haven't read many poets. I want to get more familiar with poetry and appreciate its beauty. Can you please recommend me a good modern/contemporary poetry anthology to begin with?

[Iain Sparrow]

I'm actually one of those prose kind of people who really dislikes poetry... but, not long ago my youngest niece sent me a neat book of poetry that I really enjoyed called, Where the Sidewalk Ends: Poems and Drawings, by Shel Silverstein. Probably not the kind of poetry you're looking for, but it was good fun reading it.

[blank|verse]

Scarlet, you could do a lot worse than buy a copy of 'The 20th Century in Poetry' edited by Simon Rae and Michael Hulse. (http://www.amazon.co.uk/20th-Century-Poetry-Simon-Rae/dp/0091940176/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1407326318&sr=1-1&keywords=20th+century+in+poetry) Not only does it have poems from all the major writers of the last century and is very comprehensive, it also has useful essays between its various sections to explain developments and trends in society and culture.

And if that doesn't bring you bang up to date, I'd also recommend subscribing to 'Poetry' magazine, or at least visiting the Poetry Foundation website (http://www.poetryfoundation.org/), and the Poetry Archive (http://www.poetryarchive.org/) website allows you to listen to poets reading their work, which can be vital to understanding or appreciating poets to a greater extent. Hope that helps.

[Poetaster]

Try the 'Penguin Book of Contemporary British Poetry'. It serves as a grand introduction to modern poetry with a range of poems and poets.

[Pierre Menard]

The "Norton" Anthologies are highly regarded by most. They do a modern era one as well, so I'd recommend checking that out.

[Scarlet Nettle]

I'm actually one of those prose kind of people who really dislikes poetry... but, not long ago my youngest niece sent me a neat book of poetry that I really enjoyed called, Where the Sidewalk Ends: Poems and Drawings, by Shel Silverstein. Probably not the kind of poetry you're looking for, but it was good fun reading it.
I was actually looking for a suitable gift for my nephew for his 7th birthday (Gosh how fast they grow up!). This book seems to be perfect. Definitely going to read it before giving it to him. Thanks a lot!


Scarlet, you could do a lot worse than buy a copy of 'The 20th Century in Poetry' edited by Simon Rae and Michael Hulse. Not only does it have poems from all the major writers of the last century and is very comprehensive, it also has useful essays between its various sections to explain developments and trends in society and culture.

And if that doesn't bring you bang up to date, I'd also recommend subscribing to 'Poetry' magazine, or at least visiting the Poetry Foundation website, and the Poetry Archive website allows you to listen to poets reading their work, which can be vital to understanding or appreciating poets to a greater extent. Hope that helps.
I just looked through the contents of this book and read a few reviews too. This is what I wanted, going to order it soon. Thank you so very much.


Try the 'Penguin Book of Contemporary British Poetry'. It serves as a grand introduction to modern poetry with a range of poems and poets.
Thanks Poetaster! This book seems to be great but at the moment I don't want to limit my readings only to British poets. Perhaps in future, if I would like to go more deeply into British poetry, I will get this anthology. Thanks again!


The "Norton" Anthologies are highly regarded by most. They do a modern era one as well, so I'd recommend checking that out.
Searched it on the web. All I can say is that the Norton Anthologies seems to be the best out there. That being said, they are too expensive for me at the moment. I am definitely buying a few of them once I get a decent job. Thank you!