The Poetry School’s Favourite Poetry Books 2011

The Poetry School offer their selection of the best books of 2011:

There’s been lots of best of 2011 poetry books doing the rounds at the moment, so we thought we’d do ours! In no particular order, here are our top ten – published this year (unless we got it wrong) and why we love them. We’ve got loads more we loved! But there’s only so many hours in the day. What’s your opinion? Best poetry book of 2011? Tweet us @poetryschool or Facebook us! Who have we missed?

Toon Tellegen, Raptors (Carcanet)

This English translation of the Dutch collection is
brief, punchy and startling – the whole idea of the family, of typical
conversation, of the ‘turn-of-phrase’, is warped out of shape and perception; put
onto the backs of hyenas or crushed into dust.

Fawzi Karim, Plague Lands (Carcanet)

Fawzi is an exhiled poet from Iraq that muses on the past and present with grace, understanding and an absence of anger at his situation, giving much to the reader through his exploration of memory and separation from a place.

Alice Oswald, Memorial (Faber)

Fierce and spare as The Last Post, you don’t need to have an in depth knowledge of the Iliad to appreciate Oswald’s approach. Timeless, spacious and political.

Mark Waldron, Itchy Sea (Salt)

3 times within the first 10 pages of this book, I came across ideas, combinations and approaches that I’d never seen before and was awestruck. Funny, weird and very, very
English.

John McCullough, Frost Fairs (Salt)

Saucy, historically sited poems, he ranges all over the place like the best sort of tour guide.

Lavinia Greenlaw, The Casual Perfect (Faber)

Literally what it says on the tin; Greenlaw has managed to create a collection that looks effortlessly perfect, displaying her fine ability here with cool, graceful and modest poems.

Rachael Boast, Sidereal (Picador)

Expansive and philosophic, Rachael’s neat poems hold matters of the self and the universe side by side. 

The Best British Poetry 2011 (Salt)

A take on the American version, this book looks to be a go-to for British poetry for many years to come.

John Burnside, Black Cat Bone (Cape)

Haunting and bleak, this collection hangs about you for weeks after reading.

New Poetries V (Carcanet)

Extraordinarily diverse range of new poets – a few to keep an eye on. Kate Kilalea, Oli Hazzard and Will Eaves deserve extra-special attention.