Terrific review of The Best British Poetry 2011 by Aime Williams at The Oxonian Review
“The Best British Poetry 2011, edited by Roddy Lumsden, is an anthology of meticulous compilation: after a year spent foraging in the various British literary magazines, Lumsden has gathered 70 poems—representing 70 poets. In a format openly indebted to The Best American Poetry series, each poet has in turn commented on their poem’s inception. Fundamental to the nature of this collection is the method of the editor; this is not an anthology of the most celebrated contemporary poets. Rather than being selected by virtue of reputation, each poet wins their place in this book by having a single good poem published in a magazine this year. As such, some of the names are obscure, but every poem repays forensic reading. Refreshingly, there is little holding this anthology together thematically; although a couple of themes are more common than others. The modernist suspicion about the possibility of meaningful communication is worried over a lot—and it’s interesting to see that it remains a contemporary concern. However, what’s most striking is the diversity of style that a relatively small anthology manages to contain.”
