Évaluation : 5 sur 5 étoiles
Découvrez votre prochain livre préféré
Ten: new poets
Par Bloodaxe Books
Longueur:
132 pages
37 minutes
Description
This groundbreaking anthology of ten new poets truly reflects the multicultural make-up of contemporary Britain. At a time when less than 1% of all poetry books published in the UK are by black or Asian poets, the work of these writers testifies to the quality and versatility of vital writing that should not be overlooked. These new voices draw on cultural influences and multiple heritages that can only enrich and broaden the scope of contemporary British poetry. This anthology is the culmination of a much needed initiative by literature development agency Spread the Word to support talented Black and Asian poets. The poets' histories are to be found in Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Ghana, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Uganda, Ethiopia, Ireland and England. Their eclectic, wide-ranging poems will take you on a journey into war and exile, myth and magic, homeland and memory, fantasy, family and love. Whether travelling through the streets of London, the killing fields of Bangladesh, the cane fields of the Caribbean, or back in time to the life of a courtesan in 3rd century BC India, these poems will open up new landscapes for the reader. Ten's new poets are: Mir Mahfuz Ali, Rowyda Amin, Malika Booker, Roger Robinson, Karen McCarthy Woolf, Nick Makoha, Denise Saul, Seni Seneviratne, Shazea Quraishi and Janet Kofi-Tsekpo. Poetry Book Society Special Commendation.
Lié à Ten
Livres associé
Bright Dead Things: Poems de Ada Limón
Épisodes de podcast associés
Articles associés
Aperçu du livre
Ten - Bloodaxe Books
TEN
Poetry Book Society Special Commendation
This groundbreaking anthology of ten new poets truly reflects the multicultural make-up of contemporary Britain. At a time when less than 1% of all poetry books published in the UK are by black or Asian poets, the work of these writers testifies to the quality and versatility of vital writing that should not be overlooked. These new voices draw on cultural influences and multiple heritages that can only enrich and broaden the scope of contemporary British poetry. This anthology is the culmination of a much needed initiative by literature development agency Spread the Word to support talented Black and Asian poets.
The poets’ histories are to be found in Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Ghana, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Uganda, Ethiopia, Ireland and England. Their eclectic, wide-ranging poems will take you on a journey into war and exile, myth and magic, homeland and memory, fantasy, family and love. Whether travelling through the streets of London, the killing fields of Bangladesh, the cane fields of the Caribbean, or back in time to the life of a courtesan in 3rd century BC India, these poems will open up new landscapes for the reader.
Ten’s new poets are: Mir Mahfuz Ali, Rowyda Amin, Malika Booker, Roger Robinson, Karen McCarthy Woolf, Nick Makoha, Denise Saul, Seni Seneviratne, Shazea Quraishi and Janet Kofi-Tsekpo.
‘This thrilling, moving, challenging and inspiring new anthology introduces 10 sparkling new talents who demonstrate the richness, energy and confidence of the poetic voice in our multicultural country. It is a joyful and important moment in publishing’
–
CAROL ANN DUFFY
, Poet Laureate
COVER PAINTING
Afro Jezebel by Chris Ofili (2002-03)
OIL PAINT, POLYESTER RESIN, GLITTER, MAP PINS
AND ELEPHANT DUNG ON LINEN, WITH TWO
ELEPHANT DUNG SUPPORTS, 244 x 183 cm
(VICTORIA MIRO GALLERY, LONDON)
TEN
NEW POETS
EDITED BY
BERNARDINE EVARISTO &
DALJIT NAGRA
spread the word
CONTENTS
Title Page
BERNARDINE EVARISTO
: Why It Matters
1 KAREN McCARTHY WOOLF
Comment:
MICHAEL SYMMONS ROBERTS
Yellow Logic
1. The Weather in the Womb
2. My Limbs Beat Against the Glass
3. Mor Bleu
4. Mort Dieu
5. White Butterflies
6. Yellow Logic
2 ROWYDA AMIN
Comment:
CATHERINE SMITH
Mojave
Desert Sunflowers
Insect Studies
Frost Fair
Monkey Daughter
Grandparents
3MIR MAHFUZ ALI
Comment:
PASCALE PETIT
My Salma
Midnight, Dhaka, 25 March 1971
My First Shock at School
Bidisha on the Wall
Still Birth
4DENISE SAUL
Comment:
JOHN STAMMERS
City of Coffee and Rain
Quartz Cave
Moon Jelly
One
5ROGER ROBINSON
Comment:
PAUL FARLEY
The Stand Pipe
Griffiths
Mr Lee Wah Moves Mountains
Miss Jagroop
The New La Diablesse
6SHAZEA QURAISHI
Comment:
FIONA SAMPSON
The Courtesan’s Reply
The Sixty-four Arts
The Days of Chandragupta Maurya
Tambulasena
Mwanza, Malawi
7MALIKA BOOKER
Comment:
W.N.HERBERT
Overseer’s Lament
Earth’s Salt
Plait
Pepper Sauce
8SENI SENEVIRATNE
Comment:
MIMI KHALVATI
Sitting for the Mistress
Roquebrun
L’inconnue de la Seine
Montefegatesi
9NICK MAKOHA
Comment:
GEORGE SZIRTES
The Drive-In
Prayers for exiled poets
Father Cornelius
Beatitude
10JANET KOFI-TSEKPO
Comment:
MICHAEL SCHMIDT
Eudora Welty
Poem for Rumi
Rose Garden, Lidice
Book of Puddle
Biographies of editors
Biographies of mentors
Acknowledgements
Previous publications
Spread the Word
Copyright
WHY IT MATTERS
In 2004 I was asked to be one of seven judges for a prestigious poetry promotion organised by the Poetry Book Society. Called Next Generation Poets, it was supposed to identify the twenty best
new poets published in the UK since 1994. I agreed to be a judge but to my dismay noticed that no black or Asian poets were among the many names submitted. I recommended five whose work had been unfairly overlooked. In the end only one poet made the list, Patience Agbabi.
I raised the issue with Ruth Borthwick, then Director of Literature at the South Bank Centre. She supported an approach I made to Arts Council England. I emailed its Literature Department and suggested they investigate the situation, especially as they fund a lot of poetry presses. Their response was immediate, concerned, positive and gratifying. Ruth and I had a meeting with them and they decided to commission a report as a first step to rectifying this unacceptable state of affairs. Spread the Word Writer Development Agency was commissioned to look into why so few black and Asian poets were being published in this country.
(The terms ‘black poet’ or ‘Asian poet’ are, of course, problematic and controversial. Few writers want to be labelled, pigeon-holed, or solely-defined by race or skin colour. But the terms do serve as a convenient shorthand for easy identification.)
The final report, Free Verse (2005), was written and researched by Danuta Kean and Melanie Larsen. It revealed that less than 1% of poetry books published in Britain are by black and Asian poets.
This was a shock, even to someone like myself who had long realised how dire the situation was. How, in the 21st century, in a country such as Britain which has an integrated, racially diverse population, could this tacit colour/culture bar still operate in the poetry publishing world?
I thought back to the 1980s when, in a climate of pioneering arts activism, several poets with a Caribbean heritage were published in Britain, for example, John Agard, Jean ‘Binta’ Breeze, James Berry, Valerie Bloom, David Dabydeen, Fred D’Aguiar, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Grace
Vous avez atteint la fin de cet aperçu. Inscrivez-vous pour en savoir plus !
Page 1 sur 1
Avis
Ce que les gens pensent de Ten
00 évaluations / 0 Avis