English Poetry

Dive into this collection of poetry and prose inspired by modern dating and broken relationships, perfect for fans of Rupi Kaur and Orion Carloto.

In this volume the English language reveals itself in a scale and depth that few others can compare with. It seems to be an advantage to be able to choose from over a million words and yet, it is not the words but the way in which they are used that resonate with us all. Is there some bond between the English and writing poetry? Maybe, maybe not, but let us celebrate these poems down the ages, not as one nation’s hoard but humanity’s gift.

Transcendentalism embodies the concept that people have a deeper and more profound understanding of the world around them than simply by what they can glimpse with their senses. In this collection of essays and poems, the works of three transcendentalist authors are shared, each with their own impressions and opinions supporting the movement.

Gabi Abrāo’s Notes on Shapeshifting is an ode to existing in physical form, fully aware of the changing energy that flows through every aspect of it.

The Vita nuova is elaborately and symbolically patterned, consisting of a selection of Dante's early poems interspersed with his own prose commentary. The poems themselves tell the story of his love for Beatrice, from their first meeting at a May Day party in her father's house, through Dante's sufferings and his attempts to conceal the true object of his devotion by the use of "screen-loves", to his overwhelming grief at her death, ending with the transformative vision of her in heaven.

Even if you’ve never heard his name, you’ve probably met someone with his words tattooed on their skin or heard them sung at a music concert. Atticus, the anonymous young New York Times bestselling author, has taken the world by storm with his beautiful poetry and powerful, simple themes of love and strength of the human spirit. His fourth poetry collection, LVOE., is a study into himself. Using his instantly recognizable lyrical style and relatable themes, Atticus will once again dazzle listeners, inspiring them to also look within.

The Iliad is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the Odyssey, the poem is divided into 24 books and was written in dactylic hexameter. It contains 15,693 lines in its most widely accepted version. Set towards the end of the Trojan War, a ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Mycenaean Greek states, the poem depicts significant events in the siege's final weeks.

In this "wise and wondrous" (David Quammen) exploration, a science writer reintroduces readers to The Snake, encouraging our initial reaction to the slithery creature to be one of awe rather than disgust. For millennia, depictions of snakes as alternatively beautiful and menacing creatures have...

Let Aubrey E. Drummond take you on an emotional journey—from the pain of losing love to a prayer to love again. Search for a ray of hope in this bitter world. Wish for the gift of flight to free ourselves. Witness the hatred of a bitter old man. Become lost in the voices that creep into our minds and learn just how it feels to be Black living in today’s society. Experience all this and more in this new book: Hello, Stranger .

The Fable of the Bees—a satirical poem, prose discussion, three essays and six dialogues completed in 1729—exposes human vices but defends them as a necessity within a wealthy society. Mandeville’s bees thrive until they start living by honesty and virtue… then they are impoverished. Mandeville did not play by the rules: he satirized the sins of society but also ridiculed the widespread hypocrisy of deploring these sins whilst reaping their benefits. He and his work were attacked for the rest of the century.

Bestselling author Tony Abbott’s YA novel-in-verse is an unflinching and heartbreaking look at a boy’s junk-filled life, and the ways he finds redemption and hope, perfect for fans of The Crossover and Long Way Down. Junk. That’s what the kids at school call Bobby Lang, mostly because his...

Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was a prescient critic of the countervailing pressures of society, and his ideology was disseminated through dozens of published essays and more than 1,500 public lectures. Emerson gradually moved away from the religious and social beliefs of his contemporaries, formulating and expressing the philosophy of transcendentalism in his 1836 essay Nature.

'An oracle' DOLLY ALDERTON 'Articulate[s] a universal, feminine wisdom with such ferocity it feels like she's slapping the reader around the face' OBSERVER 'Equal parts self-lacerating, tender and witty' GLAMOUR 'Furious, sharp, funny, honest' iPAPER Sometimes when I drink wine out of a...

From the bestselling author of the princess saves herself in this one comes an accessible guide to welcoming magic into your life, perfect for beginner witches and the magic-curious alike. As witchcraft grows ever more popular, there are countless introductions and paths into magical practice...

Emerson wrote most of his important essays as lectures first and then revised them for print. His first two collections of essays, Essays: First Series (1841) and Essays: Second Series (1844), represent the core of his thinking. They include the well-known essays "Self-Reliance" and "The Over-Soul". Together with "Nature", these essays made the decade from the mid-1830s to the mid-1840s Emerson's most fertile period.

When a dark storm settled upon the earth, you lost many things—your hope, your strength, yourself. One day, in the middle of the darkness, you meet a spirit, washed from the ocean onto the shore. The spirit hands you a key. It is time to find the way back home. Returning with her newest...

Four more delightful tales from one of the most entertaining storytellers of all time. Though writing in the thirteenth century, Chaucer’s wit and observation comes down undiminished through the ages, especially in this accessible modern verse translation. The stories vary considerably from the uproarious Wife of Bath’s Tale, promoting the power of women to the sober account of patient Griselda in the Clerk’s Tale.

One of the finest German medieval epic poems, The Lay of the Nibelungs is perhaps best known now as one of the principal sources for Wagner’s four-part music drama The Ring of the Nibelung. It is easy to see how Wagner was enthralled by the story and the poetry for the power of the tale drives the narrative: intense love, loyalty, jealousy, murder, duty, honour and massacre are all interwoven into a classic.

Edgar Allen Poe's masterful poem, The Raven, is a strange and haunting story of lost love. It tells of a distraught young man who, while lamenting the loss of his lover, Lenore, is visited by a talking raven, adding a supernatural element to an already mysterious experience. The story traces the man's slow, sorrowful descent into madness. This edition of The Raven includes historical information about the author and the story.

A special live recording at London's Soho Theatre - plus two exclusive bonus tracks. Since forming in 2008, Mark Grist and MC Mixy have been challenging the preconceptions of poetry and hiphop across the country. This audio was recorded at the Soho Theatre in London in 2012, during their third national tour, titled 'Anywhere and Everywhere'. During the tour the pair performed in schools, pubs, nightclubs, office blocks, market places, theatres, parks, taxi cabs, sitting rooms and universities across the country.