British Poetry Collection

William Collins Books and Decca Records are proud to present ARGO Classics, a historic catalogue of classic fiction read by some of the world’s most renowned voices. Originally released as vinyl records, these expertly abridged and remastered stories are now available to download for the first...

Victoria’s reign was long and presided over the restless expansion of the British Empire and reams of creative genius. Within these volumes we can bring only a glimpse of the richness, beauty and words of their poets and their musings on this remarkable age. Many are world renowned - Tennyson, Browning, Arnold, Kipling, Austin, Hopkins, Hardy and Swinburne. Some almost forgotten - Patmore, Newbolt, Synge. And some are barely noted - Lyall, Meynell and Merdeith. But together they encompass a great poetical age.

"Life is a beautiful, chaotic mess - a fact that John Bowie captures flawlessly in his stunning third poetry collection." The pages of this book are filled with raw, unfiltered emotions that will take readers on a journey through the human experience. From the highs of love and life to the lows of inescapable death, each poem is a window into the complexity of our existence. Bowie is a master poet, weaving together words that will tug at your heartstrings and make you see the world in a whole new light. With an unapologetic and soulful writing style, he invites readers to embrace the ...

Nursery rhymes are often among the first stories and verses we encounter as children. They are sung beside a cot, repeated in the playground and remembered years later when we find ourselves sharing the same familiar words with another generation. Humpty Dumpty, Little Bo-Peep, Jack and Jill, Old Mother Hubbard and the Grand Old Duke of York have become enduring companions of childhood. This Illustrated Book of English Nursery Rhymes has been created to help keep that wonderful tradition alive. Some rhymes are funny, others mysterious or delightfully nonsensical, while many preserve ...

ONE OF THE BEST POETRY BOOKS OF THE YEAR FROM THE GUARDIAN AND THE OBSERVER From the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, a poem sequence that considers our use of the land that surrounds him, and recounts the personal tales of beauty and loss that play out on it A few years ago, in the...

Read by the author, John Cooper Clarke. John Cooper Clarke may have an honorary doctorate and a poem on the English Literature GCSE syllabus, but don’t let that fool you: the ‘Poet Laureate of Punk’ is still a bona fide iconoclast. In Have It, a collection of scathing new poems, the Bard...

William Collins Books and Decca Records are proud to present ARGO Classics, a historic catalogue of classic fiction read by some of the world’s most renowned voices. Originally released as vinyl records, these expertly abridged and remastered stories are now available to download for the first...

With Love, Grief and Fury is poetry full of love and hope for people and planet. Grief poems brimming with compassion, mourning what was lost whilst contemplating what might be found. And poems of fire and fury that kick some ass, tell the truth and inspire change. This is Salena Godden’s most...

“yrsa daley-ward’s bone is a symphony of breaking and mending. . . . she lays her hands on the pulse of the thing. . . . an expert storyteller. of the rarest. and purest kind.” —nayyirah waheed, author of salt. From the celebrated poet Yrsa Daley-Ward, a poignant collection of poems...

Bloomsbury presents My Sand Life, My Pebble Life written and read by Ian McMillan. My sand life, my pebble life. My life measured out in tides, coming in and going out. My life measured out in games of trying to spot the sea first. My life measured out in the delicious and indulgent sadness that...

The language of Poetry is an art that most of us attempt at some point in our lives. Although its commonplace exposure has been somewhat marginalised in today's often fast-paced lives we all recognise good verse that can empathise with our thoughts or open us up to experience new things in new ways, to better understand and to enjoy the many strands of our lives.

Get ready to be swept away in a raw and powerful collection of modern poetry. "Walking Toward The Noise" by Bowie is a journey through life's complexities, inspired by the likes of Charles Bukowski, Sylvia Plath, Rupi Kaur, Sarah Kane, and Ted Hughes. As the words on the page come to life, the setting shifts from gritty city streets to quiet, contemplative moments in nature. Through it all, we follow the main character, a complex and relatable individual navigating the ups and downs of life. But just when we think we know where the journey is headed, a twist sends us reeling and questioning...

Read by the author, John Stammers ‘Beneath the sharp social satire lurks a psychological insight, a sensitivity to a profound cultural inheritance’ The Times In 2023 the poet John Stammers was struck by a sudden and life-threatening health crisis and came very close to death. By some miracle...

This poetry collection is beautifully and skilfully read by the author, renowned poet Jackie Kay. May Day is the long-awaited new collection from one of our best-loved poets and former Makar of Scotland, Jackie Kay. As the title suggests, these poems cast an eye over several decades of political...

A family cohabits with a horse; three riots are tucked up safely in their beds; a tumbleweed takes up a career in comedy; the giant flag crossing a football crowd has a strange effect on those underneath; a rampaging fifty-foot poem brings terror to a city… As always in Paul Farley’s work...

This poetry collection is beautifully and skilfully read by the author, renowned poet Jackie Kay. May Day is the long-awaited new collection from one of our best-loved poets and former Makar of Scotland, Jackie Kay. As the title suggests, these poems cast an eye over several decades of political...

The Best of Twentieth-Century Poetry offers an extensive survey of English poetry of the last hundred years. Representing the work of more than thirty poets, and extending from Thomas Hardy’s lines on the loss of Titanic to the present-day concerns of Seamus Heaney, The Best of...

Read by the author, Paul Farley. A family cohabits with a horse; three riots are tucked up safely in their beds; a tumbleweed takes up a career in comedy; the giant flag crossing a football crowd has a strange effect on those underneath; a rampaging fifty-foot poem brings terror to a city… As...

A wise, rude, sharp poetry collection encompassing a life from childhood to attempted adulthood, from one of the most important poets of the new generation. 'She writes with honesty, conviction, humour and love. She points out the absurdities we've grown too used to and lets us see the world...