Emergency Kit is an anthology with many differences. It is, to begin with, a book which gives prominence to poems rather than to the poets who wrote them. It is truly international, bringing together poems not just from these islands but from many parts of the English-speaking world. It is the first book to identify a strain in the poetry of the last half-century which is characteristic of the 'strange times' we live in - an age when, as the editors note, scientific discovery itself has encouraged us to 'make free with the boundaries of realism'. It values imagination, surprise, vivid expression, the outlandish and the playful above ideology and sententiousness. It is, in short, living proof that poetry in the English language continues to thrive and to matter.
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About the Author
Jo Shapcott was born in London. Poems from her three award-winning collections, Electroplating the Baby (1988), Phrase Book (1992) and My Life Asleep (1998) are gathered in a selected poems, Her Book (2000). She has won a number of literary prizes including the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best First Collection, the Forward Prize for Best Collection and the National Poetry Competition (twice). Tender Taxes, her versions of Rilke, was published in 2001; Of Mutability in 2010.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
By A reader
Format:Paperback
I have many poetry anthologies on my shelves but this is the one I return to most often. The editors have worked hard to select the most imaginative, inventive and often downright weird poems of the often downright weird twentieth century. Much of the work here could be characterized as surreal or postmodern but the editors have carefully chosen only the more accessible work of giants such as Charles Simic, Frank O'Hara, Elizabeth Bishop and Paul Muldoon (though my own personal favourite is Don Paterson's 'A Private Bottling'). Well worth your time.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By Mr. Ian A. Macfarlane
TOP 100 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
In their introduction, Shapcott and Sweeney explain that they ran poetry classes for adults in London in 1989, that they sought 'bootleg' poetry for these classes (that is, poetry not easily available at that time in England) and that the response was enthusiastic, even to the extent that Tube travellers would laugh and applaud when they read out some of their choices to a blind student travelling home. I can well believe them. This is a generous and very lively anthology with a lot of unfamiliar work in it - and therefore with a lot of freshness. There are clever poems, deeply sad poems, provocative poems, sly poems, laugh-out-loud poems, weird poems, naughty poems, highly personal poems, and above all, covering all these categories, enjoyable and accomplished poems. Many of the authors are well-known, though it is not always the obvious poems by these authors that are chosen ; equally many are not, but nonetheless fully merit their inclusion, indeed add to the value of the anthology because of their unusualness. I liked the book a lot and would recommend it to anyone as a very good and worthwhile read.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By MFM
Format:Paperback
I am new to the world of poetry and I did find some of the poems in this book a little disturbing. One of them, I would sooner stick pins in the back of my hand than ever read again. However in spite of all that I grew to truly love quite a number of the poems in this book. This is a book I will be re-reading every now and then for years to come.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very few duds or chestnuts here
This is really a Bloodaxe book in Faber livery - but an exceptionally well-thought-out one. I think I'd drop the silly subtitle, or change it to something like Wanted on Voyage. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Simon G. Barrett
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best of contemporary poetry
Just a wonderful collection of some of the finest poetry of our time. Great soul food.
Published on 10 Feb 2009 by G. Hewett
4.0 out of 5 stars
A dazzling mix of contemporary poetry.
This book is exactly what it claims to be. It is essential reading of the moment, with outstanding work from Simon Armitage, Tony Harrison and Jackie Kay to mention just a few... Read more
Published on 16 Aug 2001
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