- Paperback: 128 pages
- Publisher: Faber and Faber; 1st Edition, First printing edition (4 Oct 1999)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 057120001X
- ISBN-13: 978-0571200016
- Product Dimensions: 17.4 x 11.2 x 1.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 421,401 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Some of the finest poems are short. Whether it's Edward Lear's limericks Or the fragments of Sappho, brevity is very often the soul of a poet's wit: what would be obvious and mundane expressed in lengthy prose, or prolix doggerel, becomes amusing or moving when forcibly compressed into five or seven--or three or two--lines of poetry.
No stranger to the pithy himself, poet Simon Armitage has collected 101 of literature's best "very short poems" in this anthology. His criterion of shortness (as he explains in a witty introduction) is that no poem should be more than 13 lines long. This deliberately excludes the 14-line sonnet, but manages to include some famous nearly-sonnets: such as Gerard Manley Hopkins's Pied Beauty("Glory be to God for dappled things"). It's towards the end of the book, where the poems dwindle in size (they are arranged so that the longer precede the shorter), that Armitage's selection comes truly into its own. Some of the poems are so tiny they are quotable in their entirety, Gavin Ewart's "Penal", for instance: "The clanking and wanking of Her Majesty's Prison", or Edwin Morgan's Siesta of a Hungarian Snake,"s sz sz SZ sz SZ sz ZS zs Zs zs zs z." Finally, right at the end, comes a laugh-out-loud piece that manages to remain a poem while consisting of no lines whatsoever. --Sean Thomas
Product Description
An anthology which aims to show how a short poem (defined here as shorter than a sonnet, and in some instances no more than a single line) can tell a story, present a complicated argument, or be packed with passion and vision, as effectively and memorably as any of its more long-winded relations.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Each poem in this book is less than 13 lines long, and the smallest has no lines at all but does have a fantastic title. As a compilation, the style and tone of the poems vary considerably but many are witty and pithy. Simon Armitage's introduction is worth the price of admission alone.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I have many poetry books, 50% classics, 50% anthologies.
The anthology "Short and Sweet: 101 Very Short Poems" is the best I have read in many a year and has revived my interest in poetry. With a brilliant introduction, the selection cuts straight to the heart of the essence of poetry. I read the anthology backwards (ie: from the shortest poem {no lines, just a title} to the longest {13 lines}) to test my attention span and also get a feel for my personal preference of an optimum length of a poem (the poems longer than 8-9 lines started to feel a bit 'padded out').
If you've never read any poetry, I recommend start here with "Short & Sweet" ... or if poetry has become mundane for you, then re-start with same.
The anthology "Short and Sweet: 101 Very Short Poems" is the best I have read in many a year and has revived my interest in poetry. With a brilliant introduction, the selection cuts straight to the heart of the essence of poetry. I read the anthology backwards (ie: from the shortest poem {no lines, just a title} to the longest {13 lines}) to test my attention span and also get a feel for my personal preference of an optimum length of a poem (the poems longer than 8-9 lines started to feel a bit 'padded out').
If you've never read any poetry, I recommend start here with "Short & Sweet" ... or if poetry has become mundane for you, then re-start with same.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A collection of short poems. some are very short - 2 lines - others are longer - a whole verse. all are short and sweet. An excellent book for dipping into and worth owning!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Slightly disappointed
I got very excited when I realised that such an anthology existed, but I was disappointed - The majority of the poems, in my opinion, wouldn't be classified as very short (e.g. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Epona
Pithy
I collect these things myself, and I have to say this could hardly be done better. Constantly surprising - though I would draw the line at Innisfree, both hackneyed and too long... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Simon G. Barrett
Nat
Some great choices of poetry from Simon Armitage but others he lost me on! The siesta of a Hungarian snake ... not exactly Hardy but did make me laugh!
Published 20 months ago by Nat
A Classic
This one's an essential buy for two reasons. First, you always need a well chosen collection of short poems in your pocket in case the train is late. Read more
Published on 21 Feb 2003 by Hilary Jane
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