Poems of the Decade: An Anthology of the Forward Books of Poetry

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Use these questions to practice your essential analysis and comparison skills, either as a challenge for AS practice, or for the A Level exam. The Forward Prizes for Poetry have established themselves as central to the literary landscape of modern Britain. Andrew Marr

How are transitions from different positions (crouching to standing, indoors to outdoors) used in an effective way? Re read ‘To My Nine-Year-Old Self’ by Helen Dunmore and ‘From the Journal of a Disappointed Man’ by Andrew Motion. Compare the ways in which both poets portray personal experiences.There are also consistent end-stopped lines on the final line of each stanza (although again with the exception of stanza six), which reinforce the idea of routine and consistency. However, there is also a slight break in this structure too with the final two lines of the last stanza both ending with full stops, which signifies the death of the man, and by extension, the relationship. This helps to make the poem more dramatic, and also bring a sense of unease to the reader through the way in which the expected pattern and rhythm has been disrupted. Poetic Techniques A-Level Edexcel English Language and Literature past papers (8EL0 and 9EL0) can be found on the English Language section patterns of imagery - light/natural/pastoral imagery? images of joy? of danger? - why do they repeat this imagery - how does this reinforce/reflect the poet’s message MAIN BODY: agree - “in a similar vein”, author uses the method of - it is clear that the author is intending to evoke a sense of - author forces readers to confront how universal truth or societal message

Various poetic devices are used throughout ‘Eat Me’, one of the more common ones being alliteration. A key example is “bigger the better” and “broad belly wobble”, both of which help to reaffirm the idea of obesity and being overweight, and even have a ‘wobbly’ nature to the sound. This is further emphasised through the repetition of ‘fat’ throughout the poem, helping to ensure that this idea is never far from the reader’s thoughts, particularly in the seventh stanza. The forceful yet resentful tone of this stanza is particularly noticeable because of the way that the pace is increased. Trying to write about this collection is a completely hopeless exercise for me. Everything I want to say about it sounds at least a little unhinged, as in: having read it, I can’t imagine not having read it; a copy of it never lasts long with me before I give it away to someone I love; it offers moments of clarity that I’ve never found anywhere else. So many of us have a book for which this is the case, and often—unsurprisingly often—this book was written by Carl Phillips. It is the perfect introduction to a wide range of contemporary poetry: works that speak of violence, danger and fear, of love and all that opposes love, in forms of language broken and reshaped by the need to communicate what it is to be alive now, here. I will say that this list was the hardest we’ve done so far—poetry is extremely subjective, and true consensus was rare (except for Claudia Rankine, for whom almost everyone in the office voted). And NB that for this one, we excluded huge “collected poems” for range. So please feel extra free to add any of your own favorites that we’ve missed in the comments below. Poems of the Decade is a collection of poems from the first decade of the 21st century, published by the Forward Poetry Foundation. A selection of 20 of these poems has been chosen by Edexcel for the Poetry paper of the A Level specification.

- to conclude, readers are prompted by both poets to consider/critique the _

These poems were previously prescribed by Edexcel, and as such we have commentary and analysis available. Compare the ways in which personal development and experience are presented in ‘The Furthest Distances I’ve Travelled’ by Leonita Flynn and ‘An Easy Passage’ by Julia Copus Armaments” are military weapons and equipment, so describing a “flash” links to them being fired, bringing one of the only references to weaponry and violence to the poem. Notably this is at the end of the poem, which could be interpreted by some readers at signalling the potential for future conflict. ‘An Easy Passage’ Key Themes The Forwards are among the world’s most coveted poetry honours. They have been awarded annually since 1992 for the Best Collection, Best First Collection and Best Single Poem published in Britain and Ireland, and the roster of winning, shortlisted and highly commended poets regularly juxtaposes familiar canonical names with fresh voices.

By emphasising the “rush”, it is clear that any pleasure the woman receives is short lived, with all the focus being on the man and with her needs not fully catered for. The alliteration of “fast food” helps to show the importance of this line to the poem, and also shows how unhealthy this relationship is, both in terms of the physical food being eaten and the mental appreciation between the two. Some may also interpret the line as representing an unhealthy addiction, both to the food and to the relationship. The ambition of Coste Lewis’s project is revealed in the precision of its limitations, as described in the first sentence of the prologue:

- yet the reader becomes increasingly aware

In this module, we read through Tim Turnbull’s ‘Ode on a Grayson Perry Urn’, focusing in particular on: (i) the concept of ecphrasis, a verbal description of a work of art, and two works of art to which this poem is responding – Grayson Perry’s ‘Language of Cars’ (1999) and John Keats’ ‘Ode on a Grecian Urn’ (1820); (ii) the timelessness of the characters on the urn – and of poetry itself. There is also the use of possessive language, such as “his” or even further objectification through the likening to objects, such as “his jacuzzi”. This would help to make the descriptions much more emotive for a reader who would recognise the strong objectification and mistreatment, therefore developing much more sympathy for the narrator. This in turn creates a strange mix of emotions by the end of the poem with the murder of the feeder, with readers potentially feeling happy that the woman has been freed but conflicted over the means of this escape. Don’t Call Us Dead is a collection both universal and highly personal, as, I think, all the best poetry is. But it also feels both of our present time and timeless, both defined by and defining. – Jessie Gaynor, Social Media Editor Transgression and Taboo: The idea of a ‘feeder’ role within a relationship is very much linked to sexual ideas, and that someone could have strong control over another person’s life. This isn’t talked about much within society and is typically avoided due to people’s discomfort with discussing things of this nature. There is also the idea of discussion of the female body, particularly in this rather grotesque way. A selection of other books that we seriously considered for both lists—just to be extra about it (and because decisions are hard).

A number of poems were removed from the prescribed list in 2017 for AS and A Level, meaning that you will not be examined on these poems. However, they act as a great option to use for practice essays and general Poems of the Decade revision, with analysis available to support your learning. International exams may still use these poems – confirm with your teacher. Friends, it’s true: the end of the decade approaches. It’s been a difficult, anxiety-provoking, morally compromised decade, but at least it’s been populated by some damn fine literature. We’ll take our silver linings where we can. This is a book of movement that becomes deliberate in the very moment it occurs. It is a book of unapologetic wandering and unapologetic reflection. It is a beautiful collection, and is all the more beautiful for how it invites its readers to wander with it. – Jessie Gaynor, Social Media Editor In this course, John McRae (University of Nottingham) explores the twenty poems that make up the ‘Poems of the Decade’ cluster for A Level English Literature (Edexcel). Each poem is read in detail, with a short commentary highlighting aspects of language, style, themes, motifs, and so on. In the case of Patience Agbabi’s ‘Eat Me’, for example, we think about the extent to which we can identify the speaker of the poem with the author herself, the question of whether the couple of the poem can be decribed as happy, and the influence of Robert Browning’s ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ (1836) and Lewis Carroll’s ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’ (1865). When we come to Simon Armitage’s ‘Chainsaw Versus the Pampas Grass’, we think about the theme of man versus nature, the concept of ‘anthropomorphisation’, and the final lines of the poem in which it has become clear that the pampas grass has beaten the chainsaw. And so on for the whole selection.Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 2022-03-29 06:07:56 Bookplateleaf 0002 Boxid IA40412114 Camera Sony Alpha-A6300 (Control) Collection_set printdisabled External-identifier The careful, meditative sentences that form Phillips’ poems give the impression of a speaker who is profoundly compassionate to themselves, one who gives themselves the space and time to articulate ambiguity without striving to resolve it, and who can recognize what is beautiful without clinging to it. In Wild is the Wind, questions about attachment and commitment unfold deliberately, and to read them is to listen, carefully, to meditations like this: Explore the ways in which femininity and masculinity are contrasted in ‘The Chainsaw Versus The Pampas Grass’ by Simon Armitage. Childhood: This theme is brought into the poem through the ideas of transition away from childhood, while still retaining some imagery in the poem such as the physical descriptions of the girls. Language urges you to push against what you might think you know, what you might initially be inclined to draw from what you’ve observed and even what you believe. That’s exciting because you’re wandering away from the things that you feel confident of, and you’re wandering into a place where—oh, maybe you’re not so right. Maybe you’re vulnerable in ways that you hadn’t anticipated, and maybe the vulnerability that you’re willing to claim isn’t the whole story.”