The Penguin Book of Contemporary British Poetry was a poetry anthology edited by Blake Morrison and Andrew Motion, and published in 1982 by Penguin Books.
The traditional claims made—and recognised as such in the introduction—about a new British poetry generation taking over the "mainstream", were greeted in this case by more than the usual controversy. Poets in the 1962 Al Alvarez anthology, The New Poetry, were excluded. The inclusion of Irish poet Seamus Heaney led to him warning - "Be advised, my passport's green/ No glass of ours was ever raised/ To toast the Queen"
Poets included in the book were:
- Fleur Adcock - Douglas Dunn - James Fenton - Tony Harrison - Seamus Heaney - Michael Longley - Derek Mahon - Medbh McGuckian - Paul Muldoon - Tom Paulin - Craig Raine - Christopher Reid - Carol Rumens - Peter Scupham - Penelope Shuttle - Anne Stevenson - David Sweetman - Jeffrey Wainwright - Hugo Williams
Famous quotes containing the words penguin, book, contemporary, british and/or poetry:
“Give a scientist a problem and he will probably provide a solution; historians and sociologists, by contrast, can offer only opinions. Ask a dozen chemists the composition of an organic compound such as methane, and within a short time all twelve will have come up with the same solution of CH4. Ask, however, a dozen economists or sociologists to provide policies to reduce unemployment or the level of crime and twelve widely differing opinions are likely to be offered.”
—Derek Gjertsen, British scientist, author. Science and Philosophy: Past and Present, ch. 3, Penguin (1989)
“A book full of brilliance imparts some of it even to its opponents.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“... black progress and progress for women are inextricably linked in contemporary American politics, and ... each group suffers when it fails to grasp the dimensions of the other’s struggle.”
—Margaret A. Burnham (b. 1944)
“There is much to be said against the climate on the coast of British Columbia and Alaska; yet, I believe that the scenery of one good day will compensate the tourists who will go there in increasing numbers.”
—Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945)
“Most people ignore most poetry
because
most poetry ignores most people.”
—Adrian Mitchell (b. 1932)