ed. Griff Rhys Jones, "The Nation's Favourite Twentieth-Century Poems"

[stapsreads]

As one might expect, the Nation's taste wanders between the unutterably cheesy and the really quite good. Contains quite a lot of Betjeman, a fair bit of Larkin, plenty of (Dylan) Thomas... In the main, the Nation's favourite poets seem to hail from the Nation, or at least the British Isles. (Sylvia Plath sneaks in there, mind. So does Robert Frost; no prizes for guessing which little horse must think it strange ahem) It includes some of my absolute favourites - Adrian Henri's 'Without You', and Seamus Heaney's 'Mid-Term Break' (if by 'favourite' you mean 'makes me cry on a crowded train don'tlookatmelikethat'). Also a couple that make me cringe. 'Footsteps' for example. ('"That, my child," said the Lord, "was when we were hopping."') Depressingly low proportion of female to male poets. Distinct lack of Housman (wot no summertime on Bredon?) - I'd have expected more than two, though I suppose the blue remembered hills would be the pick of choice. On the whole, though, a pleasing and reasonably representative collection.

http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/7971965