Is poetry dead?

[Deadpoetssociety]

One of my really close girl friends just published a book of poems. I didn't know what to say at first, but love them. Could anyone recommend any other modern poets?

Saul Williams
Kate Tempest
Gwendoline Brooks
Adisa
Shane Koyczan

Thank you. Will check these out now.

Elizabeth Jennings

Carol Ann Duffy, Simon Armitage, Alice Oswald, Roger McGough...

Thank you. I love Carol Ann Duffy!

And Simon Armitage :)

Have a look at Bloodaxe Books. It's a publishing house that concentrates almost exclusively on new poets. They've published some critically acclaimed anthologies of modern poets, called - I think, off the top of my head - "Being Alive" and a couple of sequels - a quick browse on Amazon will reveal. Some names I think might be worth googling to get a sense of their work include:

Racheal Allen
Penny Boxall
Tom Gilliver
Emily Hasler
Charlotte Geater
Oli Hazzard
Helen Mort
Martha Sprackland
Sophie Yeo.

And no, poetry is not dead!

Depends on what you mean by modern but if it's 20th Century poetry you're looking for... Not everyone's cup of tea, but I'm a fan of a lot of Charles Bukowski's stuff. It's quite raw and not for those with a fear of rude themes.

ee cummings is wonderful, too -'Maggie and Milly and Molly and May' sends shivers down my spine every time.

Camp, you're thinking of Staying Alive - Being Alive is the sequel. I love both, but Staying Alive is my favourite. It's a brilliant anthology I'd recommend to anyone.

www.angelacleland.co.uk/home.htm

Angela Cleland - my husband's cousin. I really like her stuff.

Miriam Gamble

Andrea Gibson, lots of youtube videos. Published by write bloody books.

Brian Patten and the sadly late Adrian Henri (whom I met, he was a nice guy and it changed my view of his poetry, I had at one point thought he was a bit of a dirty old man) worked with Roger McGough and published two shared collections - The Mersey Sound and New Volume. McGough also presents Poetry Please on Radio 4, and you can hear poems and follow up.

I read lots of poetry when I was in my teens, and I still have some of the books - I borrowed a lot from the Central Library in Leeds - I occasionally buy bargain and secondhand anthologies. Douglas Dunn wrote an 80s set of poems about his first wife, an artist who sadly died of cancer, Elegies. I bought another collection from Oxfam today.

The Book People usually has some anthologies and occasionally some nice sets of poetry books.

Does your friend do poetry readings? I really enjoy hearing people read their work, and particularly with poetry you will get to hear good stuff that you might not sit down and read in a book.