British Poetry

An anthology of over 50 classic poems, read by some of our finest actors. This collection contains a selection of the very best poems, from verses inspired by love to war poetry, nature poems and children's rhymes.

For anyone who's in love - or hopes to be - what greater celebration could there be than to hear the world's greatest love poetry read lovingly by Richard Armitage? With 13 poems by William Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and more, Classic Love Poems is a listening treat for Valentine's Day - or any day.

A delightful collection from around the British Isles including Dover Beach by Matthew Arnold, Leisure by W. H Davis and To Autumn by John Keats. Featuring classic recordings by Richard Burton, Sir John Gielgud and Sir Ralph Richardson.

Brought to you by Penguin. Composed in the twelfth century in north-eastern Iran, Attar's great mystical poem is among the most significant of all works of Persian literature. A marvellous, allegorical rendering of the Islamic doctrine of Sufism - an esoteric system concerned with the search for...

First published in 1952, Herbert and Eleanor Farjeon’s Kings and Queens has attained the status of a children’s classic. The charming poems, each one dedicated to a different king or queen, tell the story of the 41 English monarchs from William I to Elizabeth II in a humorous and charming way that has delighted generations of children and their parents.

William Collins Books and Decca Records are proud to present ARGO Classics, a historic catalogue of classic fiction read by some of the world’s most renowned voices. Originally released as vinyl records, these expertly abridged and remastered stories are now available to download for the first...

A Times and Sunday Times Best Book of 2020 ‘Radical Wordsworth deserves to take its place as the finest modern introduction to his work, life and impact’ Financial Times ‘Richly repays reading … It is hard to think of another poet who has changed our world so much’ Sunday Times A...

Bloomsbury presents Young Romantics by Daisy Hay, read by Simon Vance ‘A most impressive achievement' Michael Holroyd 'Enthralling' Sunday Times 'Masterly' Telegraph _______________________ 'The web of our Life is of mingled Yarn' - John Keats In Young Romantics Daisy Hay shatters the myth of...

Bought to you by Penguin. Poems of migration, womanhood, trauma and resilience from the award-winning Somali British poet Warsan Shire, celebrated collaborator on Beyoncé's Lemonade and Black Is King. With her first full-length poetry collection, Warsan Shire introduces us to a girl who, in the...

From the Booker Prize-winning author of ‘Offshore’ comes this unusual romance between the poet Novalis and his fiancée Sophie, newly introduced by Candia McWilliam. The year is 1794 and Fritz, passionate, idealistic and brilliant, is seeking his father’s permission to announce his...

Bloomsbury presents Unsafe, written and read by Karen McCarthy Woolf, POETRY BOOK SOCIETY CHOICE The third collection from T. S. Eliot Prize-shortlisted poet, essayist and editor Karen McCarthy Woolf 'A work of intense epiphany' ROGER ROBINSON 'Unsafe will stay with me forever' SAFIA ELHILLO 'As...

The language of Poetry is an art that most of us attempt at some point in our lives. Although its commonplace exposure has been somewhat marginalised in today's often fast-paced lives we all recognise good verse that can empathise with our thoughts or open us up to experience new things in new ways, to better understand and to enjoy the many strands of our lives.

A selection illustrating the breathtaking variety of Byron’s poetry. Read by Linus Roache, star of the critically acclaimed film Wings of the Dove, this collection includes She Walks in Beauty, The Destruction of Sennacherib, The Vision of Judgment and selections from Childe Harold, The...

Read by the author, John Stammers ‘Beneath the sharp social satire lurks a psychological insight, a sensitivity to a profound cultural inheritance’ The Times In 2023 the poet John Stammers was struck by a sudden and life-threatening health crisis and came very close to death. By some miracle...

Performed by Claire Bloom and Boris Karloff In ancient Britain during the reign of King Cymbeline, Imogen, daughter to the king, dares to fall in love with a talented young nobleman named Posthumus. But when the king discovers that the couple has secretly married, he banishes Posthumus, and the...

The Best of Twentieth-Century Poetry offers an extensive survey of English poetry of the last hundred years. Representing the work of more than thirty poets, and extending from Thomas Hardy’s lines on the loss of Titanic to the present-day concerns of Seamus Heaney, The Best of...

Bloomsbury presents Sonnets for Albert written and read by Anthony Joseph. **WINNER OF THE T S ELIOT PRIZE FOR POETRY 2022** **SHORTLISTED FOR THE FORWARD PRIZE FOR POETRY 2022** **LONGLISTED FOR THE OCM BOCAS PRIZE 2023** With Sonnets for Albert, Anthony Joseph returns to the autobiographical...

A wise, rude, sharp poetry collection encompassing a life from childhood to attempted adulthood, from one of the most important poets of the new generation. 'She writes with honesty, conviction, humour and love. She points out the absurdities we've grown too used to and lets us see the world...

And now, the Shipping Forecast issued by the Met Office… Often described as a litany, mantra or lullaby, the Shipping Forecast has long been a favourite of cosy homes on chilly evenings. Its practical use as a precise reading of the marine weather around the British Isles has been largely...

Bloomsbury presents A Little Resurrection written and read by Selina Nwulu. AN IRISH TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR A Little Resurrection is the debut full-length collection from acclaimed poet Selina Nwulu. In these reflections on being and blackness, informed by empathy and intellectual curiosity...