On Shakespeare's Sonnets: A Poets' Celebration (Paperback)

Dr. Hannah Crawforth (editor), Elizabeth Scott-Baumann (editor)

£16.99

Paperback 112 Pages
Published: 15/05/2025

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Synopsis

'These contributors are some of the best, and best-known poets writing today ... The result is a slimly elegant book of new poetry, some of it very fine indeed ... It really is extraordinary that these sonnets, first published in 1609, can still be engendering such a range of new ideas and ways of expressing them.' - The Independent

On Shakespeare's Sonnets: A Poets' Celebration brings together thirty of the world's foremost contemporary poets writing in response to Shakespeare's Sonnets.

In the years since Shakespeare's death, the Sonnets have invited imitation, homage, critique, parody and pastiche. These poems probe our relationship to the Sonnets' intricate form and ambitious scope, their investigation of sexuality, wit, memory and poetic survival. These sonnets and longer lyrics explore what it means to write 'on Shakespeare's Sonnets' in the 21st century. This new paperback edition also includes an updated preface.

Published in association with the Royal Society of Literature, contributing poets include: Andrew Motion, Carol Ann Duffy, Gillian Clarke, Paul Muldoon, Ruth Padel, Simon Armitage, Roger McGough, Wendy Cope, Jackie Kay, Mimi Khalvati, Imtiaz Dharker and Jo Shapcott, among many others.

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
ISBN: 9781350531505
Number of pages: 112
Dimensions: 198 x 129 mm

MEDIA REVIEWS

These contributors are some of the best, and best-known poets writing today ... The result is a slimly elegant book of new poetry, some of it very fine indeed ... [I]t really is extraordinary that these sonnets, first published in 1609, can still be engendering such a range of new ideas and ways of expressing them. Congratulations to the editors Hannah Crawforth and Elizabeth Scott-Baumann. - The Independent

Wendy Cope's version of sonnet 22, a meditation on age with a twist on enduring love, is a triumph; Carol Ann Duffy's dazzling response to sonnet 116 reinvents the idea of "impediments" to true marriage. - The Daily Telegraph

An original and inspired idea ... This exciting collection reminds us that themes of ageing, love, lust and emotional cruelty transcend time. - Bel Mooney, Daily Mail

A wise and often beautiful book, inventive and witty. - Morning Star

This slim volume of poetry offers plenty of meaty material for actors or drama students looking for something fresh and interesting to read or perform ... [A] collection of interesting new poems on ageing, death, mortality, illness and love which force you to read the sonnets which inspired them in a refreshing new light. - The Stage

Rather ingenious ... A sparky little book. - Ink Pellet

Offering engaging insights, enjoyable surprises and vivid glimpses of experience, On Shakespeare’s Sonnets is very much a living celebration. - Daily Star (Bangladesh)

... This collection is excellent, a fun introduction to both modern poetry and Shakespeare’s classics. - Tony's Reading List

This small volume is a pure delight: a collection of poems (mostly sonnets) by many of England’s leading writers in varied and sensitive response to Shakespeare’s Sonnets … Each one is essentially intimate, celebrating the lyric spirit of Shakespeare’s Sonnets … One of the delights of these poems, in addition to their own wonder as poems, is that they take one back to the sonnets that inspired them to see and hear anew. - Sixteenth Century Journal