Being Alive is the sequel to Neil Astley’s Staying Alive, which
became Britain’s most popular poetry book because it gave readers
hundreds of thoughtful and passionate poems about living in the modern
world. Now he has assembled this equally lively companion anthology
for all those readers who’ve wanted more poems that touch the heart,
stir the mind and fire the spirit. Being Alive is about being human:
about love and loss, fear and longing, hurt and wonder. Staying Alive
didn’t just reach a broader readership, it introduced thousands of
new readers to contemporary poetry, giving them an international
gathering of poems of great personal force, poems with emotional
power, intellectual edge and playful wit. It also brought many readers
back to poetry, people who hadn’t read poetry for years because it
hadn’t held their interest. Being Alive gives readers an even wider
selection of vivid, brilliantly diverse contemporary poetry from
around the world. A companion anthology, Being Human (2011), completed
this poetry trilogy. Essential Poems from the Staying Alive Trilogy
(2012) selects 100 poems from all three anthologies, a third from
each. These anthologies have been welcomed not only by poets but by a
wide range of well-known people respected for their work in fields
other than poetry – all avid readers of poetry. They want to
recommend these books above all other anthologies of contemporary
poetry. 'I love Staying Alive and keep going back to it. Being Alive
is just as vivid, strongly present and equally beautifully organised.
But this new book feels even more alive – I think it has a
heartbeat, or maybe that’s my own thrum humming along with the music
of these poets. Sitting alone in a room with these poems is to be
assured that you are not alone, you are not crazy (or if you are,
you’re not the only one who thinks this way!) I run home to this
book to argue with it, find solace in it, to locate myself in the
world again.' – Meryl Streep ‘Truly startling and powerful
poems.’ – Mia Farrow ‘These poems distil the human heart as
nothing else… Staying Alive celebrates the point of poetry. It’s
invigorating and makes me proud of being human.’ – Jane Campion
‘Staying Alive is a blessing of a book. The title says it all. I
have long waited for just this kind of setting down of poems. Has
there ever been such a passionate anthology? These are poems that hunt
you down with the solace of their recognition.’ – Anne Michaels
‘Staying Alive is a magnificent anthology. The last time I was so
excited, engaged and enthralled by a collection of poems was when I
first encountered The Rattle Bag. I can’t think of any other
anthology that casts its net so widely, or one that has introduced me
to so many vivid and memorable poems.’ – Philip Pullman ‘Usually
if you say a book is “inspirational” that means it’s New Agey
and soft at the center. This astonishingly rich anthology, by
contrast, shows that what is edgy, authentic and provocative can also
awaken the spirit and make its readers quick with consciousness. In
these pages I discovered many new writers, and I’ve decided I’m
now in love with our troublesome epoch if it can produce poems of such
genius.’ – Edmund White ‘Staying Alive is a wonderful testament
to Neil Astley’s lifetime in poetry, and to the range and courage of
his taste. It’s also, of course, a testament to poetry itself: to
its powers to engross and move us, to its ability to challenge and
brace us, and to its exultation. Everyone who cares about poetry
should own this book.’ – Andrew Motion
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Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9781780371771
Publisert
2016
Utgiver
Vendor
Bloodaxe Books
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter