A mountain is something very particular – a place that entices and daunts us, that commands our gaze while also making it very clear that we’re not required. These glorious poems capture the majesty and wonder of mountain landscapes, whether they’re encountered up-close by walkers and climbers or are being marvelled at from afar by more contemplative souls. In one poem, even a failed ascent offers a moment of wonder: “The late afternoon sun comes rushing and skimming Toward you, through your eyes, And through your trembling, stiffening fingers In a dazzle of light, a burnt-gold avalanche.” from ‘On a Mountainside’ by David Wagoner. Whichever way we look at mountains, they make us feel small and these poems revel in that marvellous and uplifting thought. Poems by Li Bai, Gladys Cardiff, Emily Dickinson, Clifton Gachagua, Norman MacCaig, Helen Mort, Yvonne Reddick, Nan Shepherd, David Wagoner and David Wilson.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 20

Dimensions: 137 x 210 mm

Publication Date: 01-05-2023

A bouquet is a welcome and beautiful thing, but the beauty is inevitably short-lived. This delightful mini-anthology, however, is guaranteed never to wither. Roses, fritillaries, daisies, gentians and the humble ragwort are celebrated here by poets ranging from Mimi Khalvati to William Wordsworth. We experience their colours and scents in vivid language, so each lives on the page with all the intensity of a real flower. Sometimes it seems we can even learn from them; lilacs growing in an urban street know as much about love as we do: “Lilac, like love, makes no distinction. It will open for anyone. Even before love knows that it is love lilac knows it must blossom.” from ‘City Lilacs’ by Helen Dunmore. This is one of the lovely mysteries of these poems – that a flower can somehow be like us and shed light on our own hopes and joys. Poems by John Clare, Beth Davies, Helen Dunmore, John Heath-Stubbs, Seán Hewitt, Mimi Khalvati, DH Lawrence, Anne Ridler, Edward Thomas and William Wordsworth.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 20

Dimensions: 137 x 210 mm

Publication Date: 01-02-2020

War poetry has always caught the public imagination. Here, Andrew Motion chooses ten war poems from an enormous, varied and arresting tradition. Wishing to “catch the subject by surprise” rather than opt for the obvious classics, his chosen poems meet the reader head on. “In the poems that follow, we hear a range of voices from this country and beyond, from ancient history and the present. They all have feelings in common – fear, dread, regret, horror, defiance, sorrow. And they all express them in ways that make us concentrate on the individuality of their authors and their subjects.” Poems by Li Bai, Keith Douglas, Miroslav Holub, Yusef Komunyakaa, Andrew Motion, Alice Oswald, Wilfred Owen, Stevie Smith and Walt Whitman.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 28

Dimensions: 137 x 210 mm

Publication Date: 01-07-2016

Poems about art have a long and vivid history, and some of our greatest poets have tried to capture in verse the beguiling worlds of colour on canvas. Geoff Dyer’s remarkably wide-ranging selection encourages us to look at familiar and unfamiliar paintings and artists with fresh eyes. We find ourselves in Vermeer’s studio next door to a rowdy alehouse and meet a Bonnard nude day-dreaming in her bathtub. There’s a contemplative poem capturing the calm of a Vuillard interior, and then there’s life as one of Miró’s dots: “So here I am, on the edge of animation, a dream, a dance, a fantastic construction, A child’s adventure.” from ‘I Would Like to be a Dot in a Painting by Miró’ by Moniza Alvi. These poems are sure to delight every art lover, reminding us that any painting worth its salt has a thousand different meanings. This title is the second co-publication by Candlestick Press in association with Pushkin Press. Geoff Dyer is the award-winning author of numerous works of fiction and non-fiction. His books have been translated into 24 languages. Poems by Fleur Adcock, Moniza Alvi, WH Auden, Sue Hubbard, Mark Doty, Linda France, Mimi Khalvati, RS Thomas, Tomas Tranströmer and William Carlos Williams.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 24

Dimensions: 137 x 210 mm

Publication Date: 01-08-2019

There seems to be a natural connection between walking and poetry. For William Wordsworth, the regular rhythm of walking was a stimulus to writing, and he said that “nine-tenths of my verses have been poured out in the open air.” This beautiful mini-anthology contains William Wordsworth’s heart-stopping ‘Old Man Travelling’ alongside contemporary poems that capture the delights of a walk with a dear friend and of walking in solitude. There’s a poem about setting off through city streets to find a river and a heron, and another featuring a surprising encounter on the top of Helvellyn. One by one then as a whole, these poems remind us that being on foot is one of the best ways of experiencing the world: “Sole self I bedded down close as I could To listen: lapping, birdlife homing, settling …” from ‘Lake’ by David Constantine. Sasha Dugdale is an award-winning poet and translator – and a keen walker. Poems by Matthew Clegg, David Constantine, Sasha Dugdale, Choman Hardi, Karen McCarthy Woolf, Stephanie Norgate, MR Peacocke, Stephen Watts, William Wordsworth and Samantha Wynne-Rhydderch.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 20

Dimensions: 137 x 210 mm

Publication Date: 01-12-2018

There’s something at once elemental and child-like about moving through water – whether we paddle like a dog or can manage an elegant crawl. These delightful poems explore the many joys of swimming in pools, rivers and oceans. We travel all the way from a child learning to swim at home on a piano stool to a swimmer in a public baths which become suddenly splendid: “the pool spread like a sunken ballroom, marbled with the winter sun and here, the deep end’s edge where I hang breathless,” from ‘What I Think About When I’m Swimming’ by Hannah Lowe. Swimming is a pleasure and a privilege, and these poems remind us that when we take to the water it is not just our bodies that are changed. Poems by Vievee Francis, Paul Henry, Ranjit Hoskote, Hannah Lowe, Nicholas Murray, Katrina Naomi, Jay Parini, Katherine Pierpoint, Stevie Smith and Samantha Wynne-Rhydderch.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 20

Dimensions: 137 x 210 mm

Publication Date: 01-06-2023

Sheds have come a long way since the man-cave cliché. These days, a shed is a far more democratic place – somewhere that symbolises the privacy and space that we all need. John Greening’s wonderfully varied selection of poems explores sheds from every imaginable angle. The poems take us to a child’s hiding place, a treasury of exotic implements and rich aromas and a retreat in which to remember the past. Derek Mahon’s fêted poem ‘A Disused Shed in Co. Wexford’ creates a mysterious inner world which seems to exist outside time. A shed may just be a place to keep the lawnmower, or it may be somewhere to escape to in order to write or paint. Sometimes it’s a haven in which to daydream when the house is full of noise and bustle. Elsewhere it’s: “A sea-side arbour, a garden shanty, knocked together out of driftwood and furnished with a beat-up sofa…” from ‘Arbour’ by Kathleen Jamie. This enchanting selection leads the reader quietly into private worlds and makes the perfect gift for every shed-lover. Poems by Fleur Adcock, Alison Brackenbury, John Greening, Stuart Henson, Kathleen Jamie, Derek Mahon, John McAuliffe, MR Peacocke, Carol Rumens, Vernon Scannell.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 24

Dimensions: 137 x 210 mm

Publication Date: 01-03-2018

Nowadays, running is a serious business and we’re all busy recording our PBs on complicated watches. These poems remind us that there’s still plenty of fun to be had – whether navigating a forest trail before breakfast or lying in bed coming up with reasons not to go out at all. There’s the familiar sight of a runner skirting shoppers in a busy street, leaving behind a trail of bemusement: “Was that Paul? Was that Sue? unsure whether the flickering figures half seen from behind might have been the friends they knew, or thought they knew.” from ‘Runners in Town’ by Jenny King. The abiding spirit of the selection is that running remains the most democratic of sports – and that the main thing really is the taking part, be it in a 5K or a marathon or simply a trot around a local forest. Poems by Helen Allison, Carole Bromley, Wanda Coleman, Mark Granier, Stephen Keeler, Jenny King, Glyn Maxwell, Eugene Ethelbert Miller, Mandy Sutter and David Wagoner.

Bind: paperback

Dimensions: 137 x 210 mm

Publication Date: 01-08-2022

A pamphlet of ten irresistible poems about the joys of knitting – plain, purl and cable stitches morph into poems in which needles flash like rapiers, wool is wound into balls and the door of the local wool shop opens onto hushed knitters, heads bowed over patterns, flicking through the pages in search of the perfect cardigan… Poems by Emily Dickinson, Jane Duran, Sue Dymoke, Roy Fisher, Christopher James, Jackie Kay, Gwyneth Lewis, Liz Lochhead, Allison McVety, Jessie Pope and Lydia Towsey.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 24

Dimensions: 137 x 210 mm

Publication Date: 01-01-2015

Suddenly, fairy tales are everywhere. Up to ten major feature films have been made or are in production using as a basis traditional fairy tales that we think we are all familiar with. But are we? \n This collection reprints or retranslates the earliest versions of eight of those tales, and shows how they are sometimes very far from the stuff of cosy bedtime stories or jolly pantomimes. \n The stories include: \n The Little Mermaid \n Sleeping Beauty \n Cinderella \n Beauty and the Beast \n Jack and the Beanstalk \n Snow White \n Hansel and Gretel \n Little Red Riding Hood

Pages: 140