Benjamin Zephaniah, who has travelled the world for his art and his humanitarianism, now tells the one story that encompasses it all: the story of his life. In the early 1980s when punks and Rastas were on the streets protesting about unemployment, homelessness and the National Front, Benjamin's poetry could be heard at demonstrations, outside police stations and on the dance floor. His mission was to take poetry everywhere, and to popularise it by...

For the past decade, Lemn Sissay has composed a short poem as dawn breaks each morning. Life-affirming, witty and full of wonder, these poems chronicle his own battle with the darkness and are fuelled with resilience and defiant joy. 'Let the Light Pour In' is a collection of the best of these poems, and a book celebrating his morning practice.

This collection of poetry by Muriel Spark presents the full range of one of Britain's most acclaimed writers. It includes villanelles, ballads and epigrams, as well as freer forms, all marked by her sharp observations and command of her medium.

Adam Thorpe's fifth collection of poetry finds purpose in the discarded, the secretive, the failed. Juxtaposing creation and destruction, hope and grief, his poems argue for bewilderment and 'the slight bruise of doubt'.

Drawing on exclusive interviews with friends and lovers who have never spoken openly about Plath before and using previously unavailable archives and papers, this book focuses on the early life of one of the 20th century's most popular and enduring female poets.

At the time of his death, the poet Von Humboldt Fleischer is a failure, and his friend Charlie Citrine's life has hit rock bottom. Then Humboldt acts from beyond the grave, bestowing upon Charlie a legacy that might turn his life round.

This is Balzac's masterpiece about a young poet's struggle to make a name for himself in Paris. Commentary, notes and a reading group guide is included.

A prelude to fame, Just Kids recounts the friendship of two young artists-Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe-whose passion fueled their lifelong pursuit of art. In 1967, a chance meeting between two young people led to a romance and a lifelong friendship that would carry each to international success never dreamed of. The backdrop is Brooklyn, Chelsea Hotel, Max's Kansas City, Scribner's Bookstore, Coney Island, Warhol's Factory and the whole city...

'May Day' is the long-awaited new collection from one of our best-loved poets and former Makar of Scotland, Jackie Kay. As the title suggests, these poems cast an eye over several decades of political activism, from the international solidarity of the Glasgow of Kay's childhood, accompanying her parents' Socialist campaigns, through the feminist, LGBT+ and anti-racist movements of the 80s and 90s, up to the present day when a global pandemic intersects...