Where to start reading poetry (again)

Perhaps your last brush with poetry was when you were sat bleary-eyed in an English exam, forced to analyse Shakespeare’s Sonnets against your will. Or maybe it’s the opposite: you used to hang on your favourite poet’s every word and commit entire stanzas to memory, but it’s been a while since you last cracked open an anthology, and they’re beginning to gather dust on the bookshelf.

Whether you’ve fallen out of love with poetry or never fell for it in the first place – and whatever your interests and passions, from music lovers to hopeless romantics and beyond – this varied selection of poetry collections will offer a way (back) in.

For the novel-reader

For the social justice advocate

For the classics fan

For the hopeless romantic

For the music lover

For the young at heart

For the person with a lot of feelings

For the horror fan

For the aspiring poet