A Little History of Poetry by John Carey

A vital guide to poetry from ancient times to the present   Poetry is language made special, so that it will be remembered and valued. It does not always work – over the centuries countless thousands of poems have been forgotten. This Little History is about some that have not.

  John Carey tells the stories behind the world’s greatest poems, from the oldest surviving one written nearly 4,000 years ago to those being written today. Carey looks at poets whose works shape our view of the world – such as Shakespeare, Whitman and Yeats – and more recent poets like Sylvia Plath, Seamus Heaney, and Marianne Moore who have started to question what makes a poem ‘great’ in the first place.  Little Histories – Inspiring Guides for Curious Minds

Series:Little Histories
Format:Paperback / softback 320 pages, 40 b-w illus.
Publisher:Yale University Press
Imprint:Yale University Press
ISBN:9780300283426
Published:8 Apr 2025
Classifications:Poetry anthologies (various poets), Literary studies: poetry & poets, General & world history
Weight:352g