In Their Own Words is a celebration of the variousness of contemporary poets living and writing in the UK today. 56 poets talk about their own poetic voices and their work. Essential reading for anybody who cares about poetry.

A backstage peek behind the poetry of some of the best contemporary UK writers. Edited by T.S. Eliot prize winner George Szirtes and Helen Ivory — two of the UK’s most respected poets and teachers.

In Their Own Words is an examination of the voices writing in the UK today – the book addresses multiculturalism, page and stage, and LBG issues, as well as traditional ‘page’ poetry.

This book is not retrospective, it is a representation of the poetry world as a living, breathing developing thing.

Readers will get an insight into the many ways the poetic voice can develop – it’s a behind the scenes look at the poetics of the poetry.

There is nothing currently available quite like it.

Contributions by: Patience Agbabi, Moniza Alvi, Tiffany Atkinson, Jay Bernard, Alison Brackenbury, Andy Brown, Vahni Capildeo, Polly Clark, Julia Copus, Ian Duhig, Antony Dunn, Carrie Etter, Vicki Feaver, Martin Figura, Mark Granier, Andrew Greig, Philip Gross, Jen Hadfield, W. N. Herbert, Meirion Jordan, Luke Kennard, Mimi Khalvati, Sarah Law, Ágnes Lehóczky, Ira Lightman, Kona Macphee, Karen McCarthy Woolf, John McCullough, Nigel McLoughlin, Mir Mahfuz Ali, Maitreyabandhu, John Mole, Esther Morgan, David Morley, Helen Mort, Pascale Petit, Clare Pollard, Katrina Porteous, Anna Reckin, Deryn Rees-Jones, Sam Riviere, Roger Robinson, Carol Rumens, Jacob Sam-La Rose, Peter Scupham, Clare Shaw, Penelope Shuttle, Ross Sutherland, Matthew Sweeney, Michael Symmons Roberts, Tim Turnbull, Tom Warner, Tim Wells, Greg Woods, Luke Wright, Samantha Wynne-Rhydderch