Complete Poems

Silkin Jon

"Complete Poems" brings together the published and unpublished work of one of the most significant poets of the late twentieth century, founding editor of Stand and of the Northern House imprint. As well as reprinting all the poems included in Silkin's books (from "The Portrait and Other Poems" in 1950 to "Making a Republic" in 2002), it includes significant poems previously unpublished or published only in a wide variety of journals, and work transcribed from manuscripts. "Complete Poems" demands a new perception of Silkin's language and his concerns, the breadth of his passionately humane response to war and the Holocaust, and his scrutiny of humanity alongside nature.

About the Author

Jon Silkin was born in London in 1930. After National Service and time as a manual labourer, he went to the University of Leeds as Gregory Fellow in Poetry. He founded "Stand" magazine in 1952 and the "Northern House" press in 1965. His publications included nine volumes of poetry and many critical works and anthologies: "Out of Battle", his study of Rosenberg, Owen and other poets of the Great War, is a critical landmark. He held writing fellowships and chairs in the United States, Australia and Japan. Jon Silkin died in November 1997.

Reviews

"'Complete Poems' enjoins a new perception of Silkin's language and concerns, the breadth of his passionately humane interrogation of war and the Holocaust, and his scrutiny of nature and humankind" – Jon Glover

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