Poetry collections confront migration, inequality and environmental loss
A Guardian review roundup surveys contemporary poetry collections, demonstrating the medium's continuing relevance to urgent contemporary concerns. The selections showcase poetry's capacity to address personal memory, social critique and identity, spanning both established figures like John Cooper Clarke and emerging voices such as Mary Mulholland. The collections engage with themes from environmental erosion and political inequalities to colonial legacies and intergenerational trauma.
John Cooper Clarke's "Have It" combines blistering social satire with northern humour in addressing urban malaise and contemporary anxieties. Mary Mulholland's debut "The Dodo Stories" explores migration and colonialism through family archives, whilst Ian McMillan's "Red River Valley" discovers possibility in everyday encounters amid austerity. Roger Robinson's career retrospective "Some Sacred Harbour" centres Black Atlantic identity, grief and migration through biblically charged verse. The collections reviewed are priced between £11.99 and £16.99.
- Contemporary poets address urgent themes including social inequality, migration, colonialism and identity
- Collections range from social satire and punk swagger to intimate family histories and observation
- Five poetry collections reviewed, priced from £11.99 to £16.99
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Contemporary poetry collections are increasingly exploring major themes of modern life, including migration, inequality, environmental damage and questions of identity. These collections show that poetry remains an active literary form through which writers engage with urgent social and political concerns. Poets today are using verse to address real-world issues alongside personal and historical experiences.
Recent poetry collections include work from both established and emerging writers, each bringing their own perspective to contemporary challenges. Their work ranges from sharp social commentary to investigations of family history and its connection to broader political contexts like colonialism and displacement. Many of these collections also explore personal grief and intergenerational trauma.
These collections demonstrate that poetry continues to be a form through which people can explore and discuss important contemporary issues. Rather than being separated from current affairs, many modern poets are contributing to public conversations about society, environment and human experience.
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Originally published by The Guardian as “The best recent poetry – review roundup”.