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Complete Poems

R.F. Langley

Edited by Jeremy Noel-Tod

Complete Poems
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Categories: 21st Century, British
Imprint: Carcanet Poetry
Publisher: Carcanet Press
Available as:
Paperback (144 pages)
(Pub. Sep 2015)
9781784100643
£14.99 £13.49
eBook (EPUB) Needs ADE!
(Pub. Jan 2015)
9781784100650
£12.99 £11.69
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  • Description
  • Author
  • Awards
  • Reviews
  • R.F. Langley is known for his meticulous observation of the natural world and his highly original voice. This volume brings together his two previous Carcanet collections, Collected Poems (2000) and The Face of It (2007), along with his celebrated but uncollected late poems, including ‘To a Nightingale’, which won the 2011 Forward Prize for Best Individual Poem. The book includes a biographical introduction and a rare note by the poet on his own compositional practice. Langley kept a careful record of the reading and writing which inspired his poems; this edition is fully annotated with these sources, making it an invaluable guide for readers wanting to explore the visionary imagination of this master craftsman.
    R.F. Langley
    R.F. LANGLEY was born in Rugby in 1938. He was educated at Jesus College, Cambridge and went on to teach English and Art History in secondary schools. He has lived in Staffordshire for most of his life, but the inspiration for much of his work comes from the landscapes of Suffolk. ... read more
    Jeremy Noel-Tod
    Jeremy Noel-Tod studied at New College, Oxford and now teaches at the University of East Anglia. In 2004, he founded Landfill, a poetry pamphlet press, and became an Associate Editor of Eggbox Publishing. He regularly reviews for the Times Literary Supplement and the Daily Telegraph . ... read more
    Awards won by R.F. Langley Short-listed, 2016 East Anglian Book Awards (Complete Poems ) Short-listed, 2000 Whitbread Prize (Complete Poems )
    'I recommend you read R.F. Langley's magnificent poems, and his prose journals too, sparingly and for the rest of your life, as you might read a book of meditations'
    'Ghostly Mentor', Claire Crowther.
    'R.F. Langley's Complete Poems (Carcanet), edited by Jeremy Noel-Tod, preserves the work of a comparatively neglected figure, who died in 2011 and whose reputation is bound to rise. It's not a log book, but every single poem is exceptionally watchful and scrupulous. A life's work, to last its readers a lifetime'
    The Guardian, 28.11.2015.
    '[R.F. Langley} was attentive to the natural world and to the textures of the English language, and his Complete Poems is a gem of a book'
    Paul Batchelor, Times Literary Supplement, 27.11.2015.
    Praise for R.F. Langley 'The quality of Langley's writing is extraordinary. On first reading I  found myself bolt upright, the book falling from my hands as his poetry  tore through me.'
    Randolph Healey
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