Verses of the Poets Laureate - Hilary Laurie

To mark the election of the 19th Poet Laureate we present a collection of the best ? and in some cases the worst - of the Laureates work from Dryden to the present incumbent. Each poet is introduced by a short biography and review of his work as a poet and as Laureate, followed by a selection of their poems taken from the entirety of their work. The book is introduced with an essay by the new Laureate (tbc).

John Dryden 1631-1700
Thomas Shadwell 1642-1692

Nahum Tate 1652-1715
Nicholas Rowe 1674-1718

Laurence Eusden 1688-1730
Colley Cibber 1671-1757

William Whitehead 1715-1785
Thomas Warton 1728-1790

Henry Pye 1745-1813
Robert Southey 1774-1843

William Wordsworth 1770-1850
Alfred, Lord Tennyson 1809-1892

Alfred Austin 1835-1913
Robert Bridges 1844-1930

John Masefield 1878-1967
C. Day Lewis 1904-1972

Sir John Betjeman 1906-1884
Ted Hughes 1930-1998

Andrew Motion 1999

The book will be introduced by a popular essay which would look at where the post comes from; how laureates are appointed; what are their duties; who were good poets and who were bad; what challenges the present post brings with it etc. We will issue a tape of selected poems - read by Bill Paterson, Tim Pigott-Smith and Juliet Stevenson - in the same livery as the book.