Reading List for Season 1: Nature Poetry Workshop
Reading List for Season 1:Nature
All the poetry and craft books that have inspired Season 1 of the Orange Verse.
This list includes affiliate links which means I may make a small fee for any purchases you make after visiting this page.*
Episode 1: The Sea
The Collected Poems of George Mackay Brown, John Murray
Living on the Orkney Islands, Brown drew much inspiration for his poetry from the wild sea and shorelines of his home.
Shorelines: A collection of poems, ed. Janie Hextall & Barbara McNaught
Poems about things we find along the shore, spanning decades of verse and dealing with contemporary forms.
Episode 2: The Forest
The English Summer, Holly Hopkins
This collection draws on England’s pagan roots through the lens of a country who is cut off from nature. It is witty and poignant and all the things great poetry reveals.
Travelling Light: Collected and New Poems, David Wagoner
The poem ‘Lost’ first appeared in the Poetry Magazine in 1971 and can be found in this collection. Wagoner is considered one of the great American poets who looks at nature to reveal deep human truths.
The Edge of the Continent: The Forest, Jacqueline Suskin
Suskin is the embodiment of a poem. Her words are exacting and stunning and she is deeply rooted in the natural world. The other books in this series include The City and The Desert.
Episode 3: The River
Dream Work, Mary Oliver
The poem ‘River’ comes from this collection, however, you will find many poems about the sea and nature in this collection.
A Portable Paradise, Roger Robinson
Robinson won the T.S. Eliot Prize for this collection of raw and masterful poems. They deal with social injustice and the grief of living
Episode 4: Ecopoetry
The Ginkgo Poetry Prize Anthology 2022 (free PDF)
A collection of all the winning and shortlisted poems from this year’s prize.
Rite of Passage, Dom Bury
Bury is an activist and poet. Rite of Passage is his first collection taking a sharp look at our place on a planet facing environmental collapse.
So Long, Jen Levitt
So long is Levitt’s second collection of poems, written following the death of her father.
Craft
A Poetry Handbook, Mary Oliver
I could have used Mary Oliver’s poetry in each week of Season 1. She is a master of nature poetry and finding a voice for nature and our place in it. This book provides a master’s insight into writing poetry. It’s short, concise and has vastly improved my poetry. If you want to be a poet: read. this. Book.
On Poetry, Roger Robinson
Robinson wants everyone to write better poetry so he’s created this ebook to push people into thinking more deeply about their craft and focus on improving their work.
*I did apply for Waterstone’s affiliate programme but they rejected me. I guess I don’t have enough traffic to make it worth their while at the present time. For now, I’m using Amazon’s programme.
