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Adnax Publications : Poetry Book Specification : Poetry Anthology : Poem Anthology
Twixt Ape and Plato : 101 Poems on Various Subjects editor John Luo
ISBN 0-9544746-3-5 : 280 Pages : 246x189mm (9.6x7.4 inches)
Paperback : 101 Poems : 34 Poet Biographies

This new poetry anthology contains poems by 34 poets including William Shakespeare, Edmund Spenser, John Donne, Ezra Pound, John Milton, Lewis Carroll, John Keats, William Blake, Christina Rossetti, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Wordsworth, Robert Burns and more.
The anthology includes 12 New Translations of Horace, Ovid, Catullus, Martial and Sappho by John Luo.
The book also contains a short poet biography of each of the poets (samples can be seen on this site).

The book front cover shows the Death of Chatterton by Henry Wallis (copyright Tate Gallery, London)

This new poetry book / anthology contains 101 poems from the greatest poets of all time, ranging from the biting wit of the Roman poet Martial to the lyrical outpourings of Wordsworth and the magical verse of Shakespeare.

The book chapters are organised thematically so that the reader is able to easily compare the treatment of the same subject by sometimes radically different poets from different ages.

At the end of the anthology there is a poet biography for each poet, each one long enough to impart a worthwhile amount of information but short enough to read in 10 minutes.

The book is fully annotated to clarify obscure or outmoded terms or concepts, with annotations that sit next to the text explained, so that you don't have to continually thumb to the back of the book to find out what's happening.

Preface

We hope that this anthology of poetry will give the reader an overview of poetry in general, and a deeper understanding of some of the subjects that have been of abiding interest to poets through the ages. By adopting the present format of thematic chapter headings, we also hope to give a perspective which will allow easier insight into the similarities and differences in the treatment of the same subject at different times, and therefore prompt a better understanding of what is transient and what permanent, of how time, society and experience may influence the poetic response, in turn giving the reader the opportunity to refine his or her own ideas about what poetry in fact is.

Our selection for this anthology has generally been made on the basis of a poem’s appeal to the heart, though we have sometimes been seduced by an appeal to the intellect or other parts. No one is perfect, as may become abundantly clear from reading these poems and the attached poet biographies. In an age which is becoming increasingly obsessed with icons of perfection, it is perhaps a salutary exercise to contemplate the breadth of humanity, failings and struggle represented in this book.

Paradoxically, ‘success’ for a poet often leads to complete failure: the newly appointed Poet Laureate promptly ceases to write anything of significance, if he ever did, while ‘failure’ may lead to the most spectacular success, as later society takes to its heart the ignored, repudiated and downtrodden Blake, for example, dismissed in his time as ‘an unfortunate lunatic whose personal inoffensiveness secures him from confinement’, and now fêted worldwide as an inspired genius.

Happily, poetry, as life, is full of such paradoxes.

Finally, we hope to have given you an opportunity to let your spirit play!

Contents of the book by subject:

Chapter 1 : Advice on How to Live
16. Epigrams Book II, No XXXVII - Martial 
17. Epigrams Book X, No XLVII - Martial 
18. Farewell to Folly - Robert Greene 
19. Ode on Solitude - Alexander Pope 
20. Stella’s Birthday - Jonathan Swift
23. Lines Left upon a Seat in a Yew Tree - William Wordsworth

Chapter 2 : Cities
26. Description of the Morning - Jonathan Swift
27. London - William Blake 
28. Upon Westminster Bridge - William Wordsworth

Chapter 3 : Day and Night
30. The Sun Rising - John Donne 
31. Selection from Epithalamium - Edmund Spenser 
32. It Is a Beauteous Evening, Calm and Free - William Wordsworth 
33. It Is the Hour - George Gordon, Lord Byron
34. To Night - Percy Bysshe Shelley
36. Frost at Midnight - Samuel Taylor Coleridge
39. A Night-Piece - William Wordsworth

Chapter 4 : Death
41. Fear No More - William Shakespeare
42. The Dying Christian to His Soul - Alexander Pope 
43. A Satirical Elegy on the Death of a Late Famous General - Jonathan Swift 
45. Elegy Written in a Country Church-Yard - Thomas Gray
50. La Belle Dame sans Merci - John Keats
52. Ah, Are You Digging on My Grave? - Thomas Hardy

Chapter 5 Drink, and Other Vices
55. Ode to a Wine Jar - Horace
56. From Comus - John Milton 
58. John Barleycorn: a Ballad - Robert Burns 
61. I Would to Heaven that I Were so Much Clay - George Gordon, Lord Byron 

Chapter 6 Imagination, Sense and Nonsense
63. The Tyger - William Blake
64. The Lobster-Quadrille - Lewis Carroll 
65. Jabberwocky - Lewis Carroll 
67. The Mad Gardener's Song - Lewis Carroll 
69. The Walrus and the Carpenter - Lewis Carroll 
73. You Are Old Father William - Lewis Carroll 
75. Kubla Khan - Samuel Taylor Coleridge 
77. The Jumblies - Edward Lear

Chapter 7 Love, and Courtship
81. Ode to Aphrodite I - Sappho 
82. Ode to Aphrodite II - Sappho 
83. Amores Book I, No V - Ovid
84. Amores Book III, No XIV - Ovid 
86. Verse V - Catullus 
87. Verse LXXXV - Catullus 
88. The Passionate Shepherd to His Love - Christopher Marlow
89. Sonnet X - Edmund Spenser 
90. Sonnet XCIV - William Shakespeare 
91. One Day I Wrote Her Name - Edmund Spenser 
92. Sonnet CVII - William Shakespeare 
93. Love's Alchemy - John Donne 
94. The Bait - John Donne 
95. To His Mistress Going to Bed - John Donne 
97. To His Coy Mistress - Andrew Marvell 
99. Methought I Saw My Late Espousèd Saint - John Milton
100. To a Kiss - Robert Burns 
101. Song - William Blake 
102. Song - Samuel Taylor Coleridge 
103. The Garden of Love - William Blake 
104. The Clod and the Pebble - William Blake 
105. To a Beautiful Quaker - George Gordon, Lord Byron 
107. Maid of Athens, Ere We Part - George Gordon, Lord Byron 
108. Love's Last Adieu - George Gordon, Lord Byron 
110. The Lang Coortin' - Lewis Carroll

Chapter 8 Melancholy
117. Ode on Melancholy - John Keats 
118. Ode to a Nightingale - John Keats
121. The Pains of Sleep - Samuel Taylor Coleridge 
123. I Am - John Clare 
124. The Question - Percy Bysshe Shelley
126. When the Lamp Is Shattered - Percy Bysshe Shelley 
128. A Daughter of Eve - Christina Georgina Rossetti 
129. My Soul is Dark - George Gordon, Lord Byron

Chapter 9 Metaphysics, Folklore and Other Transformations
131. Over Hill, over Dale - William Shakespeare
132. Full Fathom Five - William Shakespeare
133. Transformations - Thomas Hardy

Chapter 10 Natural Phenomena
135. Ode to the West Wind - Percy Bysshe Shelley
138. Who Has Seen the Wind? - Christina Georgina Rossetti
139. Dover Beach - Matthew Arnold

Chapter 11 The Poet
142. Ode to Poetry - Horace
143. Where’s the Poet - John Keats
144. The Poet’s Work - William Wordsworth
145. Song, Rarely Rarely Comest Thou - Percy Bysshe Shelley
147. To a Skylark - Percy Bysshe Shelley
151. Poeta Fit, Non Nascitur - Lewis Carroll
155. Song in the Manner of Housman - Ezra Pound

Chapter 12 The Seasons
157. Winter is Fled - Horace
159. The Green Linnet - William Wordsworth
161. An April Day - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
163. Spring - William Blake
164. Roundel - Geoffrey Chaucer
165. The Schoolboy - William Blake
167. Autumn : A Dirge - Percy Bysshe Shelley
168. Ode to Autumn - John Keats
170. To Autumn - William Blake
171. Blow, Blow Thou Winter Wind - William Shakespeare
172. Fall, Leaves, Fall - Emily Brontë
173. The Night is Darkening Round Me Now - Emily Brontë
174. Winter - William Shakespeare
175. Winter, My Secret - Christina Rossetti
177. Snow in the Suburbs - Thomas Hardy
178. The Darkling Thrush - Thomas Hardy

Chapter 13 Time
181. Even Such Is Time - Walter Raleigh
182 On Time - John Milton
183. Time - Percy Bysshe Shelley
184. To Time - George Gordon, Lord Byron
186. I Look into My Glass - Thomas Hardy

Chapter 14 War
188. The Charge of the Light Brigade - Alfred, Lord Tennyson
190. Anthem for Doomed Youth - Wilfred Owen
191. Dulce et Decorum Est - Wilfred Owen
192. The Man He Killed - Thomas Hardy

Chapter 15 Women
194. Verse LXX - Catullus
195.. Against Women Unconstant - Geoffrey Chaucer
196. Sonnet XXIV - Edmund Spenser
197. In an Artist’s Studio - Christina Rossetti
198. Alba - Ezra Pound
199. The Bath Tub - Ezra Pound

The Poet Biographies

201. Matthew Arnold   
204. William Blake 
206. Emily Brontë 
207. Robert Burns 
209. George Gordon, Lord Byron 
212. Lewis Carroll .
214. Catullus 
215.Geoffrey Chaucer 
216. John Clare 
217. Samuel Taylor Coleridge 
220. John Donne 
224. Thomas Gray 
226. Robert Greene 
227. Thomas Hardy 
229. Horace 
230. John Keats 
232. Edward Lear 
234. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
235. Martial 
236. Christopher Marlowe
239. Andrew Marvell
241. John Milton 
245. Ovid 
246. Wilfred Owen 
248. Alexander Pope 
250. Ezra Pound 
253. Sir Walter Raleigh
256. Christina Rossetti 
258. Sappho .
259. William Shakespeare 
262. Percy Bysshe Shelley
267. Edmund Spenser 
271. Jonathan Swift 
274. Alfred Lord Tennyson 
277. William Wordsworth 

Contents of the book by Author

Matthew Arnold (1822 - 1888)
139. Dover Beach

William Blake (1757 - 1827)
27. London
63. The Tyger
101. Song
103. The Garden of Love
104. The Clod and the Pebble
163. Spring
165. The School-Boy
170. To Autumn

Emily Brontë (1818 - 1848)
172. Fall, Leaves, Fall
173 Night Is Darkening Around Me

Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)
58. John Barleycorn : a Ballad
100. To a Kiss

George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788 - 1824)
33. It Is the Hour
61. I Would to Heaven that I Were so Much Clay
105. To a Beautiful Quaker
107. Maid of Athens
108. Love’s Last Adieu
129. My Soul is Dark
184. To Time

Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) (1832 - 1898)
64. The Lobster Quadrille
65. Jabberwocky
67. The Mad Gardener’s Song
69. The Walrus and the Carpenter
73. You Are Old Father William
110. The Lang Coortin’
151. Poeta Fit, Non Nascitur

Catullus : C Valerius Catullus (c84BC - c54BC)
86. Verse V
87. Verse LXXXV
194. Verse LXX

Geoffrey Chaucer (c1340 - 1400)
164. Roundel
195. Against Women Unconstant

John Clare (1793 - 1864)
123. I Am

Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772 - 1834)
36. Frost at Midnight
75. Kubla Khan
102. Song
121. The Pains of Sleep

John Donne (1572 - 1631)
30. The Sun Rising
93. Love’s Alchemy
94. The Bait
95. To His Mistress Going to Bed

Thomas Gray (1716 - 1771)
45. Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard

Robert Greene (c1558 - 1592)
18. Farewell to Folly

Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928)
52. Ah! Are You Digging on my Grave?
133. Transformations
177. Snow in the Suburbs
178. The Darkling Thrush
186. I Look into My Glass
192. The Man He Killed

Horace : Q Horatius Flaccus (65BC - 8BC)
55. Ode to a Wine Jar
142. Ode to Poetry
157. Winter Is Fled

John Keats (1795 - 1821)
50. La Belle Dame sans Merci
117. Ode on Melancholy
118. Ode to a Nightingale
143. Where’s the Poet
168. Ode to Autumn

Edward Lear (1812 - 1888)
77. The Jumblies

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882)
161. An April Day

Martial : M Valerius Martialis (c40 - c104)
16. Book II, Epigram XXXVI
17. Book X, Epigram XLVII

Christopher Marlowe (1564 - 1593)
88 The Passionate Shepherd to His Love

Andrew Marvell (1621 - 1678)
97. To His Coy Mistress

John Milton (1608-1674)
56. From Comus
99. Methought I Saw my Late Espoused Saint
182. On Time

Ovid : P Ovidius Naso, (43BC - 18AD)
83. Amores Book I, No V
84. Amores Book III, No XIV

Wilfred Owen (1893 - 1918)
190. Anthem for Doomed Youth
191. Dulce et Decorum Est

Alexander Pope (1688 - 1744)
19. Ode on Solitude
42. The Dying Christian to his Soul

Ezra Pound (1885 - 1972)
155. Song in the Manner of Housman
198. The Bath Tub
199. Alba

Walter Raleigh (1553? - 1618)
181. Even Such Is Time

Christina Rossetti (1830 - 1894)
128. A Daughter of Eve 
138. Who Has Seen the Wind
175. Winter, My Secret
197. In an Artist’s Studio

Sappho (c615 BC - c550 BC?)
81. Ode to Aphrodite I
82. Ode to Aphrodite II

William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
41. Fear No More
90. Sonnet XCIV
92. Sonnet CVII
131. Over Hill, over Dale
132. Sea Dirge
171. Blow, Blow Thou Winter Wind
174 Winter

Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792 - 1822)
34. To Night
124. The Question
126. When the Lamp Is Shattered
135. Ode to the West Wind
145. Song: Rarely, Rarely Comest Thou
147. To a Skylark
167. Autumn: a Dirge
183. Time

Edmund Spenser (1552 - 1599)
31. Selection from Epithalamium
89. Sonnet X
91. One Day I Wrote Her Name
196. Sonnet XXIV

Jonathan Swift (1667 - 1745)
20. Stella’s Birthday (March 13th 1727)
26. A Description of the Morning
43. A Satirical Elegy on the Death of a Late Famous General

Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809 - 1892)
188. The Charge of the Light Brigade

William Wordsworth (1770 - 1850)
23. Lines Left upon a Seat in a Yew Tree
28. Upon Westminster Bridge
32. It Is a Beauteous Evening Calm and Free
39. A Night Piece
144. The Poet’s Work
159. The Green Linnet

Pages 200-278 of the book contain 34 poet biographies, one for each of the poets represented.