Monica Ali lives in London and was named in 2003 by Granta magazine as one of twenty ‘Best of Young British Novelists’. Her first novel, ‘Brick Lane’, an epic saga about a Bangladeshi family living in the UK, was shortlisted for the 2003 Man Booker Prize for Fiction, and her second, ‘Alentejo Blue’, was published by Doubleday in June 2006.
Listen to the world’s best poetry read out loud.
Monica Ali: Guided Tour
“On my initial visit to the Poetry Archive, the historical recordings caught my attention first. I did not know that recordings of Tennyson, for instance, existed. Although some of the following lines were a little indistinct, it was incredibly exciting to hear the opening lines of ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’. Afterwards, I explored the children’s section with my kids, and they got all their poetry books out and searched for favourite poets. Then I spent time discovering poets who were new to me. When you’ve listened to a poem, press BACK to come back here.”
I'd never come across Farley before and I was blown away by his work here. In this poem, we come 'face to face with history' through a tin of treacle, and see how 'a spoonful won't let go of its past.' It's funny and clever and original.
De Humani Corporis Fabrica - John Burnside
This is an achingly beautiful poem, the type that provides a sanctuary from the working day. Burnside's recording blends notes of wonder and yearning but retains a kind of transparency through which the beauty of each word shines.
You can browse for poems by form, and there are quite a few 'form' names of which I did not know the meaning. Kenning, for instance, or sestina. This is an example of a sestina. It's actually a very familiar form, as you'll see, and as always there's ...
You can browse for poems by form, and there are quite a few 'form' names of which I did not know the meaning. Kenning, for instance, or sestina. This is an example of a sestina. It's actually a very familiar form, as you'll see, and as always there's something innately pleasing in the very structure of the poem.