I was excited to read this book since I am a poet myself, majored in poetry in college, and also am a huge fan of A Little History of the World.  This lacked the charming tone of that book though and I felt that it focused far too much on the classic white male poets of the old days.  It ran long and dry for me, and is not a book that I'm likely to pick up again, assign to my kids, or recommend to my readers.  That said, it would be a great book for those who are looking for a standard "history of famous poetry" type of book and the author is clearly an expert and lover of poetry.

"A Little History of Poetry" is kind of that. It's more a synopsis of the most common poetry hits in history. If that's the intent, it is excellent. I recommend it for every freshman in college trying to decide if they want to study Literature, or for every Senior who wants a cliffnotes on what poems they didn't get around to actually reading. That said, I wish this book was more inclusive of less mainstream Western poetry. 
John Carey nails these synopses with delightful details sprinkled throughout. He gave examples of the actual excerpts where necessary, and while I do wish there were more, I understand that the intent of the book isn't to regurgitate poems I can google; it's to explain their context and importance in history. 
I hope that the author writes another called "Poems that Should've Made History" that includes incredible poems from around the world, authored by the less represented but wholly deserving of recognition.

An Opinionated Sophomore Survey Course

This is an idiosyncratic and opinionated, (despite the author's half-hearted disclaimers), survey of the Western canon. It is organized along the lines of "from then", (Gilgamesh, Homer, Beowulf), to "now", (Maya Angelou, Les Murray), with stops in between at Virgil, Ovid, Dante, Chaucer, and the rest of the usual gang of suspects.

There are no full length poems, but a fair number of excerpts and brief snippets. There is little sustained exegesis, and not much about form as such. It is more or less assumed that the reader has some familiarity with poetry and with the poets and the poems addressed, or is willing to pause on occasion and seek them out elsewhere. As a consequence this is more like an historical timeline studded with what the author concludes are interesting factoids and asides. 

I've seen reviews that characterize the book as "forceful" and "authoritative", and that should alert the seasoned reader to the fact that Carey knows what he likes and likes what he knows. He can be breezy and dismissive, but he obviously has read and thought deeply about the topic, and he has mostly interesting, if superficial, things to say. (Since we both think that Dante was most likely a huge jerk, I'm willing to go along with many of his opinions.) I don't know how sincere the gesture is, but the book reflects a concerted effort to identify important, if usually overlooked, women poets along the entire length of the timeline, and that alone makes the book a more worthy contribution. 

All of the above is why, by the end, I was left with the impression that what we have here feels very much like the notes from a series of second or third semester course lectures that have been whipped into narrative shape, fleshed out some, and turned into a book. That was fine by me; who wouldn't want to attend a few lectures by John Carey about the history of poetry?

(Please note that I received a free ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

Really enjoyed this one, engaging and fun to read! And very informative, especially for someone like me who's not well versed in the world of poetry. Highly recommended!

Although I did enjoy reading this book, it is more of a whistle-stop tour than a thorough exploration of the history of poetry, and a lot of it is influenced by the author's own opinions rather than historical fact. The potted biographies were interesting, and I enjoyed the discussion of the development and impact of poetry. I'd have liked to have seen a few more contemporary female poets in the mix, but on the whole I found this an engaging read. 

I'd recommend this more for people who are new to poetry or want to find out more - if you have already nurtured an interest in the field or in contemporary poetry, you won't find much new here.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher who gave me a free advance copy of this book in exchange fro an honest review.

A Little History of Poetry by John Carey is an overview of sorts of western poetry but fails if the reader is hoping to get much breadth at all or anything more than the most basic asinine opinions passed as facts. It has a few positives but I would not likely recommend this to anyone new to poetry because I wouldn't want to poison their minds. Maybe as a joke I would recommend it to friends who write or read poetry and won't be influenced by close-minded ideas and lack of diversity in either content or worldview.

I don't actually think it is a complete waste, I just think that only the most active and engaged reader (who is new to or wanting to cultivate an appreciation of poetry) will be able to gain the sense of history without also being influenced toward the plainly dismissive views of Carey. I had such high hopes for this, but to offer this as a way to encourage new readers of poetry then omit or dismiss so many good poets makes this absolutely unworthy of recommendation.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

Thanks to Yale University Press and NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was so excited to read this but having just finished it, I'm left with a sense of extreme disappointment. Quite simply this book should be called A Little History of WESTERN Poetry because aside from The Epic of Gilgamesh and the briefest whisper of a reference to Chinese and Japanese poetry (and only in the context of talking about Ezra Pound) there is basically nothing at all about the rich poetry from the rest of the world (seriously, no reference to Persian or Urdu poetry??). Poetry from poets of colour is also very thin on the ground.

I did like how the book was structured and the chapter imagery was really nice. Books of this nature are only ever going to be an introduction but they are good for anyone who wants to learn more about the greats and the history of poetry.

I thought the writing style was engaging and wasn't stuffy for anyone new to poetry or who finds it intimidating. The writer does seem to show some clear favouritism though which I found a bit annoying and conversely is quite scathing about some other poets. Let's just say he is NOT a fan of Dante...

I haven't finished this title, and not sure I will. Could be I'm just not in the mental space to read this right now, but it didn't pique my interest much.

I really enjoyed this very readable 'Little History of Poetry'. It is a fascinating history of poets, their lives, their influences and their poems. I liked seeing them in chronological order as it helped me put them in perspective in relation to things happening in the world when they were writing. It would have been nice to see a few more poems but it has given me an appetite to search out some of the poets mentioned and explore further. Thank you to John Carey, NetGalley and Yale University Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It’s quite possible that I misunderstood the nature of this Little History from the outset.  I thought it would be a collection of poems spanning literary history, with commentaries.  However, it is a rather dry description of the stories behind and around the poems themselves and consequently sucks all the joy and life out of these incredible works.

Teaching poetry is one of my abiding joys.  The evocation of emotions, images, truths and nightmares is a wondrous thing and helping my students find their own way through them is an honour.  I was hopeful, therefore, that this book, in parts at least, might be something I could recommend to my most poetry-loving students.  However I think it is only suited to undergraduates who are not given much of an option but to read it.   It tells, it doesn’t explore.  It is definite rather than possible and not at all what I would expect from such a lauded author.  Carey even manages to make Shakespeare’s sonnets sound uninteresting and recommends that readers concentrate on the “most famous” fifteen.  The raw passion inherent within Donne’s poetry is ignored in favour of the apparent Renaissance preoccupation with hell and damnation.  The wonder of Marvell’s magnificent ode to relationships and their all-encompassing nature in To His Coy Mistress reduced to “Life is a trap.”  

The depth and breadth of knowledge in this book is undeniably vast but it is not, for want of a more literary phrase, reader friendly.   It seems to want to keep these poems at a respectful distance rather than endeavour to fling open the doors of their metaphorical rooms and invite everyone inside to look around and question and feel.  The thumbnail biographies offer nothing that cannot be easily found elsewhere and the whole thing feels like it is lacking in the very passion which, presumably drove the thing in the first place.  It doesn’t offer interpretations, or attempt to answer any “why” questions that potential students might have.  I did find myself going back to a lot of the poems cited just to check they were still how I remembered them and not how they are portrayed here.  

Lear and Carroll are practically dismissed as “outsiders” and Carey reduces them, respectively to being “gay and an epileptic” and as having had “a weakness for scantily clad little girls”.  Nothing else is offered.  These potentially sensationalist statements are made, a quick Jabberwocky quote is provided and then nothing else.  No mention of the wordplay obvious in the nonsensical yet entirely understandable portmanteau words of Jabberwocky and Lear’s overall inventiveness.  He offers details about some female poet’s (presumed) sex lives – the writing duo of Michael Field – and the fact that Charlotte Mew dressed as a man and killed herself – facts easily obtainable for anyone who has ever studied - or taught – The Farmer’s Bride at GCSE.  That stunning poem is about more than just a young wife afraid of sex – but that is all that poem is reduced to.  

By the time I had finished A Little History of Poetry I felt rather profoundly upset.  I would suggest that subsequent readers’ time would be better spent actually reading and enjoying the poems to which Carey makes reference.

This is an extensive book of poetic history. The chapters are fairly short but they are filled with incredible bits of information. English teachers in high school and college would absolutely benefit from having this book for their libraries. It would definitely be a wonderful gift for the English major to have for their shelf of resources.

An interesting take on the history of poetry. From the early works of Gilgamesh, to the Romans, to Shakespeare, to the Romantics all the way to Maya Angelou, discussion on the influences and take on their poetry. From the scandals, to the politics, to the innovative approaches, all are on the table here. If I was teaching or taking a poetry class, this would be a great reference to getting a lighthearted  view and deeper understanding of the poets and their works. Highly recommend this book, whether you like poetry or not it is still a fun book to read. Sectioned chronological, it is easy to jump centuries and see the progression through the years. Hard to put down.

I enjoyed the overview, especially the sections on ancient poetry, but it seemed like some chapters were brief and some went on way too long. I liked reading the biographical snippets about the poets (though it's abundantly clear that most of them were incredibly selfish and unlikable), but I would've liked more explanation about what each "group" of poets were about (more explanation and longer examples of their techniques, subject matter, historical context, reception at the time, etc.). And, to round the sections out, I would've appreciated a list of poets and their most exemplary works for us readers to go seek out on our own.

A Little History of Poetry was short, sweet and to the point. 
I found some familiar works that I last read in high school, some classic favorites and some new favorites too!
I was especially interested in the works of poets exalting nature's beauty, and the moving chapters featuring the poetry of the First and Second World wars (in particular The Veteran by Margaret Postgate Cole)

A readable and surprisingly detailed book. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it - and by how much I learned.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me to read a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

"A Little History of Poetry" by John Carey turned out to be the exact opposite of what I was expecting. Let me be clear about this, I was expecting a book half poetry half history, and this is only straight-up history. And it's actually pretty amazing? The book starts at the very beginning of history with the Epic of Gilgamesh, then moves through the centuries to Dante and Petrarch, Shakespeare and Marlowe, Milton, Dryden, Pope, Montagu, Keats and Shelley, Byron, Goethe, Whitman, and Dickinson. It is a very white western male history of poetry rather than a universal one, though. Women poets and non-English (or American) poets are marginal, and they make very few appearances. 
It is a great book nonetheless, and I learned a lot of things I was unaware of. It will be an excellent reference for the poetry collections I plan to start during the summer.

As an English Literature graduate turned English teacher, I have ploughed through a fair amount of poetry in my time.  It's not my favourite form (I prefer a good novel) but I do have my favourite poems and writers that I return to frequently.  I hoped this book would contextualise them and perhaps give me some new avenues to explore.

I think it needs pointing out that this is a slightly odd idea for a book - a potted history of poetry that is accessible for the novice reader yet detailed enough to draw in more seasoned poetry readers (who you would expect would be the main readership for the book as people already receptive to poetry).  However, I think Carey has managed this well; the book covers a vast amount of ground, managing to fit in synopses, biography and context for a range of poems and poetry movements.  For me, it brought back memories of my undergraduate study - some good (it's always nice to revisit Larkin, Keats and Plath) and some less so (I hoped I'd heard the last of Piers Plowman, to be honest!)

The other strange thing about the book is that it can never be a totally objective history of poetry as it seems to promise - it's always going to include Carey's personal choices and preferences and I didn't agree with all his interpretations fully.  I absolutely bow down to him as being the expert, but I do think poetry is very subjective and open to personal readings, although it was interesting to hear about his take on poems that I know very well.  Carey's own preferences seemed most obvious in the amount of space allocated to individual poets - some were skimmed over in very little detail while others were explored in perhaps excessive depth (Yeats, I'm looking at you...)

Overall, I'd say this was a lovely book to use to contextualise your understanding of poets and their works - I certainly didn't realise that some of the poets were contemporaries or quite so closely linked.  The biographies are interesting and Carey is a knowledgeable and lively guide through the history of poetry.  It won't give you depth of understanding if you are already studying poems or poetic movements at a high level, but it's an accessible and entertaining read for those of us whose knowledge is perhaps a bit rusty!

I found this to be an absolutely brilliant book.  John Carey, an Oxbridge professor, is an erudite guide to learning about poems and poetry.  But, he  is not only an intelligent guide, he has written a book where I wanted to keep turning the pages. 


This book encompasses the history of poetry from the earliest epics, such as The Gilgamesh Epic, and moves through the centuries, ending in chapter 40 with modern poets including Maya Angelou and Mary Oliver.  I could list so many, many of the included  poets but will pick just ten to give an idea of what the book contains: Homer, Dante, Donne, Milton, Wordsworth, Eliot, Pound, Elizabeth Bishop, Auden and Stevie Smith.


To give an example of the flavor of this title, chapter one is about the Gilgamesh Epic.  The story itself is clearly recounted but the author gives so much more than this; for example, there is discussion about how this story relates to other biblical tales and poetry's depictions of death as a central issue for all. This expansiveness leaves the reader with much food for thought.


Professor Carey sees that music and poetry are analagous; one gives us the best of noise while the other may give us the best of words.  (This is my understanding of what he said).


I recommend this book most highly.  Even before our current crisis, 2020 was becoming the year of exploring poetry for me.  This book will enhance my understanding and experience as I continue my journey..


Many, many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this book in exchange for an honest review.  I found it to be a special book.

First, let me say that I did enjoy this book. It would be a great supplemental reading to an introductory poetry course at any college. If you don't want to read the real poem but want to understand many allusions to poetry, this is the book for you. It is a snapshot into the different literary movements. However, I feel like the title is a bit misleading. I would argue that it isn't a history of poetry, but rather a timeline of POEMS and a biography of their poets. The history provided is more the history of the time around the poem's publication, which is most definitely relevant to anyone who isn't practicing New Criticism. I also wish there was more than the Western Canon included.

This book offers a wealth of biographical insight into poets, stretching back beyond Homer, but without getting caught up in the minutiae of full biographies. Rather, it’s more about presenting tidbits of information that help uncover why a given poet’s verse is as it is – both mixing an understanding of where the world was during that poet’s time and what the individual was going through. But that’s not all the book does. It also shows the reader how poetry changed over the centuries, how changes in society influenced poetry, and – sometimes -- how poetry influenced society.

If covering poetry from “The Epic of Gilgamesh” through poets of the 20th century in a book with the word “little” in the title seems impossible, it is. It’s done in this volume by being English language poetry-centric. (Some might prefer to call it Western-centric because it discusses the likes of Ancient Greeks and Romans, as well as some German, French, Russian, and Italian poets, but these discussions are largely in the context of those poets interacting in the larger world of poetry.) That is, while it discusses foreign language poetry, it’s mostly with respect to poetry that influenced (or in some cases was influenced by) English-language poets. This focus is most profoundly seen in the book’s dalliances with Asian poetry, which are few and brusque. The book discusses a few Chinese poets as well as Japanese haiku poets, but explicitly in the context of how they influenced Arthur Waley and Ezra Pound. (Also influencing the minimal mark of Indian and Zen schools of poetry is the fact that the Beat poets were lost from the selection process as well.) The only other noteworthy mention of poetry of Asian origin is about Rabindranath Tagore, mostly because he was a Nobel Laureate and was globally prominent enough to influence poets of the English-speaking world (most of his work was originally in Bengali, though he did a lot of his own translations to English.) 

The previous paragraph is not so much of a criticism as it might sound. It’s clear that any book that opts to take on an artform with as much longevity and universality as poetry in a single compact volume is going to have to be highly selective. However, I wouldn’t want anyone entering into the book thinking they would learn something about where Norse poetry or Hungarian poetry or Arab Ghazals (none of which bears a substantial mention) fit in the broader poetic scheme, and I can see how someone from an African or Asian tradition would come away offended by the lack of acknowledgement of global poetry. In short, what the book does, I felt it does very well, but its title could make people think it’s a different book than it is.  

As a history, the book’s forty chapters are, quite logically, chronologically arranged. However, there are sometimes overlapping time periods because of how poets are thematically grouped. Each chapter shines a light on anywhere from one to about twenty poets (two or three is most common) who were exemplars of the time period. Generally, the chapters describe key details about each poet and his or her place in the art, and then dissects a particularly important work or two from said poet. Except in the case of a few short form pieces, whole poems aren’t presented, but rather illustrative lines or stanzas. (In many cases, I found myself pulling up whole poems on the internet because of curiosity that Carey aroused. Except for a few of the most recent poems, almost all the works discussed are in the public domain, and can be readily accessed.)

I learned a great deal from this book, and I was turned on to some poets that I hadn’t thought much about before by learning of their lives. I’ll definitely be reading more Spender, Wheatley, Auden, and Rossetti. There are many poets I’ve read without any touch of biographical insight beyond a vague notion of when they lived, and so it was interesting to gain an inkling of the world of each. 

If you’re interested in poetry or the history of literature, I’d highly recommend this book. While it is English language-centric, if one approaches it knowing that, I think you’ll find it well worth your time.