Trevor McDonald's World of Poetry

Rather than ‘A World of Poetry’, this anthology is called ‘ Trevor McDonald’s World of Poetry ’ and the title along with the blurb on the dustjacket is very revealing about the nature of what is inside. Yes, the selection ‘reflects Trevor McDonald’s own personal taste’ and there are some great classic poems, some beautiful Japanese verses and the significant voices of Walcott, Ratushinskaya and Soyinka; but is McDonald’s ‘encyclopedic knowledge of the world of poetry’ truly representative enough for a book which claims to be ‘an ideal first anthology for anyone between the ages of nine and ninety who wants to explore poetry further’? Where are the contemporary British voices of Charles Causley, Carol Ann Duffy, Simon Armitage, John Agard, Gillian Clarke and Jackie Kay to name but a few? Wendy Cope, Matthew Sweeney and Craig Raine get a look in, and Benjamin Zephaniah stands bravely alone, but apart from that this collection is not representative enough of the world of poetry for a first anthology. Far better to start with A World of Poetry selected by Michael Rosen for Kingfisher in 1991 or Roger McGough’s The Ring of Words and then come to this anthology later.