The Forward Book of Poetry 2007, launched on National Poetry Day, collects together the judges' highly commended poems from all the submissions considered for this year's Forward Prizes for Poetry awards. The result is a fascinating and varied collection, which takes the nation's poetic pulse. Described by The Daily Telegraph as 'a litmus test for what is being currently written in poetry in the British Isles', the Forward Book of Poetry 2007 is an essential collection for all poetry enthusiasts. Ideal for birthday and Christmas presents, The Forward Book of Poetry 2007 is available from bookshops across the UK. This year the anthology contains poems by the shortlisted poets, including Seamus Heaney, Robin Robertson, Vicki Feaver, Paul Farley, Sean O'Brien, Jacob Polley and new comers Tishani Doshi, Anne Ryland and Ian Gregson. Among the fifty-four poets represented there are also poems by Simon Armitage, John Kinsella, Vona Groake, Peter Reading, Charles Tomlinson, Tobias Hill, Hugo Williams, Jane Duran, W.N.Herbert, Kwame Dawes, Ruth Silcock, Allan Crosbie, Tim Liardet and John Agard.
The Forward Prizes, announced on 4th October 2006, the eve of National Poetry Day, are the UK's most valuable annual awards for contemporary poetry. This year, the prizes celebrate their fifteenth anniversary. They are the only poetry prizes that seek not just to reward the best collections and the best poem of the year, but also to offer a showcase for new work and new talent. Acclaimed poet and novelist, John Burnside is the Chair of this year's judging panel. The poet Moniza Alvi, the literary editor of The Daily Telegraph, Sam Leith, and best-selling novelist Sebastian Faulks join him on the judging panel. They each read over 100 collections and over 100 single poems to reach their decision. Commenting after the judging panel met in July, John Burnside said: "In a year of wide-ranging, diverse poetry, the judges were delighted to find a rich crop of imaginative and formally inventive collections, as well as individual poems which reflect the diversity and power of the small presses and established publications that, over the years, have brought poetry to a wider readership. Our final decision, when it comes, will be difficult, but there is no doubt that our eventual winners will represent the best of British poetry today.
".