Collected Poems

Anne Stevenson (1933-2020) was born in England of American parents, and grew up in the US. She settled in Britain in 1964, living in Cambridge, Scotland, Oxford, the Welsh Borders, and latterly in North Wales and Durham. Her many awards included a $200,000 Lannan Lifetime Achievement Award for Poetry and the Neglected Masters Award from the Poetry Foundation of Chicago. As well as many poetry collections, she published a biography of Sylvia Plath (1989), two books of essays, Between the Iceberg and the Ship (1998) and About Poems and how poems are not about (Bloodaxe, 2017), and two critical studies of Elizabeth Bishop’s work, most recently Five Looks at Elizabeth Bishop (Bloodaxe, 2006). Her Collected Poems (Bloodaxe, 2023) supersedes Poems 1955-2005 (2005), with the addition of poems from her final three collections, Stone Milk (2007), Astonishment (2012) and Completing the Circle (2020).

• 17 Note on the text20 Source textsfrom Living in America (1965)23 The Traveller24 The Women24 To My Daughter in a Red Coat25 Living in America26 Harvard26 Fairy Tale27 In Winter28 Love29 The Garden of Intellect30 Dreaming of Immortality in a Thatched Hut30 Two Quatrains31 Still Life in Utah31 Nightmare in North Carolina32 Nuns32 Ann Arbor (A Profile)34 In March34 After Her Death35 Apology35 The Dear Ladies of Cincinnati37 Opera Piece37 Sierra Nevada39 The Grey Landfrom Reversals (1970)43 ‘Birth’44 Reversals44 Aubade45 Sous-entendu45 On Not Being Able to Look at the Moon46 Two Love Poems47 In the House49 The Spirit Is Too Blunt an Instrument49 Stabilities50 The Victory50 The Suburb51 The Loss52 New York52 The Watchers53 The Takeover54 The Unhappened55 Morning55 One Sunday56 England58 Fen People58 In Middle England60 The Return60 The Mother61 A River62 American Rhetoric for Scotlandfrom Travelling Behind Glass: Selected Poems (1974)67 Siskin68 Generations69 At Thirteen70 Coming Back to Cambridge72 Theme with Variations73 Five Poems of Innocence and Experience73 The Crush73 The Marriage73 The Affair73 The Demolition75 Old Scholars76 Travelling Behind Glass82 On the Edge of the IslandCorrespondences (1974)83 Correspondences: A Family History in Lettersfrom Enough of Green (1977)155 To Write It155 The Sun Appears in November156 North Sea off Carnoustie157 The Exhibition158 East Coast158 Fire and the Tide158 Summer159 The Bench159 Boating Pool at Night159 Winter Flowers159 The Lighthouse160 Night Wind, Dundee160 Aberdeen161 The Mudtower162 Path162 With My Sons at Boarhills164 By the Boat House, Oxford164 Ruin165 Posted165 Wanted166 Drought166 Ragwort166 The Minister167 The Doctor168 Enough of Green169 A Summer Place170 People Around171 Early Rain171 Respectable House172 Meniscus172 Resurrection173 The Sirens Are Virtuous175 In the Orchard175 Cain176 Temporarily in Oxford177 The Price177 Thales and Li Po178 After the End of Itfrom Minute by Glass Minute (1982)181 If I Could Paint Essences182 Buzzard and Alder182 Burnished (A Riddle)183 Swifts184 The Three185 The Garden186 Himalayan Balsam187 At Kilpeck Church189 Walking Early by the Wye190 After the Fall190 Whose Goat?191 Giving Rabbit to My Cat Bonnie192 The Fish Are All Sick193 Pennine193 Ah Babel194 From the Men of Letters195 Small Philosophical Poem196 He and It (A Pathetic Fantasy)197 The Figure in the Carpet198 About Crying198 Poem for a Daughter199 The Holly and the Ivy200 Transparencies202 Lockkeeper’s Island204 Earth Station205 The Man in the Wind206 Sonnets for Five Seasons206 This House206 Complaint207 Between207 Statis208 The Circlefrom The Fiction-Makers (1985)211 From an Unfinished Poem211 The Fiction-Makers212 Making Poetry213 Waving to Elizabeth214 Re-reading Jane215 The Blue Pool216 Shale217 A Dream of Stones218 Where the Animals Go219 Musician’s Widow219 Gannets Diving220 Ailanthus with Ghosts221 Two Poems for Frances Horovitz221 Red Rock Fault222 Willow Song224 Demolition225 A Prayer to Live with Real People226 Forgotten of the Foot228 Signs229 In the Tunnel of Summers230 Gales230 Spring Song231 On Watching a Cold Woman Wade into a Cold Sea232 Household Gods233 November233 Claude Glass234 Epitaph for a Good Mouser234 Divorcing234 Hands236 Dreaming of the Deadfrom Winter Time (1986)239 Jarrow241 From the Primrose Path242 This243 A Love Sequence244 The Morden Angel245 Naming the Flowersfrom The Other House (1990)249 In the Nursery249 The Other House251 Talking Sense to My Senses251 Elegy253 What I Miss253 Inverkirkaig254 Icon255 Journal Entry: Impromptu in C Minor257 North Easter: April, 1986258 Night Walking with Shadows259 Night Thoughts and False Confessions260 And even then260 Call them Poppies261 ‘All Canal Boat Cruises Start Here262 Inquit Deus263 From the Motorway264 Stone Fig265 Cramond266 Celebrity267 Eros268 Three Poems for Sylvia Plath268 Nightmares, Daymoths269 Letter to Sylvia Plath272 Hot Wind, Hard Rain272 Seven Poems after Francis Bacon272 1 Study for a Portrait on a Folding Bed273 2 Study of a Dog274 3 Three Figures and Portrait274 4 Seated Figure275 5 Portrait of a Lady276 6 Triptych276 7 Study for a Portrait of Van Gogh277 Journal Entry: Ward’s Island279 Little Paul and the Sea280 Calendarfrom Four and a Half Dancing Men (1993)283 Salter’s Gate284 From My Study290 Cold291 Brueghel’s Snow292 Four and a Half Dancing Men293 Washing the Clocks294 Negatives296 The Professor’s Tale297 Hans Memling’s Sibylla Sambetha (1480)297 Politesse299 A Quest300 Trinity at Low Tide301 Visits to the Cemetery of the Long Alive301 Hadrian’s301 A Sepia Garden304 Bloody Bloody306 Black Hole307 Lost307 A Tricksy June308 To witness pain is a different form of pain309 Binoculars in Ardudwy310 When the camel is dust it goes through the needle’s eye311 Painting It In312 Late313 Terrorist314 Two Poems for John Cole and One for Annabel Cole314 Dinghy315 Cambrian316 After You Leftfrom The Collected Poems 1955-1995 (1996)318 Occasional verses318 The Parson and the Romany319 Ballad of the Made Maidfrom Granny Scarecrow (2000)I323 Vertigo323 Innocence and Experience324 The White Room325 A Surprise on the First Day of School326 Going Back328 John Keats, 1821–1950329 Arioso Dolente331 ‘Love Stories and a Bed of Sand’II332 Moonrise332 Clydie is dead!334 Incident334 Suicide335 Skills336 An Angel338 Granny Scarecrow339 Freeing Lizzie341 Phoenicurus phoenicurus342 Pity the Birds343 Comet344 The Wrekin346 False Flowers347 Kosovo Surprised by Mozart348 Leaving349 Old Wife’s Tale349 On Going Deaf350 A Luxury352 Oysters353 To witness pain is a different form of pain353 The Theologian’s Confession354 Whistler’s Gentleman by the SeaIII355 A Parable for Norman357 Poem for Harry Fainlight358 Invocation and Interruption360 A Present361 The Name of the Worm363 The Miracle of Camp 60366 A Ballad for Apothecaries370 Postscriptumfrom A Report from the Border (2003)373 Who’s Joking with the Photographer?374 The Writer in the Corner375 Washing My Hair376 Two Poems for Nerys Johnson376 Portrait of the Artist in an Orthopaedic Halo Crowned with Flowers376 Passing Her House378 Red Hot Sex379 Haunted380 Passifloraceae380 A Marriage381 Hearing with My Fingers382 At the Grave of Ezra Pound383 Skin Deep384 Cashpoint Charlie385 A Hot Night in New York385 New York Is Crying387 A Cradle of Fist388 Clovenhoof ’s-bane388 A Report from the Border389 Branch Line390 A Tourists’ Guide to the Fens391 Carol of the Birds392 To Phoebe393 Questionable393 Prophylactic Sonnets395 The InnSome Poems from Cwm Nantcol396 The Wind, the Sun and the Moon396 The Unaccommodated397 Under Moelfre398 Why Take Against Mythology? (1)398 Why Take Against Mythology? (2)399 Attacking the Waterfall400 Spring Poem401 Without Me402 May Bluebells, Coed Aber Artro403 Green Mountain, Black Mountainfrom Poems 1955-2005 (2005)412 A Riddle for Peter Scupham412 In the Weather of Deciduous Souls413 An Impenitent Ghost413 Fool’s Gold414 17.14 Out of Newcastle415 It looks so simple from a distance…416 Four Grim Fairy Tales416 1 Rapunzel416 2 Sleeping Beauty417 3 Was Cinderella Ever Happy?417 4 If Wishes Were Fishes418 Christmas Comfort and the Green Man421 Toy419 As I Lay Sleeping420 Killing Spiders420 Melon meaning melon421 Toy422 Variations on a Line by Peter Redgrovefrom Stone Milk (2007)424 Prelude from Piers Plowman425 A Lament for the Makers447 Near the End of a Day448 Stone Milk449 Before Eden451 The Enigma452 Waving Goodbye452 Orcop453 Inheriting My Grandmother’s Nightmare454 An Even Shorter History of Nearly Everything456 Jet Lag456 City Lights456 Beach Kites458 The Blackbird at Pwllymarchfrom Astonishment (2012)I461 The Loom462 Constable Clouds and a Kestrel’s Feather463 Bird in Hand464 Teaching My Sons to Swim in Walden Pond467 Night Thoughts468 Paper470 On Line472 An Exchange in the Time BankII Sonnets and Variations473 It’s astonishing473 Doppler474 After the Funeral474 Elegy: In Coherent Light475 The Miracle of the Bees and the Foxgloves475 The Master and His Cast476 Not a Hook, Not a Shelf, Maybe a Song?476 How it is477 The Voice477 Caring More Than Caring478 Carols in King’sIII Ardudwy479 ‘Wind from the North…’480 Night Snow480 Thaw481 Spring Diary481 Arrival Dream481 Snow Squalls481 North Easter482 A Clearer Memory482 Then like a present483 On Harlech Beach484 Drench484 On Reflection485 October Song485 Goat Cull in Cwm Nancol486 Roses in DecemberIV487 Photographing Change488 In the Museum of Floating Bodies and Flammable Souls488 All Those Attempts in the Changing Room490 Tulips492 The Password493 Five Poems in Memory of a Marriage493 A Match493 After Words493 Hotel New Year494 Epitaph for a Hedonist494 A Visit496 Demeter and Her Daughter500 Spring Again500 Notesfrom Completing the Circle (2020)507 Preface511 Saying the WorldI512 Anaesthesia512 Poppy Day514 Sandi Russell Sings515 Defeating the Gloom Monster517 A Dream of Guilt518 Improvisation519 Completing the Circle520 Ann Arbor Days521 The Day522 Choose to be a RainbowII523 How Poems Arrive524 Dover Beach Reconsidered525 The Bully Thrush526 Winter Idyll from My Back Window527 Goodbye & Cheers527 Shared528 Voice Over528 Candles529 A Compensation of Sorts530 After Wittgenstein531 Now We Are 80534 An Old Poet’s View from the Departure PlatformIII535 As the Past Passes535 The Gift Bowl538 Pronunciation543 At 85544 NotesAppendices546 Index of titles and first lines557 Selected bibliography559 Biographical note

Stevenson’s accomplishments as a poet are nothing short of vast. Her work is by turns tender-hearted, funny, argumentative and lyrical. Her sense of place is exquisitely refined, and place in her poems becomes a moral stance, a place to stand and regard the world.