‘her Collected Poems … speaks to pressing contemporary questions of female subjectivity, ageing, artistic production and relevance. Her poetry is guided by determination, care of craft, and a largely concealed emotional dynamism, which occasionally breaks through the calm surface of her verse, revealing a woman unable to settle or be satisfied.’ – Hannah Voss, The Times Literary Supplement
"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." — Jay Parini, The Guardian, paying tribute to Anne Stevenson
‘It’s a fine memorial to Stevenson (1933-2020), a poet whose intense, delighted response to the natural world continues to enrich our “travelling senses”.’ – Carol Rumens, Poem of the Week, The Guardian, on ‘In the Tunnel of Summers’ from Collected Poems
‘This volume serves both as an excellent introduction for those inexplicably not familiar with her poetry and a welcome compilation to dip in and return to for those who do know her work.’ – Emma Lee, London Grip
‘She’ll rightly be regarded as one of the major poets of our period. Her poems, written over decades, were rich in philosophy and humanity.’ – George Szirtes on Anne Stevenson, quoted on BBC Radio 3's The Verb
'Her meticulously crafted poetry was elegiac, witty, passionate and sharply visual.' – The Telegraph, paying tribute to Anne Stevenson
‘Her poems are remarkable for her penetrating questioning of the way we see things and her interpretation of the world around us.’ – Alan Taylor, The Herald (Scotland), paying tribute to Anne Stevenson
'Fifty years of powerful verse from one of Britain's major poets.' – Independent on Sunday
‘While Anne Stevenson is most certainly, and rightly, regarded as one of the major poets of our period, it has never been by virtue of this or that much anthologised poem, but by the work or mind as a whole. It is not so much a matter of the odd lightning-struck tree as of an entire landscape, and that landscape is always humane, intelligent and sane, composed of both natural and rational elements, and amply furnished with patches of wit and fury, which only serve to bring out the humanity.’ – George Szirtes, London Magazine
‘Her knowledge of botany, ornithology and other natural sciences is impressive, but her talent is for fusing the disciplines into an honest and humane account of our world, and expressing this through rhythm and form…She is wise without portentousness, her technique faultless and her imagination fiery, political and fresh.’ – Carol Rumens, The Independent [on A Report from the Border]
‘The comprehensive and expertly curated new Collected Poems by the late Anne Stevenson is wonderful reading experience that shows the incredible range and quality of her life’s work as poet.’ – Will Mackie, New Writing North (New & recent poetry from the North)
'There is an intense musicality that runs throughout her poetry, with tunes and rhythms emerging as you read. You can get lost in the experience as the poems are read aloud... In Stevenson’s poetry, observations became one with music, entering into a playfully evasive dance. Collected Poems is both a celebration of a life’s work and an entry point to new readers who want to experience a poet’s life through their poems.' - Rory Clarkson, READ (Research in English At Durham)
‘Across the collection, Stevenson’s poems appear as unforgettable vignettes that emphasise, in her words, “the craft, coherence and architecture” of her oeuvre. Poems like ‘The Women’ and ‘To My Daughter in a Red Coat’ are poignantly stratified explorations of the self in conversation with the natural world: a theme that is part of Stevenson’s enduring legacy and bears testament to the formal range of her writing. This is a key volume for anyone interested in modern British women’s poetry.' - Shalini Sengupta, Poetry Book Society Bulletin, Spring 2023
