Complete Poems

R.F. Langley is known for his meticulous observation of the natural world and his highly original voice. This volume brings together his two previous Carcanet collections, Collected Poems (2000) and The Face of It (2007), along with his celebrated but uncollected late poems, including ‘To a Nightingale’, which won the 2011 Forward Prize for Best Individual Poem. The book includes a biographical introduction and a rare note by the poet on his own compositional practice. Langley kept a careful record of the reading and writing which inspired his poems; this edition is fully annotated with these sources, making it an invaluable guide for readers wanting to explore the visionary imagination of this master craftsman.

"The quality of Langley’s writing is extraordinary. On first reading I found myself bolt upright, the book falling from my hands as his poetry tore through me." —Randolph Healey, Irish poet

R.F. Langley was born in Rugby in 1938. He was educated at Jesus College, Cambridge and went on to teach English and Art History in secondary schools. He has published pamphlets and his work has appeared in many journals and anthologies, most recently The Harvill Book of Twentieth-Century Poetry in English. He died in 2011. He was posthumously awarded the 2011 Forward Prize for Best Single Poem, for 'To a Nightingale'. Jeremy Noel-Tod studied at New College, Oxford and now teaches at the University of East Anglia. In 2004, he founded Landfill, a poetry pamphlet press, and became an Associate Editor of Eggbox Publishing. He regularly reviews for the Times Literary Supplement and the Daily Telegraph.