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Selected Poems
Selected Poems
Nov 24, 2025 9:33 PM

Author:Linton Kwesi Johnson

Selected Poems

Now including an afterword and new poems by the author and an introduction by Gary Younge

Pioneering poet Linton Kwesi Johnson has revolutionized English literature with his electrifying fusion of oral verse, Jamaican speech, radical politics and reggae rhythms. This new edition of a vital selection of poems covers over four decades and includes classic early poems such as 'Inglan is a Bitch', 'New Craas Massakah' and 'Sonny's Lettah', as well as compelling recent work.

'Linton Kwesi Johnson's impact on the cultural landscape over the last half-century has been colossal and multi-generational . . . His political ferocity and his tireless scrutiny of history are truly Pinteresque, as is the humour with which he pursues them' Guardian

'A warrior wordsmith whose couplets take no prisoners' The Times

'Linton Kwesi Johnson's body of work - the sheer length, breadth, depth, politics, performance, rhyme and reason of it - bears witness to a lifetime of lending lyrical form to a condition that Britain has proved unable or unwilling (or both) to name' Gary Younge

Reviews

Linton's rhymes speak for our time

—— Voice

Brilliant . . . the alternative poet-laureate

—— Time Out

A warrior wordsmith whose couplets take no prisoners

—— The Times

Let us sing and dance to the expression of the age-old ideals with LKJ

—— Fred D'Aguiar

Witty, playful, and incorrigibly erudite, Eco clearly had fun writing this book. There is much to enjoy

—— Daily Mail

Another great exhilaration from Eco. Eye-poppingly fascinating

—— Guardian

Perhaps the most intellectual novelist in Europe today. A highly idiosyncratic by engrossing novel

—— Herald

Profound and moving. A wonderful entertainer

—— Scotsman

Engaging

—— Sunday Times

The opening is delightful, the sort of stuff that has readers rubbing their hands in anticipation...it is good to see Eco recapture something of his former glories, bouncing ideas of his readers with characteristic zest

—— Sunday Telegraph

Stimulating

—— Big Issue
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