A Chorus of Ears: On 'the voice of the poem'

‘One of the most eloquent thinkers about our life in language’ – The Sunday Times

A Chorus of Ears is a series of essays on voice, lyric and the persona of the poet from one of our greatest living English poets. Denise Riley contemplates how a poet's public persona can hold more significance than their actual poetry in the modern literary world. She reflects on how prize culture can transform criticism into a beauty contest, and limit our ability to meet the lyric on its own terms.

What might...