Selected Poems

Don't listen to what they said.

What was written in blood

Has been set up in lead.

—from "Blood and Lead"

The leading poet of his generation, James Fenton has over the course of his career built a body of work breathtaking in its range and sensibility. From the passionate political poems that launched him into fame to the intimate illuminations of love—and loss of love—in his later work, Fenton's poetry has always been marked by formal daring, wit, and an abiding empathy...