The ''Phoenix Living Poets'' was a series of slim books of

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

published from 1960 until 1983 by

Chatto and Windus Chatto & Windus is an imprint of Penguin Random House that was formerly an independent book publishing company founded in London in 1855 by John Camden Hotten. Following Hotten's death, the firm would reorganize under the names of his business ...

Ltd. The poets included in the series offer a cross-section of poets of the era, including some notable writers. Generally those writing were not producing the most experimental work of the era but, taken as a whole, the series covers a significant range of voices and styles. The series had its origins in the

Hogarth Press The Hogarth Press is a book publishing Imprint (trade name), imprint of Penguin Random House that was founded as an independent company in 1917 by British authors Leonard Woolf and Virginia Woolf. It was named after their house in London Boro ...

, which was founded in 1917 by

Leonard Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English language, English masculine given name and a surname. The given name and surname originate from the Old High German ''Leonhard'' containing the prefix ''levon'' ("lion") from the Greek wikt:Λέων#Greek, Λ ...

and

Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer and one of the most influential 20th-century modernist authors. She helped to pioneer the use of stream of consciousness narration as a literary device. Vir ...

. In 1946, Hogarth came under the control of Chatto and Windus, and in 1969 Chatto and Windus joined

Jonathan Cape Jonathan Cape is a British publishing firm headquartered in London and founded in 1921 by Herbert Jonathan Cape, who was head of the firm until his death. Cape and his business partner Wren Howard (1893–1968) set up the publishing house in ...

, becoming part of

Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...

in 1987. One of the earliest books in the series was a second impression of Laurie Lee's "The Sun my Monument" originally published by the Hogarth Press in 1944 in its " New Hogarth Library" series and other poets are represented in both series. The Phoenix Living Poets series was started by Chatto & Windus with some continuity of poets from the earlier series and this imprint was maintained throughout the years of publication. Typically the title pages of the Phoenix Living Poets series show both 'Chatto and Windus' and 'The Hogarth Press' together. The series was edited but the editors are not named on the individual volumes. D J Enright was the editor in the early 1980s (at least), according to J. H. Williams in "The Salt."Williams, JH (2007) "The Ship" Cambridge, Salt Some of the covers were designed by

Enid Marx Enid Crystal Dorothy Marx, RDI (20 October 1902 – 18 May 1998), was an English painter and designer, best known for her industrial textile designs for the London Transport Board and the Utility furniture Scheme. Marx was the first female eng ...

,Enid Marx's name is shown on the inner dust jacket flap for the earlier ones she designed (in various colours with the multiple repeated phoenixes) and on the back for the later ones (with the yellow strips) known for her patterned textile and book jacket designs. A typical volume has from 48 to 72 pages.

Authors

* James Aitchison * Alexander Baird * Alan Bold * R H Bowden * Frederick Broadie * Michael Burn *

Philip Callow Philip Kenneth Callow (26 October 1924 – 22 September 2007) was an English novelist known for his autobiographical portrayals of working-class life. During a long career as a writer, he published 16 novels, poetry, and several biographies of ar ...

Hayden Carruth Hayden Carruth (August 3, 1921 – September 29, 2008) was an American poet, literary critic and anthologist. He taught at Syracuse University. Life Hayden Carruth was born in Waterbury, Connecticut and grew up in Woodbury, Connecticut. He grad ...

Robert Conquest George Robert Acworth Conquest (15 July 19173 August 2015) was a British and American historian, poet, novelist, and propagandist. He was briefly a member of the Communist Party of Great Britain but later wrote several books condemning commun ...

* John Cotton * Jennifer Couroucli *

Patric Dickinson Patric Thomas Dickinson (26 December 1914 – 28 January 1994) was a British poet, translator from the Greek and Latin classics, and playwright. He also worked for the BBC, from 1942 to 1948. His verse play ''Theseus and the Minotaur'' was broadca ...

* Tom Earley * D J Enright * Gloria Evans Davies * Irene Fekete * John Fuller * David Gill * Peter Gruffydd * D J Hall * J C Hall * Molly Holden * John Horder * Peter Howe * P J Kavanagh * Richard Kell *

Laurie Lee Laurence Edward Alan Lee, (26 June 1914 – 13 May 1997) was an English poet, novelist and screenwriter, who was brought up in the small village of Slad in Gloucestershire. His most notable work is the autobiographical trilogy '' Cider w ...

* Laurence Lerner *

Christopher Levenson Christopher Levenson (born February 13, 1934, in London, England) is a Canadian poet. Life Levenson was educated at Harrow County Grammar School for Boys and Downing College, Cambridge, where he read English under F.R.Leavis. He later received a ...

Edward Lowbury Edward Joseph Lister Lowbury (12 December 1913 – 10 July 2007) was a pioneering and innovative English medical bacteriologist and pathologist, and also a published poet. Life Edward Lowbury was born in Hampstead to the recently naturalised Benj ...

Norman MacCaig Norman Alexander MacCaig (14 November 1910 – 23 January 1996) was a Scottish poet and teacher. His poetry, in modern English, is known for its humour, simplicity of language and great popularity. Life Norman Alexander MacCaig was born at 15 E ...

* Gordon Mackay Brown *

Roy McFadden Roy McFadden (14 November 1921 – 15 September 1999) was a Northern Irish poet, editor, and lawyer. McFadden's first poem was published before he was thirteen. His earliest influences were from magazines and journals that his Father brought home ...

* Diana McLoghlen *

James Merrill James Ingram Merrill (March 3, 1926 – February 6, 1995) was an American poet. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1977 for '' Divine Comedies.'' His poetry falls into two distinct bodies of work: the polished and formalist lyri ...

* Ruth Miller *

Leslie Norris George Leslie Norris (21 May 1921 – 6 April 2006), was a prize-winning Welsh poet and short story writer. He taught at academic institutions in Britain and the United States, including Brigham Young University. Norris is considered one of ...

* Richard Outram * Robert Pack * Rodney Pybus * Arnold Rattenbury *

Adrienne Rich Adrienne Cecile Rich ( ; May 16, 1929 – March 27, 2012) was an American poet, essayist and feminist. She was called "one of the most widely read and influential poets of the second half of the 20th century", and was credited with bringing "the ...

* Hardiman Scott *

Anne Sexton Anne Sexton (born Anne Gray Harvey; November 9, 1928 – October 4, 1974) was an American poet known for her highly personal, confessional poetry, confessional verse. She won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1967 for her book ''Live or Die (book ...

Jon Silkin Jon Silkin (2 December 1930 – 25 November 1997) was a British poet. He was also the founder of ''Stand'' magazine in 1952. Early life Jon Silkin was born in London, in a Litvak Jewish family; his parents were Joseph Silkin and Doris Rubenste ...

* John Smith *

Jon Stallworthy Jon Howie Stallworthy, (18 January 1935 – 19 November 2014) was a British literary critic and poet. He was Professor of English at the University of Oxford from 1992 to 2000, and Professor Emeritus in retirement. He was also a Fellow of Wolfso ...

* Gillian Stoneham *

Edward Storey Edward Storey (28 February 1930 – 18 November 2018), was an English poet, dramatist and non-fiction writer. He was born at Whittlesey, part of the Isle of Ely in Cambridgeshire. The Fens inspired much of his work. Early career Before becomin ...

* David Sutton * Terence Tiller * Sydney Tremayne *

Jon Manchip White Jon Ewbank Manchip White (22 June 1924''The Independent'' obituary -, 17 September 2013]. Accessed 20 October 2013 – July 31, 2013) was the Welsh American author of more than thirty books of non-fiction and fiction, including ''The Last Rac ...

John Hartley Williams John Hartley Williams (7 February 1942 – 3 May 2014) was an English poet who was born in Cheshire and grew up in London. He studied at the University of Nottingham and later at the University of London. His 2004 poetry book, ''Blues'', was shortl ...

* Lotte Zurndorfer

References

{{Reflist British poetry collections