The T. S. Eliot Prize Readers’ Notes series offer introductions to help you access and explore the ten exciting collections on this year’s shortlist. They each include some key poems, biographies of the poets, extracts from reviews and interviews; they also suggest creative writing prompts. Take the notes to your book group or poetry workshop, or respond individually to them in your own time. English teachers – if you’re preparing your students for any Unseen Poem papers, hone their skills on this year’s list. 

To view, download and share the Readers’ Notes, simply click on the links below.

Fiona Benson’s Ephemeron (Cape Poetry)

Jemma Borg’s Wilder (Pavilion/Liverpool University Press)

Victoria Adukwei Bulley’s Quiet (Faber & Faber)

Philip Gross’s The Thirteenth Angel (Bloodaxe Books)

Anthony Joseph’s Sonnets for Albert (Bloomsbury Poetry)

Zaffar Kunial’s England’s Green (Faber & Faber)

Mark Pajak’s Slide (Cape Poetry)

James Conor Patterson’s bandit country (Picador Poetry)

Denise Saul’s The Room Between Us (Pavilion/Liverpool University Press)

Yomi Ṣode’s Manorism (Penguin Poetry)