First published in 1985,British Poetrypresents a personal and political account of British poetry from 1964 to 1984. Martin booth, himself a poet, poetry publisher, critic and editor, and the participant in poetry readings in Britain and overseas, shows that British poetry underwent a renaissance in the ten years from around 1964: poetry became a major popular art form, shaking off its shackles of elitism and academicism; poetry readings flourished, whether live or on the air and audiences increased; many new poets found willing publishers. He looks at the manner in which British poetry rose, only to fall back into a morbid sleek artiness where he sees it laying today, once again a narrow art for the literary educated and the initiated.

The book aims to reverse this change of direction so that British poetry may once again have the impact it briefly had in its recent heyday. Martin Booth also provides a general guide to the period, with much comment included from those who were involved in the act of keeping British poetry going in those exciting years. He deals with the poets themselves, with the publishing of poetry, and poetry magazines, and his 'non-literary', 'non-academic' approach will appeal to all those who have an interest in modern British verse.