Poetry

You can read poems by Tristram online at The White Review, PN Review, And Other Poems & The TLS.

Before We Go Any Further

The full-length debut collection from ‘one of the most interesting poets and thinkers about poetry of his generation’ (Shane McCrae). Read more

Reviews:

‘A debut packed full of surprises’ The Guardian

‘Astute, witty and memorable poems for our time.’ The Telegraph

‘This is very good. Very, very good.’ Buzz Magazine

‘Tristram Fane Saunders is a joyfully idiosyncratic new voice in contemporary poetry; cultured, wry, formally adept, and adroitly musical. But what I love most is the deep compassion beneath the play. Many of these poems seek remedy for their suffering beloveds, only to be openly frustrated by their own limitations. These moments of radical kindness and vulnerability completely floored me, and make this a collection to cherish.’
Fiona Benson

The Rake

These sly, untrustworthy poems tell the story of a nameless, ageless dandy – his decline and well-deserved fall. Read more

Reviews:

‘Whichever page you turn to, its poem is light-footed and a delight to read aloud’ The Friday Poem

‘So seductive, it can be enjoyed over and over. With each reading, this pamphlet delivers new delights’ Sphinx Review

‘Heartfelt in its tricks and uneasy in its own assurance, The Rake shows Tristram Fane Saunders coming into his own as a poet, negotiating love and loss with the terrible joy of finding just the right analogy, a painfully sincere sleight of hand. The linguistic ingenuity, the sheer physicality of the words and depth of allusion make this an unmissable collection.’
Luke Kennard

Woodsong

Woodsong reinvents the medieval epic The Madness of Sweeney in slant lyrics about loneliness, companionship and what keeps a myth alive.

Review:

‘I could call parts of it “pastiche” but that’s too narrow a description: pastiche doesn’t cover the pitch-perfect ear for re-invention of poets from the twelve-century onwards. It doesn’t cover the sheer wicked fun of it.’ Sphinx Review

New Poetries VIII

The latest in Carcanet’s anthology series presenting work by two dozen poets writing in English from around the world. (Includes poems by Tristram Fane Saunders, Holly Hopkins, Jason Allen-Paisant, Colm Tóibín & others.)

Review:

‘I would single out Tristram Fane Saunders. The metrical imagination on display in his work is really quite something.’ Poetry Birmingham

Postcards from Sulpicia

Translations of poems by Ancient Rome’s only extant female poet, with illustrations by Lucy Reis.

Review:

‘Fane Saunders has teased out the strangeness of the originals and taken the poems 2,100 years forward to place them undamaged before us. It makes this elegant pamphlet, a most rewarding experience, as well as the demonstration of a model of how to best approach translation.’ Scotland’s Bookshelf