David Harsent

In a series of momentary and abruptly discontinuous images, laconic despatches from a warzone, a fictional testimony begins to take shape - an array of different voices giving witness to war and the consequences of war. In its formal mastery of the poetic sequence, Legion is a distinguished successor to David Harsent's previous collection, Marriage.

In an illustrious career, David Harsent has published eight collections of poetry, from A Violent County in 1969 to Legion, winner of the Forward Prize in 2005. This selection, made by the author himself, draws upon the full arc of his career and offers an outstanding concentration of, and introduction to, the full range and powers of this distinguished poet....