'This book is a living, guiding, singing thing... I will cherish it and revisit it as long as I live' Max Porter
'One of the finest living poets writing in English' Raymond Antrobus
A daring, genre-defying work of non-fiction from one of our greatest poets
Alice Oswald goes in search of poetry in its original, wildest form - before it was written down, before it belonged to a single voice - and finds it still speaking all around us.
What begins as an attempt to 'interview' Homer becomes a thrilling exploration of an anonymous tradition that exists beyond authorship, spanning a world of singers, storytellers, mourners and listeners, of nightingales, grasshoppers and rivers.
Zigzagging through ballads, riddles, pibrochs, drama, interviews, artificial intelligence and sonnets, Rhapsody is a restless, miraculous exploration of poetry in its most vital form, and a resounding manifesto for the oral tradition.
At once intimate and expansive, Oswald invites us to listen to the voices that shape us, and to recognise poetry not as a solitary, written art, but as a communal, essential human inheritance.
| ISBN: | 9781787332218 |
| Publication date: | 17th September 2026 |
| Author: | Alice Oswald |
| Publisher: | Jonathan Cape an imprint of Vintage Publishing |
| Format: | Hardback |
| Pagination: | 272 pages |
| Genres: |
Literary studies: poetry and poets Literary studies: ancient, classical and medieval Ancient Greek and Roman literature |
'This book is a living, guiding, singing thing... I will cherish it and revisit it as long as I live' Max Porter'One of the finest living poets writing in English' Raymond AntrobusA daring, genre-defying work of non-fiction from one of our greatest poetsAlice Oswald goes in search of poetry in its original, wildest form - before it was written down, before it belonged to a single voice - and finds it still speaking all around us.What begins as an attempt to 'interview' Homer becomes a thrilling exploration of an anonymous tradition that exists beyond authorship, spanning a world of singers, storytellers, mourners and listeners, of nightingales, grasshoppers and rivers.Zigzagging through ballads, riddles, pibrochs, drama, interviews, artificial intelligence and sonnets, Rhapsody is a restless, miraculous exploration of poetry in its most vital form, and a resounding manifesto for the oral tradition.At once intimate and expansive, Oswald invites us to listen to the voices that shape us, and to recognise poetry not as a solitary, written art, but as a communal, essential human inheritance.
Rhapsody features in the following genres: Literary studies: poetry and poets, Literary studies: ancient, classical and medieval, Ancient Greek and Roman literature
Hardback. £18.00, down from the £20.00 cover price. In Stock.
Rhapsody was written by Alice Oswald and published by Jonathan Cape an imprint of Vintage Publishing
Rhapsody has 272 pages
£18.00, reduced from £20.00. In Stock.