The Faber Book of Vernacular Verse

The Faber book of Vernacular Verse, edited by Tom Paulin, speaks for an alternative tradition - one that finds its outlet in work songs and street cries, nursery jingles, graffiti, lyrics of suffering or celebration, charms and chants, and far more fascinating and neglected poetry.

Mixing poems by known authors with anonymous material - work songs and street cries, nursery jingles, graffiti, lyrics of suffering and celebration, charms and chants - Tom Paulin's anthology speaks for an alternative tradition, one that nimbly and defiantly opposes the 'Parnassian official order' which still dominates our culture.Mixing poems by known authors with anonymous material - work songs and street cries, nursery jingles, graffiti, lyrics of suffering and celebration, charms and chants - Tom Paulin's anthology speaks for an alternative tradition, one that nimbly and defiantly opposes the 'Parnassian official order' which still dominates our culture.