Lindsey Hilsum shares her favourite books of poetry
The journalist and author shares works by James Fenton, Sharon Olds and more

Channel 4 News's international editor chooses her favourite books of poetry. She will present her book "I Brought the War with Me" at the London Literature Festival on 26 October.
Selected Poems
James Fenton, 2006
I always carry a book of poetry on my travels, and this is the most battered one. As a former foreign correspondent, Fenton has had experiences similar to my own, but poetry provides a more allusive, emotional language than journalism. "Wind", in which he evokes the mass movement of people as the wind in a field of corn, is one of the poems in my new memoir-cum-anthology that I like the best.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Iraqi Nights
Dunya Mikhail, 2014
This Iraqi poet conveys the pity of war, marrying the terrifying with the everyday. We often associate war poetry with the First World War's soldier poets, but women have also written war poetry, notably from contemporary conflicts where civilians are the main victims.
Stag's Leap
Sharon Olds, 2012
I recommend this to anyone going through a break-up. In some poems, Olds’s divorce sounds like a civil war – but one that ends in peace and acceptance.
Available on The Week Bookshop
Forest of Noise
Mosab Abu Toha, 2024
This collection by a Gazan poet – written since the Israeli assault started last year – is full of fury and longing, an emblem of the richness of Palestinian culture.
Available on The Week Bookshop
Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head
Warsan Shire, 2022
Since writing the line "No one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark", Shire has become one of the most celebrated poets of exile. She harnesses Somali oral tradition to Western pop culture. The result is a series of mesmerising poems about the experience of women and girls.
Available on The Week Bookshop
Selected Poems
W.H Auden, 1979
In the end, I always go back to Auden. He is the perfect poet for those of us who are absorbed in the history of our times, but who sometimes need to retreat into the personal.
Available on The Week Bookshop
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Today's political cartoons - March 30, 2025
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - strawberry fields forever, secret files, and more
By The Week US Published
-
5 hilariously sparse cartoons about further DOGE cuts
Cartoons Artists take on free audits, report cards, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Following the Tea Horse Road in China
The Week Recommends This network of roads and trails served as vital trading routes
By The Week UK Published
-
Following the Tea Horse Road in China
The Week Recommends This network of roads and trails served as vital trading routes
By The Week UK Published
-
Roast lamb shoulder with ginger and fresh turmeric recipe
The Week Recommends Succulent and tender and falls off the bone with ease
By The Week UK Published
-
Adolescence and the toxic online world: what's the solution?
Talking Point The hit Netflix show is a window into the manosphere, red pills and incels
By The Week Staff Published
-
6 welcoming recipes for cooking and baking during your spring days
The Week Recommends You want it flavorful, and you want it exciting
By Scott Hocker, The Week US Published
-
Snow White: Disney's 'earnest effort to meet an impossible brief'
Talking Point Live-action remake of Disney classic is not the disaster it could have been – but where's the personality?
By The Week UK Published
-
Don McCullin picks his favourite books
The Week Recommends The photojournalist shares works by Daniel Defoe, Lesley Blanch and Roland Philipps
By The Week UK Published
-
6 breathtaking homes in capital cities
Feature Featuring a glass conservatory in Atlanta and a loft library in Boston
By The Week US Published
-
Spring's best new cookbooks, from pizza to pastries
The Week Recommends Pizza, an array of brownies and Cantonese-American mash-ups are on the menu
By Scott Hocker, The Week US Published