We're delighted to share Selected Poems by Jacob Polley as our Special Commendation for Autumn 2026 (Picador).
Metamorphosis is central to Jacob Polley's perception: with the lightest touch, sunlight becomes honey, children become owls, and loss is alchemised into objects and animals, love songs and cradle songs. As PBS Selector Fred D'Aguiar writes: "The transfiguring eye of the poet insists on the magic in the everyday. He wants us to re-educate ourselves to see how much surprise resides in what we take for granted."
Spanning two decades and five collections, Selected Poems showcases his full poetic range, and is an ideal entry point for new readers.
"Selected Poems shows Jacob Polley as a consistent harbinger of the lyric as a vessel of resonant truth ... Polley’s language cuts back to the bare bones of things."
— Fred D'Aguiar
Order Selected Poems here, with 25% off for PBS members.