Book of Matches

Book of Matches
Author	Simon Armitage
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Subject	Poetry
Publisher	Faber and Faber
Publication date	11 October 1993
Pages	64pp
ISBN	0-571-16982-1
Dewey Decimal	821/.914 20
LC Class	PR6051.R564 B66 1993
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Book of Matches is a poetry book written by Simon Armitage, first published in 1993 by Faber and Faber.^[1] Several poems featured in the book are studied as part of the GCSE English Literature examination in the UK.^[2]

The book is written in three sections, the first (Book of Matches) containing 30 short sonnets. Each is meant to be read within 20 seconds, the amount of time it would take for a match to be lit and burn out. The second, Becoming of Age, contains 14 titled poems, with the third, Reading the Banns, containing a collection of untitled poems based upon a wedding theme.

Critical reception for Book of Matches was mostly positive,^[3] Ronald Carter calling it Armitage's "most distinctive volume".^[4] The Independent stated that it was a "fine collection" and noted that Armitage's persona had changed in the collection's tone.^[5]

References[]

^ Mcguiness, Daniel (Winter 1995). "Book of Matches". The Antioch Review. 53 (1): 120. doi:10.2307/4613107. JSTOR 4613107. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
^ "Simon Armitage - study guide". Teach It. Archived from the original on 27 April 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
^ London Magazine, Volume 34, Issues 1-6. London Magazine. 1994. p. 131. ISBN 9780952047117.
^ Carter, Ronald (2001). The Routledge History of Literature in English: Britain and Ireland. Routledge. p. 404. ISBN 0415243173.
^ Barker, Elspeth (7 November 1993). "BOOK REVIEW / Northern lad grows up: Book of matches by Simon Armitage, Faber pounds 5.99". London: Independent. Retrieved 13 February 2013.

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[1] Mcguiness, Daniel (Winter 1995). "Book of Matches". The Antioch Review. 53 (1): 120. doi:10.2307/4613107. JSTOR 4613107. Retrieved 13 February 2013.

[2] "Simon Armitage - study guide". Teach It. Archived from the original on 27 April 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2013.

[3] London Magazine, Volume 34, Issues 1-6. London Magazine. 1994. p. 131. ISBN 9780952047117.

[4] Carter, Ronald (2001). The Routledge History of Literature in English: Britain and Ireland. Routledge. p. 404. ISBN 0415243173.

[5] Barker, Elspeth (7 November 1993). "BOOK REVIEW / Northern lad grows up: Book of matches by Simon Armitage, Faber pounds 5.99". London: Independent. Retrieved 13 February 2013.

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v t Simon Armitage
Poetry collections	Book of Matches CloudCuckooLand The Dead Sea Poems Flit Kid Killing Time The Not Dead Out of the Blue Paper Aeroplanes Remains Sandettie Light Vessel Automatic Seeing Stars Selected Poems The Shout: Selected Poems Stanza Stones Still - A Poetic Response to Photographs of the Somme Battlefield Travelling Songs Tyrannosaurus Rex Versus The Corduroy Kid The Unaccompanied The Universal Home Doctor Xanadu Zoom!
Translations and edited works	The Death of King Arthur Homer's Odyssey The Penguin Book of Poetry from Britain and Ireland since 1945 Penguin Modern Poets BK.5 The Poetry of Birds Short and Sweet: 101 Very Short Poems Sir Gawain and The Green Knight Ted Hughes Poems: Selected by Simon Armitage
Pamphlets	The Anaesthetist Around Robinson Considering the Poppy Distance Between Stars Five Eleven Ninety Nine Human Geography In Memory of Water Machinery of Grace: A Tribute to Michael Donaghy The Motorway Service Station as a Destination in its Own Right The North Star The Walking Horses Waymarkings
Books	All Points North Eclipse Gig: The Life and Times of a Rock-star Fantasist Jerusalem King Arthur in the East Riding Little Green Man Mister Heracles After Euripides Moon Country The Twilight Readings Walking Away : Further Travels with a Troubadour on the South West Coast Path Walking Home: Travels with a Troubadour on the Pennine Way The White Stuff