Spaced Out
Poems chosen by Brian Moses and James Carter (Bloomsbury)

Black holes, stars, moons, planets and aliens – everything and everyone you’d expect turns up in this collection of poems about space. There are no weak pieces in here but there are several particularly good poems. For something a bit different, check out George, Don’t Do That by Bernard Young – in which he entreats the star of It’s A Wonderful Life not to lasso the moon and bring it down for his girlfriend – and gives good scientific reasons. For a laugh, meet Roger Stevens’ Monster Who Ate The Universe. For a sting in the tail, see Space Doubt by Graham Denton. For some lovely poetics, read Stars by Sue Hardy-Dawson. And for an ecological wake-up call, ponder on Brian Moses’ The Aliens, who decide they’ll not bother settling on the polluted, inhospitable planet Earth. And that’s to pick out just a few.
TUC