New English titles now available to order!

We’re excited to announce that our new range of Leaving Cert English titles have arrived from the printer and are ready to go! Our shiny new edition of Hamlet, as well as the 2017 higher and ordinary level editions of This Is Poetry, are making their way to all good bookshops and can also be ordered directly from our website.

Hamlet has been completely revamped from our first edition in 2009. As well as the fully annotated text of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedy, the book is packed full of exercises and essays on characters, themes, language and imagery. The gorgeous new design presents the information in a clear and accessible manner:

This Is Poetry: Higher Level 2017 has also been totally redesigned from the 2016 edition. This time around, we have a renewed focus on the thematic threads and stylistic features of each poet’s work, plus exercises, glossaries and essays, all beautifully presented in this 450+ page book.

As for This Is Poetry: Ordinary Level 2017, we’ve built on last year’s revised edition, with an extensive new sample answers section and the same stunning design. Just look at this spread accompanying the Joseph Woods poem, ‘Letting the Cat Out of the Bag’:

We’re delighted with our new suite of books, and we hope you enjoy them too!

Coming soon …

        

 This week we finalised proofs for our new suite of Leaving Cert poetry books: This Is Poetry: Higher Level 2017 and This Is Poetry: Ordinary Level 2017. Both books will be available to order from 1 April.

We’re thrilled with both books. As with previous editions, the new books contain:

• The full texts of all poems prescribed for the 2017 Leaving Cert
• Exercises that encourage students to develop a personal response
• Detailed and accessible notes for every poem
• Thematic overview of each poet’s work
• Glossary of poetry terms and ideas

We’re especially thrilled about the new Higher Level edition, which is completely redesigned with a new look and feel: younger, fresher and more contemporary. The use of textboxes and capsules makes presentation clearer and more eye-catching than ever before. Just check out these page spreads:

But it’s not just the vibrant new design we’re excited about. The content has also been overhauled, with renewed focus on each poet, tracking the thematic threads that run through each poet’s work and linking the poems in light of each poet’s obsessions and concerns. There’s also a new emphasis on the recurring features of each poet’s style and the development of their technique over the course of their careers.

Meanwhile, This Is Poetry: Ordinary Level 2017 builds on last year’s redesigned book. The content has been fully updated and features an expanded sample answers section for both prescribed and unseen poetry.

Watch this space for more news on forthcoming titles!

They’re here!

We don’t want to blow our own trumpet, but we’re pretty pleased with the latest additions to the Forum shelf: This Is Poetry Higher Level 2016, This Is Poetry Ordinary Level 2016, King Lear and Expression. They arrived fresh from the printers in the past few days and we must admit that we’re besotted with these gems.

We put a lot of work into them, after all. We mulled over every question and exercise, every solioquy and stanza. Now, as we flip through these crisp pages and breathe in the lovely ‘new book smell’ we know it was worth the effort.

The first thing you might notice about the 2016 Higher Level poetry book is its glossy new cover design. We think it’s rather beautiful, but don’t worry, it still packs 430+ pages of high-powered poetry goodness. This includes all of the poems for the Higher Level 2016 course, an array of thought-provoking questions and some 260 pages’ worth of analysis, poet biographies, sample answers and revision guides.

We pulled out all the stops for the Ordinary Level 2016 anthology too. We’ve totally revised and improved this book and it’s now – literally – twice the book it once was. As well as updating the notes, we’ve packed it with heaps of new pre-reading, comprehension, analytical and post-reading questions and exercises. Our thorough and accessible approach to poetry will help students of all abilities tackle literary masterpieces from likes of Yeats, Eliot, Plath and Dickinson.

Like its Higher Level sibling, the Ordinary Level 2016 textbook has been transformed. The visually appealing design of this book beautifully complements the poetry within and will inspire readers to see poetry in the creative light it deserves!

If Shakespeare is your biggest challenge then fear not, we’ve got your back. Our revised second edition of Shakespeare’s famous tragedy King Lear will stand you in good stead. In this updated version, we chart, scene-by-scene, the development of every character, plot twist, theme and motif so that everyone can appreciate and understand the plight of the king who was ‘more sinned against than sinning’.

Expression is the newcomer to our catalogue. This helpful and practical book will be replacing our popular guide to comprehension and composition, This Is Paper 1. We still have a few copies of the latter remaining, for anyone who needs it, but we think Expression will satisfy all of your Paper 1 quandaries. Suitable for both higher and ordinary level students, this book is full of sample paragraphs, essays, speeches and a range of exercises that will help you to navigate the tricky challenges of Leaving Cert English Paper 1.

So, there you have it. All four books are available today and winging their way to bookshops nationwide. Or for those of you who prefer to purchase online directly from us, please feel free to visit our website!

• This Is Poetry Higher Level 2016 RRP €21.49
• This Is Poetry Ordinary Level 2016 RRP €13.49
• King Lear RRP €14.95
• Expression RRP €15.70

New blog, new site, new books

Hi folks, we’re in the process of revamping our website – please bear with us at this time of technological change.

Just to let you know, we’ve got four new books coming out soon. This includes:

• The latest additions to our best-selling This Is Poetry series (2016, both higher and ordinary level). These will contain all the poems, notes plus extra questions and exercises for those of you who will be sitting the Leaving Cert in 2016. They’ve also had a bit of a design makeover…
• The second edition of King Lear, in a stunning new design plus improved content with lots of helpful comprehension questions and exercises.
• Last but not least is Expression, our most complete guide to the Leaving Cert English Paper 1 exam. This beautifully designed book introduces students to  all of the narrative languages and writing styles,  is chock-full of examples, ‘walk-thrus’, sample paragraphs, exercises and much more!

         

 

All four books will become available over the coming weeks, so please do stay in touch!