Murderous, entrenched, complex - the Northern Ireland conflict seems to defy rational discourse. But from the contradictions and tensions has sprung some remarkable art, not least the poetry of the Troubles, now widely recognised as among the most vibrant contemporary writing in the English language.

This comprehensive new anthology from the distinguished poet and editor Frank Ormsby presents over 250 poems by writers who have their deepest roots in the region - MacNeice, Rodgers, Heaney, Longley, Fiacc, Paulin, Muldoon, Carson - and by outsiders like Larkin, Rumens, Raine, Adcock and even Yevtushenko who have responded to the violence from their more distant perspectives. Together their work faces up to the passionate intensities of the North, making this collection compulsory reading for anyone with a serious interest in modern Ireland.