ALONG THE RIVER is a book of selected poems written across sixty years, profound but readily comprehensible, and on an astonishingly wide range of subject matters, both personal and public. Here are poems on life and love, science, religion, war, nature and humour. In short, the teeming world of people''s experience of life. The title Along The River relates the book to the centuries old role and legacy of poetry in advanced societies, and to the personal journey of the author. The book is fronted by an essay researched in Oxford with academic support over the past few years. It is, perhaps controversially, critical of the course of the trend of much modern poetry and its perceived failure to engage with many issues of importance in the world. It regrets the resultant decline in the importance of poetry for many people, especially the younger generation, and proposes new ways forward. Overall, the book opens different and exciting new channels in English poetry.