Kingsley Amis's main objective in compiling The New Oxford Book of Light Verse was to raise a good-natured smile. This anthology of more than 250 poems by some 80 poets totally fulfills all his ambitions. Ranging from satire to nonsense verse, from deft vers de soci 'et 'e to epigrams and limericks, this witty and consistently entertaining survey of a great English literary tradition includes many familiar favourites as well some previously unpublished masterpieces. Taking us from Shakespeare and Jonson to Belloc and Larkin, by way of Herrick, Pope, Thackeray, and Lear, this is a journey `rich in exhilarating pleasures' ( Sunday Times ). This book is intended for general; all poetry-lovers; collectors of 'Oxford Books of'.