It’s national Poetry Day – a perfect opportunity to start, refine or curate your Poetry Collection. Let’s face it, Poetry is a vastly underrated form of literature, and when you ask someone if they enjoy reading Poetry nine times out of ten you’ll see a flashback to forced school reading poems dance across their face. But Poetry has a time and a place and, I firmly believe, there’s something for everybody.
My own Poetry collection has been currated carefully over the last two decades or so. It started with my own writings now published in several anthologies, and progressed into exploring what others had written. I have always been hugely inspired by Nikita Gill’s writing and in more recent years through her I have discovered a whole host of Instagram famed Poets.
Dearly by Margaret Atwood
Many like me might be familiar with Margaret Atwood’s fiction – including her bestelling novels The Handmaid’s Tale, The Testaments and the Oryx and the Crake…However since the beginning of her successful career she has been a significant contemporary poet. In fact, she is celebrated as being equally accomplished in both Fiction and Poetry, no easy undertaking!
Dearly is Margaret’s first published collection of Poems for over a decade and is a stunning achievement that is celebrated by fans of both her novels and of Poetry. It’s a unique collection, ranging from the complexities and beauty of nature to the fascinating constructs of zombies… many of the pieces included will be read without understanding, or will mean something to different people, and that’s the beauty of well-written Poetry.
The Truth About Magic by Atticus
Atticus, an anonymous Poet based in Canada, writes pieces of Poetry that speak to my heart. Most of his writings are short but speak volumes, and that’s what I love about his Poetry collections.
“Love could be labelled poison and we’d drink it anyways.”
Just…beauty. I won’t share more because you have to read it to discover all the best bits. The second to last page broke me though… 244… When you get there, you’ll know. Emotional. Wild. Magical. Beautiful. Inspiring.
Poems to Fall In Love With by Chris Riddell
In Poems to Fall in Love With Chris Riddell has selected and illustrated his very favourite classic and modern poems about love. This gorgeously illustrated collection celebrates love in all its guises, from silent admiration through passion to tearful resignation. These poems speak of the universal experiences of the heart and are brought to life with Chris’s exquisite, intricate artwork.
I Hope This Finds You Well by Kate Baer
Less than eighty pages but every single one packs a punch more than a 1000 page tome could do. I Hope This Finds You Well will mean different things to different people at different stages. But if there’s one thing you take from this book, it’ll be that a beautiful message can be found in the most negative of paragraphs. What a wonderful thing to be able to take an awful message and turn it into something beautiful. A lesson to be learned for all of us.
where Hope Comes From
by Nikita Gill
Trying to make sense of the last two + years is difficult. We’ve all had our own personal battles, triumphs and sadness. So where to turn to, to organise those thoughts and feelings? Where Hope Comes From by Nikita Gill is exactly what’s needed to help unpick the feelings of 2020/2021 and beyond.
A collection of poetry that will have you saying, ‘Yes, Yes, Yes, and Yes’ as you relate over and over again to her words. Nikita has captured, through a collection of writings, what many of us couldn’t even begin to work out on paper. You can see my full review here.
Home Body by Rupi Kaur
Rupi Kaur is a Canadian poet, illustrator, photographer, and author. Born in Punjab, India, Kaur emigrated to Canada at a young age with her family. She began performing poetry in 2009 and rose to fame on Instagram, eventually becoming a popular “Instapoet” through her three collections of poetry. Home Body is a stunning collection, and there is a poem within the pages of this book, for everyone. I have another of Kaur’s books, kindly given to me as a gift. Gifts of Poetry are the best – and will always be treasured.
time is a Mother by Ocean Vuong
“I did not know then what I know now: to be an American boy, and then an American boy with a gun, is to move from one end of a cage to another.”
This is a book packed with meaning, explanation and confusion. There are pieces of poetry within that will make sense in the moment that you read them, and others that you’ll have to come back to. What is safe to say, is that there is something in here for everyone, at any stage in their life. Something in this book will speak volumes to you. Ocean Vuong is a master of words and this shines through.
Slug by Hollie McNish
From the beginning to the end Slug is filled with pages that you will relate to at some point in your life, if not right now.
Hollie McNish has nailed it with her poetry and this is a completely fantastic collection! Hollie has conveyed compassion, rage and empathy through her words – no easy task!
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