A Poem for Every Day of the Year

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Most of the poems were not really my piece of cake, but that's what you get with a collection: a variety of poetic doems, themes, and writers. And the good thing is, a collection makes discovering new writers easy. It kind of forced me out of my small bubble and I added some poets on my to-read-more-of list :) Particular favourites of mine included Love's Philosophy by Percy Shelley, The Buddha by Tony Mitton and the very famous The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost. There's also an excellent extract from Shakespeare's The Tempest, which in itself is a play of pure poetry. As such the poems are rich in diversity and carry with them varying degrees of complexity. Although published by Macmillan Children's Books, I think this collection is more suited to an adult reader. There are, certainly, poems in here that a young reader may enjoy, but I think an adult would get more out of poems that deal with larger issues such as love, death and life. Lots of classics in here and a mix of newer poets also. Some are funny, thoughtful, inspiring, humbling.

I listened to this as an audio book I had borrowed from the library and would listen to a few poems each day. Similar to what I am doing with Year of Wonder: Classical Music for Every Day. I found it was a great way to stop and reflect for a few minutes each day. There is something about listening to poetry read out loud that brings it to life. Allie Esiri has put together a really strong collection. The poems match the time of the year with the themes reflecting the seasons and its associated mood. This is especially so during the December part of the book with many festive pieces being used. She has also used many extracts from larger works to give a taste of longer more developed poetry throughout, which I think is very important because many of the major poetical works in the English language are thousands and thousands of lines long. Short poems are more accessible, but longer ones often carry much more with them.For those who do not read much poetry, for those who do not know where to start, this is a fun and easy commitment to take on. Reading a poem a day does not take long, mere minutes, and with over three-hundred poems in here there's bound to be a poem that speaks to each reader directly. I broke the rule though and read it all at once.

The Contents of A Poet for Every Day of the Year list the poem and poet for each calendar day although I prefer not to look at that properly until next year when I’ve enjoyed a daily surprise from the book. With poets from Angelou to Wordsworth there really is something for any and every reader. One of the absolute pleasures here is the attention to more marginalised poets such as those from the LGBTQIA+ community so that A Poet for Every Day of the Year feels inclusive and engaging. A story, if well told, can last a lifetime or longer. Brian Pattern’s poem pays homage to great works of children’s literature that continue to give, and live a life of their own. Before each poem is a short introduction to briefly situate the poem into its context. These are helpful and informative, and for the inexperienced reader these would act as a guide through many different styles of poetry from a huge array of writers. The cover art is, simply put, stunning. I love the design. The book acts as a sister book to the previously published A Poem for Every Night of the Year with brighter colours used to reflect the day time this time. The layout is also very simple making the book easy to dive in and out of.

I could not love A Poet for Every Day of the Year more. I confess I haven’t read the whole book yet as I am savouring the dated poems and poets each night so that this is a gift of a book that will last me the entire year. However, the format is the same for every day and includes an insightful and accessible potted history of the poet, with reference to social, historical and biographical detail that stirs such an interest in the reader that A Poet for Every Day of the Year provides even more entertainment by acting as a catalyst for further reading and research. For example, when I opened my copy on the day I received it, the poet was John Clare who just happens to have lived three miles from where I am, but there are other poets I’m much less familiar with so I have an introduction that can lead me to discovering more of their work. This adds to the significance and joy in reading A Poet for Every Day of the Year.