Spellbound: Poems of Magic and Enchantment

by Kimiko Hahn (editor), Harold Schechter (Editor)

A unique anthology of poems from around the world and through the ages that celebrate magic and magicians

No matter how modern or scientifically advanced our societies become, human beings remain perpetually enthralled by the idea of magic, from our daily superstitions to our choices of entertainment. Magic has long been a central subject of poetry, and the poems in this collection are evocative evidence that the poet’s art depends on a form of wizardry—the ability to conjure enchantment from a particular combination of words.

Venerable literary wizards such as Shakespeare's Prospero, Tennyson's Merlin, and T. S. Eliot's Mr. Mistoffelees make appearances here alongside illusionists and prestidigitators in Kay Ryan's "Houdini," Ted Kooser's "Card Trick," Charles Simic's "My Magician," and Richard Wilbur's "The Mind-Reader." Here is a treasury of poetic spells, charms, and incantations, from Elise Paschen's "Love Spell," Robert Graves's "Love and Black Magic," and Lu Yu's "The Pedlar of Spells," to a Cherokee "Spell to Destroy Life." And here, too, are all sorts of sorcerers, conjurers, enchantresses, and witches, as captured in Emily Dickinson's "Best Witchcraft is Geometry," Michael Schmidt's "Nine Witches," and H. D.'s "Circe," keeping company with magical poems from cultures around the world.

Everyman's Library's Pocket Poets are pocket-sized hardcovers that feature acid-free cream-colored paper bound in a full-cloth case with two-color foil stamping, decorative endpapers, a silk ribbon marker, a European-style half-round spine, and a full-color illustrated jacket.

Genres: Poetry

256 pages, Hardcover

Published March 12, 2024

About the author

Kimiko Hahn is the author of seven poetry collections. The Unbearable Heart won the Before Columbus Foundation’s American Book Award. She has received numerous grants, including a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship and a Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Award. She teaches at Queens College/The City University of New York.

Reviews

[Hiram · Rating 3 out of 5]

Card Trick
By Ted Kooser (1939-)

[Steve Chisnell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay, I admit I was mesmerized by the idea of this book which I (fortunately) found on a public library shelf. And, to be honest, the conception for the collection was the best thing about it.

Now to be clear, it's not that there weren't great poems here. In fact, there is a solid mix of classic masters and contemporary writers. Sterne, Yeats, Cisneros, Teasdale, Bryant, and others alongside younger talents like Yu, Girmay, and Herford. And, as with any collection, not every poem is equally successful. No, if you want a fine series of poems to read, there are far worse choices.

But my rating for this collection is about the execution of the anthology, the production itself. By what measure were these chosen? For what reason categorized and assembled as they were? The book places the works into chapter "categories" like Wizardry, the Dark Arts, Household Magic, and Magicians' Lives. How each fell into these is near anyone's guess. Worse, though, is the seeming reckless hodge-podge of choices and ordering. Some of the poems, it seems, in order to fill the quota for a category, were outright amateurish, painfully so when followed by a Dickinson or Spenser.

It almost seemed (more than almost) that the editors did a Google search for poetry with keywords for their titles: "Houdini," "Wizard," "Charm," etc. and then grabbed them all and threw them together with a thick cover on top to hide the slapdash methodology. (Some, I should point out, the editors were unclear about their rights to publish and preemptive apology notes!) I was embarrassed for the poets, confused about the disjointed mess I was reading, and ultimately (thankfully) will forget that I visited here. A quick and curious gimmick for Penguin House profits.

[Brianna Cornell · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a collection of poems about magic and spells, this was a bit lackluster. That said, I discovered about a dozen or so gems in here that I would not have found otherwise which made the collection worth exploring.

“The Poet as Magician” section was nothing short of exceptional, the selections that constituted most of the other sections were a bit watered down, but reading this has reignited my interest in poetry so I’m still so glad I picked it up. Plus the book itself is absolutely stunning, particularly the spine, I was so pleased to be able to add this to my Everyman’s collection!

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I kinda thought it would give more feminine energy in the concept of spell work. Instead, there was way too much about Houdini, a distinct male narrative, and very little of the wonder that I craved when I picked this up.