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Death Poems: Classic, Contemporary, Witty, Serious, Tear-Jerking, Wise, Profound, Angry, Funny, Spiritual, Atheistic, Uncertain, Personal, Political, Mythic, Earthy, and Only Occasionally Morbid
Pretty much every poet in every age has written about death and dying. Along with love, it might be the most popular subject in poetry. Yet, until now, no anthology has gathered the best and most famous of these verses in one place.
This collection ranges dramatically. With more than 320 poems, it goes across all of history, from the ancients straight through to today. Across countries and languages, across schools of poetry. You’ll find a plethora of approaches—witty, humorous, deadly serious, tear-jerking, wise, profound, angry, spiritual, atheistic, uncertain, highly personal, political, mythic, earthy, and only occasionally morbid.
Every angle you can think of is covered—the deaths of children, lost loves, funeral rites, close calls, eating meat, serial killers, the death penalty, roadkill, the Underworld, reincarnation, elegies for famous people, death as an equalizer, death as a junk man, death as a child, the death of God, the death of death . . . .
You’ll find death poetry’s greatest hits, including: The rest of the band includes . . .Jane Austen, Mary Jo Bang, Willis Barnstone, Charles Baudelaire, William Blake, Charlotte Brontë, Lord Byron, Lucille Clifton, Andrei Codrescu, Wanda Coleman, Billy Collins, Ralph Waldo Emerson, T.S. Eliot, Nick Flynn, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Frost, Kimiko Hahn, Homer, Victor Hugo, Langston Hughes, James Joyce, C.S. Lewis, Amy Lowell, W.S. Merwin, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Pablo Neruda, Thich Nhat Hanh, Friedrich Nietzsche, Wilfred Owen, Rainer Maria Rilke, Christina Rossetti, Rumi, Sappho, Shakespeare, Wallace Stevens, Ruth Stone, Wislawa Szymborska, W.B. Yeats, and a few hundred more.
This collection ranges dramatically. With more than 320 poems, it goes across all of history, from the ancients straight through to today. Across countries and languages, across schools of poetry. You’ll find a plethora of approaches—witty, humorous, deadly serious, tear-jerking, wise, profound, angry, spiritual, atheistic, uncertain, highly personal, political, mythic, earthy, and only occasionally morbid.
Every angle you can think of is covered—the deaths of children, lost loves, funeral rites, close calls, eating meat, serial killers, the death penalty, roadkill, the Underworld, reincarnation, elegies for famous people, death as an equalizer, death as a junk man, death as a child, the death of God, the death of death . . . .
You’ll find death poetry’s greatest hits, including: The rest of the band includes . . .Jane Austen, Mary Jo Bang, Willis Barnstone, Charles Baudelaire, William Blake, Charlotte Brontë, Lord Byron, Lucille Clifton, Andrei Codrescu, Wanda Coleman, Billy Collins, Ralph Waldo Emerson, T.S. Eliot, Nick Flynn, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Frost, Kimiko Hahn, Homer, Victor Hugo, Langston Hughes, James Joyce, C.S. Lewis, Amy Lowell, W.S. Merwin, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Pablo Neruda, Thich Nhat Hanh, Friedrich Nietzsche, Wilfred Owen, Rainer Maria Rilke, Christina Rossetti, Rumi, Sappho, Shakespeare, Wallace Stevens, Ruth Stone, Wislawa Szymborska, W.B. Yeats, and a few hundred more.
- GenresPoetryDeathNonfiction
338 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 1, 2013
18 people are currently reading
523 people want to read
About the author
Russ Kick
40 books98 followersEditor of the website The Memory Hole which publishes and archives hidden US government documents, including scientific studies and reports, civil rights-related reports, intelligence and covert action reports.
He was also editor-at-large for The Disinformation Company, where he had published several books including The Book of Lists and 50 Things You're Not Supposed to Know.
He was also editor-at-large for The Disinformation Company, where he had published several books including The Book of Lists and 50 Things You're Not Supposed to Know.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
January 5, 2025
This has some very random, deep, and dark poems about the subject of death.
The poems are categorized into different chapter subjects like “poems about the idea of afterlife” or “Carpe diem: seize the day before you die poems”.
One thing I really loved about this book is that it shows MANY different poems on death, not just one viewpoint. There is an afterlife/there is nothing after life, moments before death matters/does not matter, we are reincarnated/not reincarnated, death is good/bad/neutral, etc.. Some of the poems personify death, as well.
Overall this title was subtly macabre and really great, and I took away some very interesting things from Death Poems!
The poems are categorized into different chapter subjects like “poems about the idea of afterlife” or “Carpe diem: seize the day before you die poems”.
One thing I really loved about this book is that it shows MANY different poems on death, not just one viewpoint. There is an afterlife/there is nothing after life, moments before death matters/does not matter, we are reincarnated/not reincarnated, death is good/bad/neutral, etc.. Some of the poems personify death, as well.
Overall this title was subtly macabre and really great, and I took away some very interesting things from Death Poems!
March 25, 2016
3.5 stars.
This was a decent anthology of poetry about death and dying. There were the usual popular poets repeated countless times and a some lesser known poets. I found many poems and poets I love and having them in one books is wonderful. There are some poems that were not in here that I think should have been added but the author cannot add them all. The main reason this does not deserve four stars is that some are just parts of poems, a few songs, bible verses, and parts of Shakespeare's plays which are not even poems.
This was a decent anthology of poetry about death and dying. There were the usual popular poets repeated countless times and a some lesser known poets. I found many poems and poets I love and having them in one books is wonderful. There are some poems that were not in here that I think should have been added but the author cannot add them all. The main reason this does not deserve four stars is that some are just parts of poems, a few songs, bible verses, and parts of Shakespeare's plays which are not even poems.
December 31, 2024
(For my personal records only.)
I picked this up in order to organize my own thoughts and grief after my dog Blixie passed. It again became a reference for me when my old neighbor passed shortly after. So, with that, I read this book much like someone who is grasping for sentiments that resonate, grasping for other ways of looking at life and death and the thereafter. I did not read this cover to cover. It's an anthology rather than one poet's collection, so I don't feel that this is betraying the work as a whole.
I first started reading this book in 2013-2014 when I was taking my senior seminar course as an English major in college. The stand out poem for me was "For Jan, With Love" by David Lee, which continues to sizzle in my memory--so much so that I couldn't face a re-read now ten years later. The poems I read were unflinching and raw, examining the thing we as humans (or rather Americans) tend to deny. These were poems I liked because they were about something tangible and they did not hide the unpleasantness behind beautiful words and metaphors.
I had it on my shelf and a high school student (not even in my class strangely) came across the title and wanted to borrow it. I think that's a good testament to this anthology's worth. It's for readers with a curiosity not deterred by the macabre. There are classical poems and there are contemporary poems. I did not read every single poem in this book, but I did read all of the poems that I felt drawn to when I flipped through. I know I'll continue to turn to this book as I grow and face more death. I'm comforted then to know that there are poems left for me to glean new insights when the timing is right.
I picked this up in order to organize my own thoughts and grief after my dog Blixie passed. It again became a reference for me when my old neighbor passed shortly after. So, with that, I read this book much like someone who is grasping for sentiments that resonate, grasping for other ways of looking at life and death and the thereafter. I did not read this cover to cover. It's an anthology rather than one poet's collection, so I don't feel that this is betraying the work as a whole.
I first started reading this book in 2013-2014 when I was taking my senior seminar course as an English major in college. The stand out poem for me was "For Jan, With Love" by David Lee, which continues to sizzle in my memory--so much so that I couldn't face a re-read now ten years later. The poems I read were unflinching and raw, examining the thing we as humans (or rather Americans) tend to deny. These were poems I liked because they were about something tangible and they did not hide the unpleasantness behind beautiful words and metaphors.
I had it on my shelf and a high school student (not even in my class strangely) came across the title and wanted to borrow it. I think that's a good testament to this anthology's worth. It's for readers with a curiosity not deterred by the macabre. There are classical poems and there are contemporary poems. I did not read every single poem in this book, but I did read all of the poems that I felt drawn to when I flipped through. I know I'll continue to turn to this book as I grow and face more death. I'm comforted then to know that there are poems left for me to glean new insights when the timing is right.
February 5, 2014
I loved this collection, I just wish dates had been included with the poems. I understand the whole point is that the poems are timeless, but I do like a little perspective on the history behind the work.
February 19, 2018
I started reading this collection after my sister died. It is an interesting idea for a poem collection. The poems span all different types of poetry from all sorts of different time periods. The mix is very eclectic and can sometimes be a bit hit or miss. But there were some that really hit home. It's also just fascinating to see how differently death can be perceived.
February 18, 2017
An exceptional and comprehensive collection.
August 24, 2014
Read as a first reads selection.
There is not much to say about this book that is not expressed in the subtitle as it pretty much covers all aspects of death poetry. It is interesting, however, to see all of these poems in one compilation.
The one complaint I have is that the poems are mostly older, classical poems by poets such as Shakespeare, Byron, Dickinson,et al and many contemporary poets are ignored. This may be simply be a case of copyright, but there are many poets that are ignored. Steve Mason and Bruce Weigl, for instance, have written many exceptional poems about their experiences in Viet Nam and they were not included. The contemporary poets included did contribute some of the more thought provoking selections, possibly because they were being read for the first time. One of the best poems in the collection is South Central Los Angeles Death Trip, 1982 by Wanda Coleman. It was a brilliant examination of life and death in LA, and society's reaction to it. Breathtaking.
The argument could made that everyone cannot be included. If this is the case, then I would suggest a single poem per author and the inclusion of more poets, or a shorter tome.
There is not much to say about this book that is not expressed in the subtitle as it pretty much covers all aspects of death poetry. It is interesting, however, to see all of these poems in one compilation.
The one complaint I have is that the poems are mostly older, classical poems by poets such as Shakespeare, Byron, Dickinson,et al and many contemporary poets are ignored. This may be simply be a case of copyright, but there are many poets that are ignored. Steve Mason and Bruce Weigl, for instance, have written many exceptional poems about their experiences in Viet Nam and they were not included. The contemporary poets included did contribute some of the more thought provoking selections, possibly because they were being read for the first time. One of the best poems in the collection is South Central Los Angeles Death Trip, 1982 by Wanda Coleman. It was a brilliant examination of life and death in LA, and society's reaction to it. Breathtaking.
The argument could made that everyone cannot be included. If this is the case, then I would suggest a single poem per author and the inclusion of more poets, or a shorter tome.
January 2, 2014
Even now I go back and read poems just picking a page at random during the day. A poem for everything and everyday. This book has a wide range of poems and ballads from tragic, morbid and some even personal, plus a whole lot more. If you can think of it it is probably in this book. I figure I have a poem for everyday this year or more to read again. This book is a great read and I recommend you pick it up just to see life from other angles. Some will inspire you, others will make you cry or even break your heart.
May 17, 2017
Russ Kirk is a phenomenal editor. I had not heard of him before and am now inspired to find out about everything else he has touched. I find myself time after time questioning the arrangement of poems in many collections. Death Poems was very well thought out - not just the categorizations, but the juxtaposition of the poems. The only disagreement I had with the collection was the repetition in appearance of a few poets (though to be fair, Emily Dickinson had a bit of an obsession with). Overall, however, it is a brilliant collection.
March 29, 2014
The title claims the entire field: "Classic, Contemporary, Witty, Serious, Tear-Jerking, Wise, Profound, Angry, Funny, Spiritual, Atheistic, Uncertain, Personal, Political, Mythic, Earthy, and Only Occasionally Morbid".
I found, in grief, that I could not read more than one or two at a time.
I found, in grief, that I could not read more than one or two at a time.
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December 27, 2013As heard on The Writer's Almanac.
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January 24, 2014808.81935 D2857 2013
March 14, 2014
This is so inspirational. If you're a horror writer, I highly recommend taking a look at some of these. I think my favorite is the one by Pablo Neruda.
June 7, 2016
I liked it. Grief is a lifelong process, and it's good to have literary company.
July 29, 2016
I love the organization and selection of poems.
April 17, 2017
All those poems about death and "Epitaph for a Dog" was the hardest to read.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews