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Poem a Day #3
Poem a Day, Vol. 3
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416 pages, Paperback
First published October 19, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 9, 2025
I've just finished the third and final volume of Poem a Day. I have enjoyed having these books to give me pleasure for the past three years. The collections of poems are varied and entertaining. In such anthologies there will always be poems that you dearly love and some poems not so much. But all add to your experience and inspiration. I highly recommend these books. While the love of poetry may be waning a little, poetry still makes each of us (who read it) a little more civilized and that is a good thing.
I have found an early set of day books, Poem For the Day and purchased the two I saw. I will have another two years, at least, of a bit of poetry each and every day. Nicholas Albery also had a part in the editing of these books as he did with Poem a Day.
I have found an early set of day books, Poem For the Day and purchased the two I saw. I will have another two years, at least, of a bit of poetry each and every day. Nicholas Albery also had a part in the editing of these books as he did with Poem a Day.
July 6, 2021
As with volumes one and two, a review is meaningless if you don’t like poetry, and even more meaningless depending on the types of poetry you like. I like more classical, traditional stuff, old and new, and this one had much more of that than did Volume 2, almost as much as Volume 1, so I liked this one a lot. In order, I liked Volumes 1, then 3 (close call) and then, way behind, 2. But if you like more modern poems, especially the beats, and poetry from other parts of the world, and from indigenous tribes, you’ll like 2 a lot better.
As with the other volumes, you’ll see poems here from poets you know, but probably not the poems you know. So you won’t see Frost’s “Birches” or his other famous (and over-anthologized) poems, but you will see four of them. A quick look at the index told me that the really famous poets have 3-5 poems each, with the big winner being Tennyson, who has 6. Regardless, you’ll find a lot to like here.
As an avid reader, I didn’t read just one poem a day, as the volumes suggest, but instead just read it through, like any other anthology. To each his own. I found myself wanting to see which one came next, especially if I didn’t like the one I’d just read, and so I found this book very rewarding that way.
Another reward of this book is the tidbit at the bottom of each one. This was a facet that the 2nd volume didn’t capitalize on, as most of those poems were seemingly chosen at random. This one reverted back to the wisdom of the first, so each poem has a purpose to appear on its chosen day.
Some faves, at random, were “Rooms” on November 15, “Leaving and Leaving You” by Sophie Hannah, on June 28, “Poor North” by Mark Strand, on December 11, “Nightsong: City” by Dennis Brutus, and “In Paris With You,” by James Fenton. You may see poets you haven’t seen before (I didn’t know Fenton) and you may want to read more by that poet because of it. I’ll look up Fenton’s stuff, for example, and the others as well. Maybe I’ll shock a librarian and even take one out.
Anyway, poet-lovers rejoice with this one. It even made me want to write them again myself. I’m batting a perfect thousand selling my poems: I’ve written about fifty and sent out one—and it sold.
As with the other volumes, you’ll see poems here from poets you know, but probably not the poems you know. So you won’t see Frost’s “Birches” or his other famous (and over-anthologized) poems, but you will see four of them. A quick look at the index told me that the really famous poets have 3-5 poems each, with the big winner being Tennyson, who has 6. Regardless, you’ll find a lot to like here.
As an avid reader, I didn’t read just one poem a day, as the volumes suggest, but instead just read it through, like any other anthology. To each his own. I found myself wanting to see which one came next, especially if I didn’t like the one I’d just read, and so I found this book very rewarding that way.
Another reward of this book is the tidbit at the bottom of each one. This was a facet that the 2nd volume didn’t capitalize on, as most of those poems were seemingly chosen at random. This one reverted back to the wisdom of the first, so each poem has a purpose to appear on its chosen day.
Some faves, at random, were “Rooms” on November 15, “Leaving and Leaving You” by Sophie Hannah, on June 28, “Poor North” by Mark Strand, on December 11, “Nightsong: City” by Dennis Brutus, and “In Paris With You,” by James Fenton. You may see poets you haven’t seen before (I didn’t know Fenton) and you may want to read more by that poet because of it. I’ll look up Fenton’s stuff, for example, and the others as well. Maybe I’ll shock a librarian and even take one out.
Anyway, poet-lovers rejoice with this one. It even made me want to write them again myself. I’m batting a perfect thousand selling my poems: I’ve written about fifty and sent out one—and it sold.
May 26, 2023
I did not find this to be an easily accessible poetry collection. (I would not give it to a novice poetry appreciator). I would have liked more diversity - several poets had multiple pieces of their work included to cover different days without introducing a new poet. I also was left scratching my head on many of the poems as to who would want to memorize them. (The poems in this series are supposed to be short, so one could memorize them, and easily accessible). That being said, there were certainly treasures within if one was willing to do some wading and searching. The footnotes were full of crazy love triangles, grisly deaths, and obscure facts on poets!
December 30, 2017
An extraordinary book. I went out and bought all the other editions that I could find. I loved reading these wonderful poems each evening. I bookmarked many, shared with friends and grabbed this as we prepared to evacuate ahead of the fires. A wonderful collection annotated on each page with notes about the poets and how the poem came to be written or what the poet thought of it. A broad range of poets from around the world and throughout time. Excellent indexes help me to go back and find my favorites. A complete bibliography helped me find the works of authors that moved me. I can't speak highly enough of this treasured tome.
December 31, 2009
I've now read all 3 of these volumes and have enjoyed them all immensely. This is a great way to present poetry, by offering a poem a day by a collection of poets from an assortment of times and traditions, from Chaucer to young contemporary poets so fresh their ink is still drying. And day after day that variety and newness adds fun to my reading. I try to get to the day's poem as early as I can because sometimes these poems provide an affirmative quality and ways of seeing that give shape and tone to the rest of the day. My favorites here are by a couple of young poets I don't know, Amy Witting and Paul Farley. Another favorite is a lovely Charles Bukowski poem about his cat. I think this volume (and these volumes) is an invaluable book of poems. I'll return to it some year.
December 31, 2009
A wide range of poetry/poets....
March 7, 2016
I enjoyed this collection (though I read it all at once, not one a day as the title recommends). Retta Bowen has good taste.
March 4, 2013
Another outstanding collection of daily poems. For some reason I read volume 3 first, which was excellent. Great poems selected wisely. Perfect for reading one poem per day for a year.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews