Poems for Travellers

by Gaby Morgan, Paul Theroux (introduction)

Poems for Travellers transports the reader to lands far and near in the company of some of our greatest poets such as Walt Whitman, John Keats and Christina Rossetti.Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library, a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket-sized classics with gold-foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover.As internationally acclaimed author Paul Theroux writes in his introduction, ‘Here is a collection of travel poetry composed by real travellers, weekending tourists, feverish fantasists, bluffers, dreamers, brave adventurers and resolute stay-at-homes. It succeeds in what poetry does best – inspires and consoles, reminds us of who we are, where we’ve been, and where we might want to go next.’

Genres: Poetry

240 pages, Hardcover

Published May 14, 2024

Reviews

[Guillaume Keller]

My favorite from this collection:

"Thine eyes shall see the light of distant skies:
Yet, COLE! thy heart shall bear to Europe's strand
A living image of thy native land,
Such as on thine own glorious canvas lies;
Lone lakes--savannas where the bison roves--
Rocks rich with summer garlands--solemn streams--
Skies, where the desert eagle wheels and screams--
Spring bloom and autumn blaze of boundless groves.
Fair scenes shall greet thee where thou goest--fair,
But different--everywhere the trace of men,
Paths, homes, graves, ruins, from the lowest glen
To where life shrinks from the fierce Alpine air,
Gaze on them, till the tears shall dim thy sight,
But keep that earlier, wilder image bright."

William Cullen Bryant, 1829

[Ebba]

By the deep Sea, and music in its roar:
I love not Man the less, but Nature more

[Maddy]

Pretty good collection of poems. Some aren't really about travel, but they still kind of fit the theme. Like you would expect, some I really liked, some just weren't to my taste. There is also a LOT of Walt Whitman and Robert Louis Stevenson. I found some poets I'll definitely read more of, so I'm pretty happy with that! I also liked the structure of this book, which is in sections such as 'Departure Platform' and 'Where Go the Boats?'. All in all, a good book, and one which I liked.

[Nikos Fifis]

The journey is what shapes us.

Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow.

Not all those who wander are lost.

To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries.

I am not the same, having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world.

[Lina]

A very enjoyable poetry collection. I did find myself "waiting" for specific poets to appear from time to time, but all in all, very good.

[Faith Ettlich]

Bought this book in Italy and read it in Japan! Such a great collection of poems & divided into great categories.

[Chloe]

a pretty solid compilation of multiple styles of poetry that takes you around the world and through different methods of travel.

[David]

I always love the format of these Macmillan classics, especially as I carried this one around while travelling. But although the setting was right, I have to say I found this collection of poems a little uninspiring and the selection a little illogical. Did Paul Theroux have trouble finding enough poems to fit the title? Also, I always wonder when in all their poetry books, there is so little poetry from the 20th century. Is that because of copyright issues? Or am I forgetting that the series is not called Macmillan 'classics' for nothing.