365 Poems for Life: An Uplifting Collection for Every Day of the Year

by Allie Esiri (Editor)

Discover 365 Poems for Life, an uplifting poem-a-day collection from award-winning curator Allie Esiri.This nourishing poem-a-day collection offers readers a brief moment of escape from daily life through some of the warmest words in the English language. Whether you’re searching for wisdom or looking to boost your wellbeing, dip into this anthology to share with others or enjoy a quiet moment of calm every day of the year.Explore a wide range of poets, including Maya Angelou, Carol Ann Duffy, Kae Tempest, Dylan Thomas, Ocean Vuong and many more. The perfect gift for poetry lovers and newbies alike, this beautiful anthology brings a moment of solace every day of the year.

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction

368 pages, Hardcover

First published October 5, 2023

Reviews

[Fiona · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really lovely collection. Each month has at least one theme and the poems are chosen accordingly. For my taste, there were perhaps too many nature poems in the summer months but there is something for everyone every month. Along with the usual suspects - no need to name them - I discovered poets new to me such as Oliver Herford, Phoebe Stuckes, Piet Hein, Derek Walcott and John Citizen. His poem, The Library of Love, is particularly appropriate for this website and, I thought, quite fun. I hope you enjoy it!

I was out of date and antiquarian,
you dusted me off, you’re the librarian.
My pages were loose, I was unwinding.
You stapled me together, you’re my binding. Frightened to wear my heart
on my sleeve blurb,
too many nouns, you were the verb.
The end of my lines were well overdue,
you paid all my fines, you can renew.
I wanted to be a loan,
you took me out.
I was at a loss leader,
you’re my proof reader.
When no one credited me, you edited me. And when critics rubbished me.
You published me.
From the shelves below to the shelves above. You’re the librarian in the library of love.

With thanks to NetGalley and Pan MacMillan for a review copy.

[Natalie all_books_great_and_small · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

365 Poems for Life is a poetry collection not just for each day of the year but for seasonal reading, too. The poems in each month feature one, and sometimes more than one theme, but feature something for almost everyone to enjoy. This was an enjoyable book to read through and would be fun to read one a day throughout the year.

[Jamie Newman · Rating 5 out of 5]

.5 star for writing
1 star for premise
1 star for research
1 star for impact
1 star for liking it

Im definitely going to be revisiting this collection next year. If you are looking for a daily poetry companion-this is a superb choice. I have several of her collections and theyre all really good. And if you want a real treat pick up the audio where HBC is reading the poems...so good.

[Ellen Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 - I loved the variety - some of the poems were short and sharp, others detailed and descriptive, but all of them beautiful in their own way.

There were names I recognised and plenty I did not, which I liked - that means more poetry to read!

The major gripe I have is that it’s so northern hemisphere-centric, which is SO ANNOYING for those of us live who in places that are hot in December!!!

That being said, my favourite months were May (gratitude), April (nature and meditation), and October (contemplation).

(I also loved my birthday poem; I got Maya Angelou which is always brilliant)

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thankyou Panmacmillan for gifting me a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

[Miranda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a lovely collection - as a curious poetry reader but complete beginner, I imagine I’m the target audience. There’s not that many ”difficult” or experimental form, there’s a lot of classics, most of it’s pretty accessible. Maybe there could be more diversity. But for a newbie, who likes to read one little poem on the train each morning as a ritual, this was delightful. I feel eager to explore more poetry now.

[Carly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful collection

[Samantha Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel like I am living a more full life every day after reading this poetry collection. Highly recommend!

[Laura Szász-Cserei · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finished a few days earlier, because the poems were so good. They made every day a little brighter, and I also loved the themes 🥰

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't read a lot of poetry. No particular reason; I appreciate the art form and I think people who can write poetry are amazing, but I've never really got into it. My favourites tend to be straightforward, Robert Frost type, easy to understand; I've never been much good at parsing complicated metaphors and so on. However, I know that Allie brings a wonderful mix to her books, so I thought I'd give this one a try.

(Specific to this proof version; the formatting, as is common with proof books, wasn't great and made it hard to follow some of the poems. Some titles were missing so that poems ran into each other, and none of them had the day of the month printed by them. This won't be a factor in the finished book but it did affect my enjoyment as I was reading through.)
Obviously I couldn't keep this book for a year and read it as it's meant to be read, so I had to be content with reading through it over a few nights instead. There were some here I recognised, though I couldn't have named them - First Fig is in here, Lines Written a Few Miles Above Tintern Abby, Daffodils - all grouped into themes for each month. There are plenty more that I didn't know, and I enjoyed reading through and picking out some that I will enjoy coming back to.

I did notice that two seemed very similar - the Iroquios prayer and the great spirit prayer are almost word for word, and they're only separated by one day which makes it even more obvious. However, as this is a proof, it's very likely that one is a place holder for something else that will go in before publication.

I enjoyed this; it's definitely prompted me to look out for more poetry, and I'll come back to this and try and read the one each day that it's designed for. I'll see how I go anyway! I love that they're grouped into themes and I think they suit the months well.

I enjoyed this and I'll be looking to pick up a few more by Allie to expand my knowledge!

[Veronica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I adore poetry collections, but there’s something about this one that didn’t quite reach its full potential. I guess it’s a case of the whole being less than a sum of its parts, because while some individual poems are lovely, the collection overall felt lacking in diversity. “Poems for Life” feels like it should be a really broad collection, with a lot of refreshing and interesting poems. This has a lot of seasonal ones (but then why not read a nature-themed collection?) and too many classical, familiar/obvious ones. It’s fine, but it felt a bit flat for something as grandiose as the title promises. I was hoping for something more adventurous and fulfilling.

I would recommend this collection to someone who isn't familiar with poetry and doesn't know where to begin.

[Katelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I devoured this incredible collection of poems, one for each day of the year. There was no way I could limit myself to one a day. I carried this beautiful, gold-foiled book on vacation, toting it with me everywhere I went, underlining furiously and writing down names of poets to look up afterwards. There are videos online of the talented Helen Bonham-Carter reading pieces from this book, as well as other anthologies edited by Allie Esiri. Her incredible recitations have reignited my love for poetry. This would make a wonderful gift, to yourself or for others. Upon completing my first read, I turned back to page 1 and started over again. This is one that will stay on my shelves.

[Carol Standish-Leigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully compiled anthology of poems. Each month is themed. There is a generous mixture of poetry from over the last two hundred years. Poems that are uplifting, sombre, short and longer, happy, sad, and thought provoking poems. Poems that speak of the heights of love and the depths of despair, of seemingly mundane every day occurrences that are elevated through the words of beautiful poetry. Poems where you can stick to the one a day or binge read or dip in and out as the mood takes you. This is a book that I will return to again and again, finding new favourites each time.

[Carol Standish-Leigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully compiled anthology of poems. Each month is themed. There is a generous mixture of poetry from over the last two hundred years. Poems that are uplifting, sombre, short and longer, happy, sad, and thought provoking poems. Poems that speak of the heights of love and the depths of despair, of seemingly mundane every day occurrences that are elevated through the words of beautiful poetry. Poems where you can stick to the one a day or binge read or dip in and out as the mood takes you. This is a book that I will return to again and again, finding new favourites each time.

[Sunidhi Panchal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Is this book one of the most stunning books I have ever seen? Yes.
Am I so fond of it that I always keep this on my bedside table? Absolutely yes.
Do I love it then?
As much as I have loved reading poems by Yeats, Keats, and Browning (which this book is full of) during my undergraduate years, I craved to explore more kinds of literature. The author has barely made any effort to include any Indian writer. There is, in fact, a majority of British writers.
You can't just envisage this compilation to be the best poems/must-read poems if you are not willing to explore enough.

[Karen Mace · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really well considered collection of poetry, from way back in time to more recent times, that were such an uplifting boost to the soul, no matter what day poem you read!

There's so many topics covered in this poetry that it really is a little bit of something for everybody! There's wisdom galore, and many even made me smile and laugh which was a delight!!

Books like these really get me more into poetry and I'm very glad for them so can highly recommend!!

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this collection much more than the previous collection (A Poem for Every Day of the Year) I read from this author. This collection is grouped by months, often the month has a theme. There was a wide range of poets and type of poetry included. Enjoyable.

[Ella-Mae Campling · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely collection of poetry by Allie Esiri, I enjoy the fact there were classic Poets, newer names, and a variety of themes dependent on the month of the year. I found new poems to adore by a wide variety of poets. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a free ARC in exchange for honest review.

[Sasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a solid collection that seamlessly blends contemporary (Brian Bilston, Ocean Vuong, Andrea Cohen, etc.) with classics like Wordsworth and Yeats. I especially loved the Ogden Nash, Raymond Carver, and strangely enough Neil Gaiman nods (though in light of the accusations against him, perhaps his marriage poem hasn't exactly aged well).

[Saturday's Child · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I don't read poetry all that often I could not resist borrowing this one from my local library. This was a wonderful collections of poems both classic and modern and if it were my own copy I would have taken pleasure in reading the poem for each day of the week for a full year.

[Joanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book full of beautiful poems. I will definitely buy this when it is out.

This is more an anthology for adults though.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a beautiful anthology. Themed each month, an easy way to read a poem every day. A great collection to peruse daily,

[Chelsey Mahoney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Placeholder this year for In Twenty Years or Less by David Collins (not on Goodreads?) Will be finishing 365 Poems for Life between this year and next year and I am in love with it so far.

[Rebekah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely book and categorising

[Willow Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good selection of poems. Some little gems are to be found. May we all be brave enough to write our own. X

[Codruta Stoica · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lively and lovely book! Enjoy the wonderful lyrics!

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly diverse, well organized collection. Perfect way to find new poets.

[Julie Bouchonville · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is a serious banger, i strongly recommend it to anyone that enjoys poetry. there are some things for everyone

[Marvelous · Rating 5 out of 5]

DNF got too lazy to read it everyday. But lots of cute stuff in here!

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely way to enjoy great poetry throughout the year.