The Best Poems Ever: A Collection of Poetry's Greatest Voices

by Edric S. Mesmer (Editor)

Just in time for National Poetry Month, a fantastic collection of some of the best poems ever.

These are some of the most amazing poems ever written, touching the heart, challenging the mind, and conjuring worlds of experience and imagination.

Included are poems
Emily Dickinson
Edgar Allan Poe
William Shakespeare
Sylvia Plath
Walt Whitman
Pablo Neruda
Lucille Clifton
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Gwendolyn Brooks
Wallace Stevens
Marianne Moore
Percy Bysshe Shelley

. . . and many more!

Genres: Poetry, Classics, Childrens, School, Young Adult, Adult, Fiction

74 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Jakob J. 🎃 · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Best Poems Ever; so claimeth the rubric. Sure, another offering could better lay to the designation than the sampler supplied, but had it been haphazardly compiled a decade or two hence (Best…Poems…Ever!, featuring the immortal typings of Kaur, Lovelace, and R.H. Sin), would be a contradiction to roll Whitman in his multitudinous grave and cause a posthumous revocation of his Poets to Come piece of encouragement, which concludes this volume.

Expected and respectable Frost, Poe, Thomas, and Dickinson; blindly plucked Pound, Plath, and Neruda; other primer pieces intended for youthful engagement with various forms. Not the strongest of any on display, but an adequate introductory attempt.

[Tamecia · Rating 3 out of 5]

In my opinion there were only about 10 poems in this collection that I would consider some of the best. It was a good read though, I may not have liked it as much as I did if it wasn't for the fact that it contained some of my favorite poems.

[Jagger Cummings · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not the biggest fan of poetry but this was very interesting. I enjoyed the short stories and may read some more poems from some of the poets included in this book.

[Oscar Mares · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think it's OK and that is accomplishes the task as an introduction to poetry for a YA aundience. I would reccomend it for that. It was also intereseting to read poets that wrote in Spanish and that were translated and included such as Pablo Neruda and Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz.
My takeaways are some beautiful poems like Exhile's Letter by Rihaku, Life in a love by Robert Browning, The raven by Edgar Allan Poe (<3), Buffalo dusk by Carl Sandburg, The night dances by Sylvia Plath, This is just to say by William Carlos Williams, Jabberwocky by Lewis Carrol, The Tyger by William Blake, Mother to son by Langston Hughes, The road not taken by Robert Frost, Who had seen the wind by Christina Georgina Rossetti, Tenebris by Angelina Weld Grimké and I may, I might, I must by Marianne Moore.

[Adrian]

I read the poem When Great Dogs fight, and my favorite part was when it said, “A sphinx haunts every age and every zone: When great dogs fight, the small dog gets the bones.” I recommend this book to people who like books that have a lot of meaning behind it and like music. The setting seems like a huge gated area or a small area that is gated. A character in the poem is a dog who is sad and upset and always has this mean grimace look on his face. The dog seems to be depressed and wants to be free and with a family.

[Maleah Jones]

The Raven and Sonnet 130 i think were my favorite. It challenges you to think but in a good way

[Austin Flores · Rating 4 out of 5]

For someone who was liking for a good book to intro myself into poetry, I loved the different styles and it helped me see which styleI am more into.

[Krista · Rating 3 out of 5]

My new favorite poem (replacing the Shel Silverstein classic, Nobody) is Edna St. Vincent Millay's Travel - that final stanza about friends and moving on...

[Shawn Deal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great collection would make a good introduction to poetry in general and some of the greatest poets of all time. M

[aeve]

This is such a nice and varied little collection. Admittedly, some selections, to me, are a bit of a miss, and certainly not credible for the status of "The Best Poems Ever". However, that is poetry, isn't it? There is no authority on what is great.

[Precious Jaylynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has some of the best poems ever written and some coming from the best poets.

[Alec · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not the biggest fan of poetry so if you are trying to find a book to read i wouldn't go with this but I had a hard time to read this book but overall it was okay.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok, I'm not really into poetry so I really didn't care much about it. But other than that it was pretty good.

[Caroline · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was just okay. Some of the poems were kinda weird, deep and hard to understand. It's not the best poetry book I have read, but it wasn't too bad.

[Lauren · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked this book out thinking it would be okay, but I was wrong. I really disliked it and only finished it because I needed it for the genre chart. I wouldn't recommend this book.

[Andy Hickman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Best Poems Ever (book)

Fantastic anthology, easy to carry around. ****
….
‘Blessing the Boats’ – Lucille Clifton
In a Celtic tradition of symbolism of the elements. ***

‘The Author to Her Book’ – Anne Bradstreet
“Thou ill-formed offspring of my feeble brain.” Very clever and insightful. ****

‘Sonnet 130’ – William Shakespeare
“.. she belied with false compare.” ***

‘Life in a Love’ – Robert Browning
“But what if I fail of my purpose here?” ***

‘The Raven’ - Poe
Unrivalled perfection!! *****
“Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
……..Bird or beast upon the sculptured bust above his chamber door,
With such name as "Nevermore.”

‘Ode on a Grecian Urn’ - John Keats
"Who are these coming to the sacrifice?
To what green altar, O mysterious priest..."
Prominent figurative language.
“Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.” ****

‘This is Just to Say’ - William Carlos William
Casual note of apology left on the fridge for his flatmates. **

‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ – Wilfred Owen
Graphically powerful observations of war zone horror. ****

‘My Life had stood -- a Loaded Gun’ – Emily Dickinson
Profound fusion of gun and owner .. or (God) as Master and servant? Or man and lover? *****

‘Archaic Torso of Apollo’ - Rainer Maria Rilke
Commentaries say that in this poem "the object describes the observer".
Ok then... **

“Jabberwocky” - Lewis Carroll, from 'Through the Looking Glass' illustrated by Graeme Base (1987).

The strength of this book is the amazing illustrations. Large, bold, deep and dark.
The poem is:

’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe. ---- ***
..

‘The Tyger’ – William Blake
Exotic!

Tyger Tyger, burning bright,
In the forests of the night;
What immortal hand or eye,
Could frame thy fearful symmetry? ---- ***
….

‘Mother to Son’ -Langston Hughes
"Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair."
Keep climbing, keep moving forward, never give up! ***
…

'The Road Not Taken' – Robert Frost
One of the most philosophical poems I’ve ever read

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth; ----- ****
.

‘The Triple Fool’ – John Donne
I have come to value JD’s work. This is imaginative and humbling. ****
.

‘Remembrance’ - Emily Brontë
Worth reading frequently.
“Cold in the earth .. Have I forgot .. to love thee…?” ****
..

‘Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird’ – Wallace Stevens
Something peaceful and yet haunting about the poet’s observation of blackbirds. ***
..

‘Who Has Seen the Wind?’ – Christina Rossetti
Simple poem that makes you smile. Too short to warrant more than 2 stars. **
..

‘The Doubt of Future Foes’ – Elizabeth I
Is this the queen? ***
..

‘Do not go gentle into that good night’ - Dylan Thomas (1914-1953)
What an intense piece of writing. Wow!
It is 3 years since first reviewing it and I am changing my rating from 4 to 5. It is the perfect template on how to write a ‘villanelle’. (Did you know that it is quoted in Christopher Nolan’s 2014 film ‘Interstellar’?} *****
…

‘Sonnet 43’ – Elizabeth Barrett Browning
A love letter. “I shall but love thee better after death.” ***
..

‘Dover Beach’ – Matthew Arnold
Honourable description of the beach at night. The rhythmic sway of "where ignorant armies clash by night."
***
..

‘Poets to Come’ – Walt Whitman
Wow! Insightful and prophetic. I think I’ll keep this in mind and close to my awareness. ****
..

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book "The Best Poems Ever," written by Edric Mesmer, was an interesting curation of poems that I enjoyed reading through. The author included poems by historically significant authors, such as William Shakespeare and Edgar Allan Poe. However, he included other not as well-known poems that were still worth their salt. There were several poems that were curiously included, but I still enjoyed reading, such as "Jabberwocky" by Lewis Carroll, or "The Bean Eaters" by Gwendolyn Brooks. It made sure to include a diverse spectrum of poems, ranging from the profound to the more humorous. This book is a great introduction to poetry. With many different forms and degrees of difficulty, readers are sure to get a broad perspective of what poetry can be.

I rate this book four out of five stars, mostly for personal preference. I felt like as I read through the book, the sheer diversity and number of poems was of such good quality that I couldn't help but enjoy it. Skimming through the pages I inevitably found poems that fit any mood; poems of deep meaning and thought-provoking word choice paired with the occasional fun experiment with rhetoric or grammar. However, I didn't give this book a full five-star rating because I doubt that some of these poems are really the best ever. While I enjoyed reading it, occasionally I just didn't see the significance of some poems, and I felt like this story's title was more to draw attention than to really record some of history's greatest poetic works.

[GabeR · Rating 2 out of 5]

December Independent Reading
Gabe Ruffing

The Best Poems Ever edited by Edric S. Mesmer is a collection of poems. In this book there are poems about many different topics. Robert Frost tells of making a choice of paths in the woods in The Road Not Taken. Remembrance by Emily Bronte discusses the loss of a loved one fifteen years prior. Sonnet 43 by Elizabeth Barrett Browning is a story about love.

My favorite poem from this collection is The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe. In this poem, a raven visits a man on a dreary night. At the beginning of the poem, the man opens the door after hearing a knocking. He sees nothing upon opening the door, but hears his voice saying the word “Lenore.” Lenore is his lost love. Then he hears tapping at the window and opens it, a raven flies in and perches above the doorway. “Nevermore” is the only response the raven gives to the man’s questions. The raven gives the same response when it is asked to leave. I liked this poem because it is scary and suspenseful.

Poetry is the theme for this month. Each poem tells a story. Poems can be created on any subject and use different ways to express feelings or thoughts.

I did not like these poems because poetry is hard for me to understand. It was not difficult to read, but was difficult for me to process the words and understand the meaning behind it. I give it a 2 out of 5 for those reasons.

I would not recommend this book unless you enjoy processing poems.

[Eric · Rating 1 out of 5]

In this book, a lot of the poems were written about more happy and uplifting content. One was about dogs, another was about a crow that woke someone up, and much more. Some things that were written about in the poems were about their experiences. One poem was about someone watching two dogs fighting. A recurring trend in many of the poems is that they were very long and drawn out.
There were not many figurative devices in this book. Many of the devices that were used were always there to add to the imagery or theme of the poems. For example: in the poem about dogs, most of the words in the short poem were used to describe what the dog looked like, and allow the person reading to fill in what the dog may have looked like with a dog they already know and associate the dog in the story with the dog they already know. In another poem, the opposite happened. There were at least 4 pages of writing to create a more detailed picture of both the main subject and the environment.
Overall, the book was okay. I felt like some poems were way too long for me to enjoy them. Other than that, all of the other poems were generic. It was cool to see the figurative devices that I have been learning in class. This book will be a good read for you if you like poems that are moving.

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

The poems were really well written and very diverse. It didn’t follow any plot which was honestly a nice change. I don’t particularly enjoy poetry but the rhymes and poetic devices were used well in a large majority of the poems. I recognized some of the authors from things I did in school so that was a good story to life connection. Speaking of story to life connections, some of the poems were more relatable than I care to admit.
Various poetic devices are used such as Allusion, inner rhyme, and rhyme scheme. They were used well for the most part. Some of the poetic devices didn’t flow so well though. I enjoyed seeing different minds use similar poetic devices in different ways.
I find poems interesting and I appreciate the effort people put in them. I have a new view on poetry after reading the famous works but as said before I still don’t really like poetry. I have admiration for the person who organized this book because it’s done well and it was an easy read despite the fact that it didn’t exactly bring me joy.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a variety of “the best poems ever”. I don't think they are the best poems and most people probably don't since everyone has their own opinion, but my favorite poem in the book is,” A Red Hat” This is my favorite poem because it made me think deeper about the meaning of the poem and reminded me of my dad a little bit. It says,” A dark grey, very dark grey, a quite dark grey is monstrous ordinarily.” This makes me think of fire because I know that grey smoke from a fire is bad. Towards the end of the poem, it says,” If red is in everything it is not necessary.” This makes it sound like the story is in hell. That is why I like this poem so much. It really makes you think, what is happening in the poem. There are no characters in this poem. It’s one of those poems that only has a narrator and no characters.

[Yazmin L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. These poems were fun to read and are very creative in the wording. I always enjoy reading ones that rhyme because that is something I enjoy doing with my own poems. One poem that I really liked from here was titled "Mother to Son" by Lagston Hughes, I like the message that was given in this poem and how it was written. I also liked the poem totled "Travel" by Edna St. Vincent Millay, this poem had great imagery when reading it. Finally I also liked "Sonnet 130" by William Shakespeare (I already knew this poem by Shakespeare - he never fails me :) The editor did a great choice on what poems to mash up in this book.

[Madelyn Strauss · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well this was an interesting reread, as I first received this book from my fourth grade teacher. While I did not pay much attention to this book until recent years, I do believe it is a great introduction into English poetry and poets. My favorite poems from this collection include Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll, Remembrance by Emily Bronte, and Poets to Come by Walt Whitman. Overall this poetry collection is great, I think it provides a nice introduction into poetry and leads the reader wanting more, I gave it a three star just like most poetry books I read, although I do think this is the best poetry book I have read.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know little about poetry and I'm not overly interested in learning more so I can't really say if these are the best poems ever, but I have doubts. Still there were a few I recognized and a few I enjoyed.

My favourites:
Sonnet 130 by William Shakespeare
Ode to Enchanted Light by Pablo Neruda
anyone lived in a pretty how town by e. e. cummings
(untitled) by Emily Dickinson
The Tyger by William Blake
The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost
Remembrance by Emily Bronte
Travel by Edna St. Vincent Millay
The Doubt of Future Foes by Elizabeth I
Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night by Dylan Thomas

#15/17 in the Scholastics Classics Collection

[Robbie Schmidt · Rating 4 out of 5]

The poem I chose starts of as a man hunting in the woods. In the middle he realized hunting isn't okay and harms and sends animals lives. In the end, he says "For I have the power to kill, Without the power to die." Meaning he can kill without him risking his live and the animals can't fight back.

The characters in the poem are just the man hunting in the woods and the deer.

The story is set in the Sovereign Woods.

I really enjoyed the poem, but It was a little hard to understand at first. I would recommend this book of poems to people who like inspiring poems that have a good message.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perfect for carrying around in the purse for a year. Poems vary as to content, accessibility, style, age.
I noted:

a new vocabulary word? *When Great Dogs Fight* refers to "the izzard cur"...

*Remembrance" by Emily Bronte has a line every angsty teen girl will identify with... if "memory's rapturous pain" doesn't mean much to you out of context, look up the whole poem.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Sonnets are, of course, perfect for sweethearts. If you had a good Valentine's day, look up #43 which includes one of my favorite lines, "by sun and candle-light."

[Shahla hajatnia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was at work, waiting in a small office for a boring meeting. It was early in the morning of a rainy day in autumn and all I could think about was that I should be out there walking among the rain drops and trees. I looked at the shelves and this was the first book I saw! It was unusual because I had never read english poetry. To be honest I didn't understand some parts either and the parts I did connect to might be a result of my own imagination and bad english maybe. But perhaps that is poetry. To reflect your own soul in someone else's words...

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid introductory book for poetry newbies. I respect the editor’s decision to sometimes put a lesser-known poem by a popular poet in there, though sometimes I did wonder if the selections measured up. Great collection of poets for sure, with some choices more conventional editors may have excluded. The only time I raised my eyebrow was at the inclusion of Elizabeth I, though her poem was certainly interesting. A few translated non-English language poems made it in, and there is a decent mix of styles. Appropriate for middle-grade readers.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

A small, but pleasant collection of poetry. By no means, however, are these the best poems ever. Quite a notable few were missing.
Note: this book was given to be in grade school by my mother who had bought it at a book fair. Only now at 23 did I actually get around to reading it. How time flies.

[Princess of Dragonstone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just a quick review of this as I haven't actually read it in years and only recently remembered I own it. Skimming through it, it brings back memories of me reading this as a child, though I'm not sure how exactly I got my hands on the particular small copy I have. I do remember vaguely reading The Raven in here and finding it fascinating. I might reread it fully again in the future.