Pocket Book of Poetry

by Various

The sixty poems selected for Pocket Book of Poetry span more than four centuries and some rank among the greatest works of literature in the English language. Many are popular favorites and several represent the best works written by their authors, among them William Shakespeare's sonnets, Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "Kubla Khan," John Keats' "Ode on a Grecian Urn," William Butler Yeats' "The Second Coming," and Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken."

Although some of these poems share themes and verse forms, each is a unique work unto itself. All suggest a world much greater than can be encompassed in their words, and the way in which they transport the reader to that realm is a large part of the pleasure that they offer.

Pocket Book of Poetry is one of Barnes & Noble's Collectible Editions classics. Each volume features authoritative texts by the world's greatest authors in an exquisitely designed bonded-leather binding, with distinctive gilt edging.

Genres: Poetry, Classics, Collections, Literature, Nonfiction, Anthologies

118 pages, Leather Bound

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Various is the correct author for any book with multiple unknown authors, and is acceptable for books with multiple known authors, especially if not all are known or the list is very long (over 50).

If an editor is known, however, Various is not necessary. List the name of the editor as the primary author (with role "editor"). Contributing authors' names follow it.

Note: WorldCat is an excellent resource for finding author information and contents of anthologies.

Reviews

[Loretta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another nice small selection of poetry. 😊

[Bon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whoever compiled this was a genius and obviously a kindred spirit, because all the best poems were in here. I love me a grim ballad or a musing on death and they were all here, "Because I Could Not Stop for Death", "The Highwayman", "In Flanders Fields"... I enjoyed it immensely. There's unexpected wisdom to be found in here, too, including an eerily-prescient poem about a Wall by Robert Frost. Makes you think...

[Justin Wiggins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this volume of poetry in the bargain bin at work and finished reading it the other night. It is a very good compilation of poems by William Blake, John Donne, Emily Dickinson, John Keats, Percy Shelley, Lord Byron, Rudyard Kipling, John Milton, Shakespeare, William Butler Yeats, and many others. I highly recommend it.

[Alex Kearney · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good 100 page introduction to some of the great English poems

[Matthew Simpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this several times over the last month. My introduction to poetry and the classics.

Standouts:
- “Ozymandias” by Shelley
- “Ode on a Grecian Urn” by Keats
- “Because I could not stop for Death” by Dickinson
- “Dover Beach” by Arnold
- “The Second Coming” by Yeats
- “The Listeners” by De La Mare

[Karysa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this little book in my stocking for Christmas and I'm glad because I want to read more poetry. I really liked the ones in here that I already knew from Anne of Green Gables and Dead Poets Society. I also enjoyed most of the other poems but some were admittedly over my lazy head. One of my favorite poems was by a British guy named Edward Lear. He wrote "nonsense poetry" which I really like because then I don't feel like I'm missing some deeper meaning.

[Sunny D · Rating 3 out of 5]

I find it hard to rate collections of poems since each sits with me differently, but I really did enjoy this one. Within it, I sampled poets both that I grew up hearing and others I wish I had. A few of these didn't hit the mark for me, but it stands a lovely collection.

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills.
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils...

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils."

I've been trying to get back into poetry and this was a very good start! A nice, short compilation of poems from various poets, covering different material and from different times. I even recognized a few! My favorites are "I wandered lonely as a cloud," "She dwelt among the untrodden ways," "Annabel Lee," "The Children's Hour," "The Ballad of the Harp-Weaver," "O Captain! My Captain!," "The Passionate Shepard to His Love," "A Red, Red Rose," "Sea-Fever," and "Solitude." Now I can look into the new poets I now know I like :)

[Ethan Preston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read through this one poem a day. Excellent survey of great english poems. Was able to read some of my favorites as well as discover new ones. Some of my favorite from this volume: Death (John Donne), The Lamb (William Blake), The Raven (Edgar Allen Poe), Dover Beach (Matthew Arnold), The Second Coming (W. B. Yeats), Hap (Thomas Hardy), The Highwayman (Alfred Noyes), The Road Not Taken (Robert Frost), Trees (Joyce Kilmer).

[Rachelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book #70 of the EBN Challenge at my Library.
Challenge topic: A book of Poetry.

Lots of really popular poems like "The Raven" and "O Captain, My Captain" and then ones I've never heard before like "The Ballad of the Harp-Weaver." It really touched me emotionally.

[Tammi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice selection of poems by various authors...actually included some of my favorites. A great book for anyone interested in poetry!

[Lucas Verbunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5*

[Fefe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh how I love funny little poems with funny little words that I can barely understand

[Germaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amo la poesía!! Mis favoritos:

Sonnet CXVI - Shakespeare
A Red, Red Rose - Robert Burns
The Divine Image - William Blake
I wandered Lonely as a cloud - William Wordsworth
Hope is the thing with feathers - Emily Dickinson
Dover Beach - Matthew Arnold
Hap - Thomas Hardy
The Road Not Taken - Robert Frost

[Elan Garfias · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a perfect little volume! So small and yet it's taken years to reach the end and digest the material. This is superb for anyone who's curious about poetry but knows nothing about it, as I was when I first got it. Perfect for carrying around for those odd moments on the bus when a little hit of literature will change your whole day.

[Jacob Jensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poetry is like the shot glass of literature—it is creative and short, but incredibly potent.

Poetry can encapsulate the themes and ideas of entire books into just a few stanzas.

This short book includes a variety of poets who cover themes from love and death, to the unknown and nature. The poets span from the 1500’s to early 20th century.

Admittedly, I used the internet quite a bit to help me interpret certain words or phrases (I recommend LitCharts). Having to study out the interpretations and the contexts in which these poems were written made them all the more impactful and memorable.

Having the light switch turn on with a specific line or poem is unbelievably satisfying. It’s like smelling and seeing a delicious meal…then actually tasting it.

It is easy to cruise past unfamiliar words or phrases by just using context clues and getting the “gist” of the meaning—but I do not recommend this. Dig into each word. Discover each theme. Make notes in the margins. Write down what it makes you feel and think.

This book has moved me in many ways. It took time and work, but it made it all the more worth it.

- “If you can dream—and not make dreams your master; if you can think—and not make thoughts your aim…”

- “Sing, and the hills will answer; sigh, it is lost on the air.”

- “I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.”

- “O Captain! My Captain! Our fearful trip is done, the ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won.”

- “But thy eternal summer shall not fade…”

[Robert Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though I hate to start a review with a complaint, I feel I must observe that far too much contemporary poetry seems to have completely lost all sense of aesthetic value. Many of us, then, often return to the classics for our poetry. This lovely little book represents some of the best of those classic poems. Coming in at just over 100 pages, it nevertheless manages to contain not only a few good poems, but many of the very best poems, including several of my personal favorites. Beginning with three of Shakespeare's sonnets and concluding with Edna St. Vincent Millay's "The Ballad of the Harp Weaver," the book reads like a who's who of 400+ years of excellent verse.

Of course it's true that poetry is subject to personal tastes and my favorites are undoubtedly different from your own and both of ours are likely different from anyone else's. As such, I freely admit there are some poems in this collection that speak to me far more than some of the others. However, not only are many of my favorites included, but I cannot identify a single entry in the book that I actually dislike. It's incredibly likely that at least some of your own personal favorites will be here. And if you're relatively new to poetry, you're likely to discover some new favorites along the way.

Don't expect to find a lot that you haven't already read in here. The selections are brilliant, timeless, moving, thought-provoking, and beautiful, but they're not particularly rare or under-read. This isn't the book to turn to if you're looking to broaden your poetic horizons. Instead, it's the book to turn to if you want a lovely pocket-sized edition collecting between two covers a cross-section of the very best of English verse. For that purpose, I can't think of a better book than this one.

[I Red · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very sweet collection of poems. Even though I didn’t personally like every single one, I appreciate their value and understand why they’re considered classics. On the other hand, I now have some new favorites that I absolutely adore!

I also like the idea of having many of the classics at my fingertips. I look forward to rereading a lot of these poems and relishing the genius use of language in it’s pages.

[Heather Fryling · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great little book of all those classic poems that inspired you in high school and college literature classes. If it's been a while since you had an overview of poetry, this isn't a bad place to jump back in.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm just not a fan of poetry.

[Linsey · Rating 1 out of 5]

What an awful collection.
There's maybe 5 famous poems and 2 that are actually good. The rest is bland and poor taste.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree. – Joyce Kilmer, “Trees”

I enjoyed this selection of poetry, which has helped confirm to me what types of poetry (and which specific poets) speak to me. Many of the poems included in this volume were also included in the collection of 100 Best-Loved Poems edited by Philip Smith, though the Pocket Book of Poetry seems to focus less on earlier poetry in favor of some additional twentieth century poems, which is just fine by me.

However, while I liked the selection of poems, there is exactly zero supplemental material provided. No introduction to each poet, no remarks on the various movements of poetry, no definitions of words that are now archaic, no analysis of the poems, not even dates for the poets/poems themselves. For that reason, this wasn’t especially helpful as someone who is looking for a bit more guidance on poetry. I get that Fall River Press isn’t an academic press, but even budget publisher Dover Publications put more effort into 100 Best-Loved Poems.

I will say, though, that the volume itself is quite sturdy. I think the cover’s ugly and I hate the paper they used —very white and smooth—but it holds up. I cracked the spine completely open and didn't hesitate to bend the cover as was convenient for note-taking, but if it weren’t for all my scribbling in the margins it could probably pass as brand new. The sewn binding and flexi-bound cover really do make for an indestructible combination.

I’m giving this 4 stars based solely on the poetry itself.

Favorite poems:
- Shakespeare’s sonnets
- John Donne, “Death”
- William Blake, “The Tiger”
- William Wordsworth, “I wandered lonely as a cloud” and “The world is too much with us”
- Percy Bysshe Shelley, “Ode to the West Wind”
- Alfred Lord Tennyson, “The Charge of the Light Brigade” and “Crossing the Bar”
- Ella Wheeler Wilcox, “Solitude”
- Rudyard Kipling, “If”
- John Masefield, “Sea-Fever”
- John McCrae, “In Flanders Fields”
- Joyce Kilmer, “Trees”

[Morgan Kail-Ackerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing poems, historically-impactful. A great collection.

My favorites:
Sonnet XVIII: William Shakespeare
Sonnet XXIX: William Shakespeare
Sonnet CXVI: William Shakespeare
Death: John Donne
The Sun Rising: John Donne
To the Virgins, To Make Much of Time: Robert Herrick
A Red, Red Rose: Robert Burns
The Divine Image: William Blake
Ozymandias: Percy Bysshe Shelley
Ode to a Grecian Urn: John Keats
The Children's Hour: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
The Raven: Edgar Allan Poe
Annabel Lee: Edgar Allan Poe
"Hope is a thing with feathers": Emily Dickinson
"Because I could not stop for Death": Emily Dickinson
The Charge of the Light Brigade: Alfred Lord Tennyson
Dover Beach: Matthew Arnold
The Owl and the Pussy-Cat: Edward Lear
The Walrus and the Carpenter: Lewis Carroll
Solitude: Ella Wheeler Wilcox
When I Was One-and-Twenty: AE Housman
If: Rudyard Kipling
The Listeners: Walter De La Mare
The Highwayman: Alfred Noyes
Richard Cory: Edward Arlington Robinson
Miniver Cheevy: Edward Arlington Robinson
The Road Not Taken: Robert Frost
Trees: Joyce Kilmer
The Ballad of the Harp-Weaver: Edna St. Vincent Millay

[S. Spelbring · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this collection of poetry. It contains some very famous poems by some very well known authors including Shakespeare, Byron, Bronte, Yeats, Keats, Elliot, and more. If you find it you should grab it up.

I must confess that I actually took the time to read through this twice. I had to, the poems all had a beauty about them that I wanted to soak them in as much as possible before reading something else. Some of my favorites were "The Road Not Taken", "Because I Could Not Stop for Death", and "O Captain, My Captain!"

To me, this was an inspiring read. Reading some of the great poets inspired me to try my hand at poetry again.

[Frances · Rating 5 out of 5]

Starting with Shakespeare and ending with Edna St. Vincent Millay, these poems are in roughly chronological order by author. They range from sonnets to odes, to Longfellow and Poe, to Emily Dickinson and Alfred Lord Tennyson, not forgetting The Owl and the Pussy-Cat or the Walrus and the Carpenter. It includes Yeats, Hardy, and John Masefield, The Highwayman and In Flanders Fields, and rounds out the first half of the twentieth century with Robert Frost. There are some favorites I would have added, but then it would not be a pocket book of poetry.
I made a Spotify playlist of the poems in this book, under the same title.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

An essential book of poetry for any reader, poet, or any word-enthusiast. It's filled with so many pivotal poems and fine examples of the English language that everyone should be familiar with if they want to call themselves well-read. Plus, the fancy cover and slim feel of this volume make it a fine addition to any shelf.

[Maya · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Pocket Book of Poetry is a delightful compilation of 60 of the best poems of all time. I was pleased to find some favorites like “On His Blindness,” “Ozymandias,” “The Raven,” and “If,”—and even more pleased to read other great poems I had not read before, including “She dwelt among the untrodden ways” and “The Sun Rising.” Simply lovely.

[Rae V · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great collection of poems! Particularly loved the Emily Dickinson “Hope is the thing with feathers”, and Edgar Allan Poe “Annabel Lee”

No great in depth review for this one since it’s a collection and variety of authors. I’ve really been enjoying these pocket books of poetry! Easy to take along in a purse or small bag and read on the go.

[Anthony Alvarez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This little anthology is a true treasure trove — a neatly curated leather‑edged booklet overflowing with sixty standout poems from across four centuries. It features beloved classics like Shakespeare’s sonnets, Coleridge’s Kubla Khan, Keats’s Ode on a Grecian Urn, Yeats’s The Second Coming, and Frost’s The Road Not Take

[Randi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful little collection of classic poetry. I enjoyed it very much over coffee. ;) I particularly love that "The Highwayman" was included...though I'm not sure why the editors insisted on including "The Owl and the Pussy-Cat." =/