The Collins Book of Best-Loved Verse

by Charles Osborne

The Collins Book of Best-Loved Verse brings together in one volume all those poems that run in the bloodstream - learnt at school, half-remembered, evocative for a lifetime; from 'Jabberwocky' to 'Jerusalem'; from 'The Charge of the Light Brigade' to 'Joan Hunter Dunn'; from Wilfred Owen to Edward Lear.

Both the familiar and the newly memorable, the traditional and the soon-to-be traditional, are represented in this collection. It will be a rich source of nostalgia and discovery, an indispensable companion for winter evenings and summer afternoons.

Genres: Poetry

217 pages, Hardcover

First published November 3, 1986

About the author

Charles Thomas Osborne was a journalist, theatre and opera critic, poet and novelist. He was assistant editor of The London Magazine from 1958 until 1966, literature director of the Arts Council of Great Britain from 1971 until 1986, and chief theatre critic of Daily Telegraph (London) from 1986 to 1991. He is the only author the Agatha Christie Estate has ever allowed to produce adapted works in her name. (wikipedia)

Reviews

[Diana Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank the Literary Life Reading Challenge for encouraging me to read poetry 🥳 Here's to more in the future🥂

"When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;

How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;

And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars."
-W.B. Yeats

Tis' the last poem from the anthology and what a great one to choose to end the book. Really looking forward to more poetry in the future.

[Trevor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. I read it at least every couple of years. it's like visiting an old friend.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute and comforting little collection of popular poems. Some, for me, more enjoyable than others but I think this is inevitable. Of course, I was drawn to the poems I already know and love, so I read those first, but I did end up reading this cover to cover.

The first poem, 'The Fairies', really set it up for me. I read it and got all giddy because I loved the way it rhymed and how the rhythm bounced over the words. I would sit and list all of my favourites of the collection, but we would be here forever.

The reason for the three star rating is that: 1. like I said, I didn't like every single poem (though I think it would be impossible for me to) and 2. I would have been happier if there were some more diverse authors in there. It did seem to be mostly white men.

Nevertheless, enjoyable, and I appreciate Osborne's choices <3