The Nation's Most Treasured Verse ~ Love Poems

by Various

Published with the permission of the BBC, poems heard on Radio 4's 'Poetry Please' programme and chosen as Britain's favourite love poems.

Genres: Poetry

190 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2016

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

[Kana⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adrian Henri's Talking After Christmas Blues by Adrian Henri

Well I woke up this mornin' it was Christmas Day
And the birds were singing the night away
I saw my stocking lying on the chair
Looked right to the bottom but you weren't there
there was
apples
oranges
chocolates
. .. . aftershave
but no you.

So I went downstairs and the dinner was fine
There was pudding and turkey and lots of wine
And I pulled those crackers with a laughing face
Till I saw there was no one in your place
there was
mincepies
brandy
nuts and raisins
. . . mashed potato
but no you.

Now it's New Year and it's Auld Lang Syne
And it's 1 2 o'clock and I'm feeling fine
Should Auld Acquaintance be Forgot?
I don't know girl, but it hurts a lot
there was
whisky
vodka dry Martini (stirred
but not shaken)
.... and 12 New Year resolutions
all of them about you.



So it's all the best for the year ahead

As I stagger upstairs and into bed
Then I looked at the pillow by my side
. . .I tell you baby I almost cried

there'll be

Autumn

Summer
Spring
. . . . and Winter

all of them without you.

[Nihou · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading a poetry book organised by alphabetical order was a new one on me. It would have been interesting and useful to have been given a hint at any kind of context for each one, even the dates when the authors lived, or their dates of writing. That said, I enjoyed seeing where some famous quotes or origins of others’ works came from, plus being introduced to people I might never have otherwise come across. There were some beautiful and thought-provoking gems, as well as works that I needed to look up received wisdom on as I was out of my depth. My favourite discovery was the touching and pragmatic Atlas, by Ursula Fanthorpe.

[Liana✞ · Rating 3 out of 5]

honestly, I can't say that I understood most poems or liked most of the poems, but there were undoubtedly a select few that truly touched my heart and laid bare my tears, some that just reminded me of the magic and the gift of being able to love and to be loved, of the gift of being human, of the gift of life itself, and I'm very grateful for such a reminder

[George Russell-Stracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first collection of poems. God there’s a lot of shite out there. Lovely to put some well heard and known lines into context. Should read more poetry.