Selected Poems

by Laurie Lee

First published in three separate collections, the poems in this anthology span the first decade, as well as many changes of mood, in the work of Laurie Lee.

Genres: Poetry, Classics, Nonfiction

68 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1982

About the author

Laurence Edward Alan "Laurie" Lee, MBE, was an English poet, novelist, and screenwriter. His most famous work was an autobiographical trilogy which consisted of Cider with Rosie (1959), As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning (1969) and A Moment of War (1991). While the first volume famously recounts his childhood in the idyllic Slad Valley, the second deals with his leaving home for London and his first visit to Spain in 1934, and the third with his return in December 1937 to join the Republican International Brigade.

Reviews

[Giuliana Fenwick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am in love with Laurie's poetry . I leave my world the minute I start reading him .... Every line stirs my soul and moves me . I find myself just exclaiming out loud at the beauty of his words - even when I'm on my own !

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably a greater poet than a writer of prose. The poems rooted in the English countryside stand out for me but all in this selection have something to offer.

[Eleanor Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Bird
*Invasion Summer
*April Rise
*Thistle
*Black Edge
*Home from Abroad
*Shot Fox

[Sarah Paps · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was hard for me to feel for his poems though I can see how they can be appealing. It's not so much the subject matter that I couldn't connect with, but more the style, presentation and use of language of his work. I find him to be a very abstract writer, focused more with language and words individually rather than expressing a certain emotion or story... Giving this collection only 2 stars is more for personal reasons because this style of poetry does not resonate with me as much as others, but I can definitely see what marks him as a great poet. He uses his style like a paintbrush and his choice of words like colors to create a kind of poetic landscape. You can view, observe and analyze the picture, but the full story behind it is up to personal interpretation. It's interesting to read and interesting to analyze as a poetry writer myself, but for me, I don't feel that these poems are lasting. But again, this is due to personal preference of poetic style and flavor.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a selection from Lee's earlier poetry. There are a number of war poems, written at the time Lee was in Spain during the civil war, though there are many other poems about nature, life, love, sex and, which Lee does so well, about childhood and lost time.

Some of the lines put me in mind of Keats, which initially I put down to my having read a lot of his poetry recently. Still, Lee's "Drowsed but not drowned" does remind me of Keats' "For shade to shade will come too drowsily, and drown the wakeful anguish of the soul" (respectively, The Easter Green and On Melancholy). There are other turns of phrase and meter, too, which make me think I'm not wholly deluded in the comparison.

In summary, evocative poems which make me want to explore further his later works.

[Kelly Loves Reading]

Read for the 2016 Pop Sugar reading challenge prompt "a book of poetry"

I loved the poem Thistle.

[forestseelies · Rating 4 out of 5]

His poetry is AMAZING! he is definitely one of my favorite poets. My favorite was probably 'on beacon hill'. his poetry is so beautiful and gives such amazing imagery.

[Ameythist Moreland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love his use of natural imagery and his unique turns of phrase.

Some favorite excerpts of mine:

From ‘The Wild Trees’

“O the wild trees of my home, forests of blue dividing the pink moon, the iron blue of those ancient branches with their berries of vermilion stars.”

From ‘Night Speech’

“The bright day is done
and we are for the dark;

but not for death.”

From ‘At Night’

“I think at night my hands are mad,
for they follow the irritant texture of darkness continually carving the sad leaf of your mouth
in the thick black bark of sleep.”

[Beka · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Blow bubble-film of blue" and "Night, that renews, re-orders day's scattered dust". His descriptions are just as good in poetry as they are in his prose (Cider with Rosie). I have re read several of these and they still linger with me - asking me to delve deeper or ponder further. So glad mom was able to find this one and send it to me.

[Judith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I should’ve probably given this 5 stars - I had no idea that Laurie Lee’s English could be this good! Please don’t expect me to explain every single one of these poems, but definitely a book to be treasured…!

[Polly Stephens · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 rounded up

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

It honestly pains me to give this poetry collection 2 stars. Laurie Lee has been my golden boy of the last couple of years - I've read 4 of his books and given them all 5 stars. I had this one down as a dead cert for the same rating. Given how beautifully poetic his prose is, there was no doubt in my mind that I would also love his poetry.
Unfortunately, whilst there was nothing I actively disliked about his poetry, nothing I thought was badly written, there was simply nothing that I really loved, or that I latched onto. As I always find myself doing with books I'm not particularly enjoying, I kept counting how many pages away I was from the end, and being impatient to move on.
This doesn't change the fact, for me, that he's a genius when it comes to writing, just that his poetry wasn't for me. It's such a shame, but I suppose I'll just be sticking to his novels from now on!

[Colin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've always loved Laurie Lee's prose, the poetic richness of his language and his ability to summon up the sense of a place or an emotion with just the right words. His first love, however, was poetry, so I thought I'd enjoy this selection of his poems. I was a little disappointed however; it's something of a mixed bag, and the poems it contains vary quite considerably in quality. There are some that feel as if they could have been written by Thomas Hardy: Town Owl, The Abandoned Shade and Christmas Landscape are prime examples. Elsewhere, there are faint echoes of Housman and occasionally of Ted Hughes. Some poems, though, feel strained and lack the necessary sparkle. Reading this collection was an interesting, but not wholly satisfying, experience.