Poems of the Sea

by Adam Nicolson (Introduction), Gaby Morgan (Editor)

Poems of the Sea is an anthology of classic poetry that celebrates the sea; from the power of a stormy ocean to ships and sailors and beaches strewn with shells.

Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, pocket-sized classics with ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition features an introduction by author Adam Nicolson.

For generations, poets have taken inspiration from ocean mists and rugged coastlines to conjure up adventures on the high seas and joyous days at the seaside. From Emily Dickinson’s morning dog walks by the shore, to the river running through Sara Teasdale’s sunny valley, and from Walt Whitman’s fish-filled forests, to the silent ships passing in Paul Laurence Dunbar’s dark ocean, there are poems here for every reader to enjoy.

Genres: Poetry

224 pages, Hardcover

Published November 23, 2021

About the author

Adam Nicolson writes a celebrated column for The Sunday Telegraph. His books include Sissinghurst, God’s Secretaries, When God Spoke English, Wetland, Life in the Somerset Levels, Perch Hill, Restoration, and the acclaimed Gentry. He is winner of the Somerset Maugham Award and the British Topography Prize and lives on a farm in Sussex.

Reviews

[cloud · Rating 4 out of 5]

my favourite poems were 'sea-longing' (sara teasdale), 'my bounding bark' (anon), 'the winds of fate' (ella wheeler wilcox), 'wild nights - wild nights!' (emily dickinson), and 'the sea limits' (dante gabriel rossetti)! got one more of these left to read

[Sichelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I adore most poetry so perhaps I’m not the most reliable critic, but I did truly enjoy each and every one of the poems in this beautiful collection of works from many famous poets and laureates. I’ve carried it around in my purse since the day I bought it first in December 2021, and the little hardcover has held up very well! I’m rather hard on my books, so I’m impressed it’s stood up to the abuse. Either way, reading a poem or two while watching the sun set over the pacific has been a welcome joy this winter. Would definitely recommend one tries it.

[Judith Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although the title is Poems of the Sea, Water Poems might be a better description, as it includes rivers and lakes! Some of the older poems, chosen I guess just because they are about the sea, are a tad stodgy ( I skipped Prothalamion by Edmund Spenser!), but I enjoyed many of the poems, especially those which were probably part of the syllabus when I was small: Sea Fever & Cargoes by John Masefield, The Walrus and the Carpenter by Lewis Carroll, The Jumblies & The Owl and the Pussycat by Edward Lear.

Sea Fever of course, as well as being quoted by Captain James Tiberius Kirk at the end of (I think) the first Star Trek movie (‘ … all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by’), is also parodied by Spike Milligan (I must go down to the sea again, To the lonely sea and sky, I left my shoes and socks there, I wonder if they’re dry)!

Other favourites in this volume:

From The Storm by John Donne
The Brook by Edward Thomas
The Wreck of the Hesperus by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
The Inchcape Rock by Robert Southey
A Wet Winter, from Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare (Damn, that man was a beautiful writer!).

Sadly The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus seems somewhat discredited today by Trump’s regime…

Book note:
A prettily bound little volume, pleasing to hold, a gift from my son. The print is a little on the faint side (it’s typeset in UK and printed in China) and there are a surprising number of typos – don’t they use proof-readers any more? Despite spellcheck, the human eye it seems can still pick up errors the computer can’t!

[Jennifer]

With a title like Poems of the Sea and my deep affinity for the ocean and our backyard river, I thought this would be a collection I would love and a book I would keep on my shelf or table side for years. Alas, instead, I got an example of "one person's collection of favorites does not necessarily equate to another person's idea of favorites." Rather than walk away with saddness-washed-away or happiness-lapping-at-the-shore, I was slogging through and forcing the read. Nope. Life is too short--and there is much to read that I will connect with.

Read April 28, 2025 until DNF on May 11, 2025 (84 pages)