Art & Love: An Illustrated Anthology of Love Poetry

by Kate Farrell (Editor), Metropolitan Museum of Art

Scores of evocative love poems, drawn from the entire range of world literature, are matched with wonderfully vibrant works of art--paintings, sculpture, prints, collages, and stained glass to create an elegant anthology of love peoms and masterpieces from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 140 color illustrations.

Genres: Poetry, Art, Anthologies, Nonfiction, Romance

176 pages, Hardcover

First published September 25, 1990

About the author

I grew up in Southern Pines, NC and began writing poetry seriously when I was 26, after my 2 children were born. A scholarship enabled me to move with my kids to New York to pursue a degree in literature at Columbia University. There I studied with the poet Kenneth Koch and we soon became friends and collaborators. My first two books were written with Koch and five solo books followed.

My latest book is Visiting Night at the Academy of Longing, a collection of my poems published by Lavender Ink January 1, 2016.

I've taught writing at Columbia and with the NY State Poets in the School Program and have published my poetry in many journals, including Poetry, Partisan Review, Manhattan Review, Harvard Review, Hudson Review, Mississippi Review and Image. My work has also been chosen for several editions of the the Best Spiritual Writing Series. I live with my husband in Brooklyn, NY.

Reviews

[Dona's Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming little book!

Review to come.

[Edita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Time was. Time is. Time shall be.
Man invented time to be used.
Love was. Love is. Love shall be.
Yet man never invented love
Nor is love to be used like time.
A clock wears numbers one to twelve
And you look and read its face
And tell the time precisely ex-act-ly.
Yet who reads the face of love?
Who tells love numbers precisely ex-act-ly?
Holding love in a tight hold for keeps,
Fastening love down and saying
"It’s here now and here for always."
You don’t do this offhand, careless-like.
Love costs. Love is not so easy
Nor is the shimmering of star dust
Nor the smooth flow of new blossoms
Nor the drag of a heavy hungering for someone.
Love is a white horse you ride
or wheels and hammers leaving you lonely
or a rock in the moonlight for rest
or a sea where phantom ships cross always
or a tall shadow always whispering
or a circle of spray and prisms—
maybe a rainbow round your shoulder.
Heavy heavy is love to carry
and light as one rose petal,
light as a bubble, a blossom,
a remembering bar of music
or a finger or a wisp of hair
never forgotten.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is beautiful and a great book to look at over and over.

[liv · Rating 4 out of 5]

I adore these poems and paintings. Such a lovely $1 buy from my library 🌹

[Nathan Albright · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a lot better than I thought it would be.  Admittedly, this is not exactly a new collection of poetry, having been made in 1990 when there was some sort of interest on the part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in showing off the paintings that it had on display and connecting them to the world of love poetry.  Admittedly, this ends up being worthwhile for several reasons, not least of which is the fact that both the paintings chosen and the poems anthologized here are generally of high quality as well as being from diverse styles and approaches and subject matter within the overall theme of love.  The result is that both the art and poetry included here make the other look better by context, and the result makes the poetry included (for the most part) and the paintings of the MMA come off looking their best, and that is something that suggests a strategy for other museums to follow when it comes to promoting their art work and encouraging people to visit or at least spend money on a gorgeous volume of material that would benefit the museum and also add a bit of class to the book collection of the reader.

This book is less than 200 pages long and is divided into several sections.  After a short introduction the collection begins with books relating to babies and early family life in general (called "My-Ness" after its opening poem, a pattern that holds throughout the book as a whole).  After that a section called "Oath of Friendship" looks at the love that exists between friends with a sense of loyalty.  "Go, Lovely Rose" (not named after its opening poem) discusses the relationship between lovers that focuses on the ambivalence between desire and fear.  "Let Me Count The Ways" (named after a line from the opening sonnet by Elizabeth Barrett Browning) is more straightforwardly optimistic in its discussion of love, including perhaps the worst poem here, a Valentine from Gertude Stein.  "The Mess Of Love" contains a lot of modern poems and poems from other decadent ages (like Catullus) talking about how people screw up relationships, while "Yesterday He Still Looked In My Eyes" focuses on the regret that follows an ended relationship.  Finally, the book ends with sections like "The Marriage Of True Minds" that focus on the success of love as well as "Give All To Love" that focus on the sacrifices that people make for love, after which there are acknowledgements, credits, and indices of artists, authors and titles, and first lines in all the poems, as well as translators.

As someone who appreciates classic art and also appreciates good poetry (and has a larger than normal amount of poetry that I have written myself), this book is rather tailor-made for my own interests in how art and literature can improve each other when placed in the right context.  Not everyone appreciates how these work together, but those who do will find themselves intrigued by the implicit comparison being made between classic love poems from a diverse group of authors and a diverse group of paintings that extends over the course of centuries.  What makes this collection so appealing is that neither the art nor the poetry have a marked bias for modern styles but both are largely dominated by classic options that have a much more solid base of broad enjoyment.  There are some paintings and some drawings from the 20th century, but most of the options of both extend before this to appreciate works written by people who had a decent sense of what was beautiful.  And the few paintings and poems that fall short of a high standard are easy enough to skip through to enjoy better ones, which is definitely something that can be appreciated by any reader of this book.

[Hud-c · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book. Art and poetry combined is a perfect fusion.

Just a bit of my favorite lines in some of the poems:

How shall I work that she may not forget
the wretch to whom her beauty belongs?
SONNET by Owen Barfield

It just gives me this imagery of a man thinking about what he would do to win a woman's heart. Really romantic.

I love thee with the love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints! I love thee with the breath
Smiles, tears, of all my life! And if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.
SONNET FROM THE PORTUGUESE by Elizabeth Barret Browning

Okay, that's one of the most celebrated, highly-known and beautiful poem a woman wrote for a man she loves. Read Elizabeth Browning's biography before and her love-story really struck me. It was a forbidden love.

The moment the mind interferes with love, or the
will fixes on it,
Or the personality assumes it as an attribute, or
the ego takes possession of it,
It is not love anymore, it's just a mess.
And we made a great mess of love, mind-
perverted, will-perverted, ego-perverted love.
THE MESS OF LOVE by D.H. Lawrence

That one is a bit sentimental. Perhaps because it talks about love that gone sour; that went wrong.

There's so many lines I wanted to include. I'll have to restrain myself now. It's not just the poems that I admire about this work but the art in it. There are a bunch amazing artists out there and Kate Farrell did a great job picking up the right artwork for each of the poem. It adds to the allure of the words; its emphasize more the imagery being send by the poem.

Simply a great work. I just have this opinion that Pablo Neruda's poem Tonight I Can Write the Saddest Line should have a space on this.

Highly recommended

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is what you'd call a 'gift book,' there being no good reason for it to exist except as a marketing opportunity in a museum bookshop, in this case The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Indeed I got it as a gift, third-hand, from a family member liquidating a section of his library.
The book combines some works found in the Met museum with 'love poems' - I put the 'love' in quotes because there's a section on friendship, and one on familial love. It's not all cupids and hotness and late-night phone sex.
There were some great poems in here, but if you really wanted an anthology of love poems then surely there are better ones.
There are some fine works of art in here, but if you were really in it for the works of art you would be better directed to the non-poetry section of the bookstore.
These were mostly very well-known poems with a few I hadn't read before. The selections were good and that's laudable. The works of art appearing next to the poems sometimes seemed random, but anything can be an object of 'love,' I guess.
There were two absolutely great Yehuda Amichai poems and if I really were interested in your poetic well-being I'd say save the however many dollars the Met wants for this and buy his The Selected Poetry instead.

[Nikitha Hingad · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have the hard bound copy of the book. I think it is a very beautiful book. With beautiful illustrations in each and every page, poetry feels like a treat. The anthology consists of poems of finest poets from Plato to Maya Angelou, Shakespeare to Pablo. This book inspired me to publish my own collection . I hope someday I would be able to make art like this one. Must have for all poetry lovers. Kate Farrell has made a great effort to bring best of art and poetry together. And the themes are on love. This is Gift book !. Lucky to own it!

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Art & Love: An Illustrated Anthology of Love Poetry by Kate Farrell

Rating: 5
Genre: Poetry

Reading Kate Farrell’s anthology of hand-picked classic poems and paintings was a pleasant experience. The anthology was separated into eight different sections: My-ness (familial love), Oath of Friendship (friendship), Go, Lovely Rose (the journey toward finding love), Let Me Count the Ways (perceiving love within inner/outer beauty), The Mess of Love (troubled romance), Yesterday, He Still Looked Me in the Eyes (lost love/breaking up), The Marriage of True Minds (honoring the courtships of mature couples), and lastly, Give All to Love (exploring love as an idea/ideal). Each section included love poems from the best writers around the world, accompanied by gorgeous illustrations from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

I loved being introduced so many interpretations of love in various writing styles as well. Although I can’t mention all of them, certain poems did stick out to me the most. From the section: Let Me Count the Ways, Variation by Federico García Lorca was one of them:

That still pool of the air
under the branch of an echo,

That still pool of the water
under a frond of bright stars.

That still pool of your mouth
under a thicket of kisses (Farrell 81).

This poem utilized such refreshing language with descriptive imagery. The repetition of the first part of the first line (That still pool of…) allowed me to pause my attention on the little moments that make a huge impact on the eyes of the narrator. I loved how Federico García Lorca romanticizes aspects of a forest (‘branch,’ ‘frond,’ & ‘thicket’) combines them with passion.

Another poem that I enjoyed was: I Do Not Look For Love That is a Dream by Victorian poet, Christina Rossetti from the section: Yesterday, He Still Looked Me in the Eyes:

I do not look for love that is a dream:
I only seek for courage to be still;
To bear my grief with an unbending will,
And when I am a-weary not to seem.
Let the round world roll on; let the sun beam;
Let the wind blow, and let the rivers fill
The everlasting sea; and on the hill
The palms almost touch heaven, as children deem.
And though young Spring and Summer pass away,
And Autumn and cold Winter come again;
And though my soul, being tired of its pain,
Pass from the ancient earth; and though my clay
Return to dust; my tongue shall not complain:
No man shall mock me after this my day (Farrell 111).

Rossetti’s poem was never short of rhythm, rhyme, and depth. She dove right into the topic of heartache. Each line then explored further how the narrator was processing their sorrow (ex: Let the wind blow, and let the rivers fill). I adored the way Rossetti blended the seasons into her poem (ex: And though young Spring and Summer pass away, And Autumn and cold Winter come again) to showcase the passing of time and how bittersweet feelings people try to ignore could resurface during damper seasons.

I liked the cover choice for the collection. The cover displayed German artist, Severin Roesen’s oil painting: Still Life: Flowers and Fruit. Back in the day, flowers were usually given by an individual to express their affection for their lover, so I could understand why Farrell chose this art piece to represent the collection. The types of flowers Roesen painted also hold significant meaning in general: dahlias symbolize commitment, lilies of the valley exemplify pure love, white lilies are referred to as ‘sympathy flowers’ etc.

[Jayarna ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This was a great intro into classic poetry and art, both of which I'm new too. I didn't love the sections however, they were grouped by "themes" which makes sense for searching but it doesn't make for the best reading experience because it was so jarring to read poems that don't necessarily flow on from one another. I also don't think there was too much thought put into where the art was placed, at least I couldn't tell, and sometimes I was just confused at some pairings. I am not an expert however for me both art and poetry is about the feelings it invokes, so I would like to see things intentionally placed near items that had similar atmospheres and tones. I think it would highten the experience from just a gift shop impulse buy or a coffee table book to something that a lot of people could enjoy with differing levels of experience with these two artforms.

[Bryan Fox · Rating 3 out of 5]

An adequately-assembled collection of love poems interspersed with images of art from the MoMA collection. There are some gems in here, but as the collection spans more than two millennia, it's a bit disjointed, in spite of the loose theme, and there's definitely some filler where there needn't be - it's not like all of recorded history doesn't have its share of good love poetry.

[Britanny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This features really beautiful paintings paired with even more beautiful poems and I loved it. It even featured some of my favorite poems of all time, so that’s a plus.

4 stars mainly because the further along in the book, the less I really enjoyed most of the poems.

[Tracie Hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm no connoisseur of art or poetry, so consider the source, but in my opinion this book has a few excellent poems, a few excellent works of art, and a lot of mundane of the same.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

a coffee table book that you actually enjoy the contents of

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is kind of an interesting book. It's an anthology of love poetry-- the less romantically inclined among you will be happy to know that it's not all romantic love, and in fact there are specific sections for familial and friendship loves, which I for one appreciated-- accompanied by paintings from the Met.

The poetry's really nice, and I did enjoy most of it. I also enjoyed the paintings. However, they seemed kind of disconnected from each other, like the paintings were crammed in wherever the layout of the pages allowed for it rather than being connected by theme. Farrell did make a laudable effort to separate out the sources of poetry and paintings: a poem from England in the 1700s might be paired with a Japanese painting from the 1200s, and so on. However, a lot of the poetry and a lot of the paintings were from Europe, 1600s-2000s, so it was a bit difficult to really explore the broad applicability of the themes she was exploring.

It's interesting. I'd pick it up from your local library if you're interested, but I don't think I'd bother buying it.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite poetry anthologies. I love the pairing of art and poetry. One of my favorite things about this anthology is that the artworks and pieces of poetry that are paired with each other tend to be from utterly different eras, but somehow they say the same things. The works have great variety: wide time range, many nationalities. This was a must own book for me; I read it over and over.

[Suzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Art & Love: An Illustrated Anthology of Love Poetry from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The cover price is $16.95 and it was published in 1990.

This book is what text books in literature should be like. Small. Engaging. Beautifully illustrated with some of the great works of art throughout history. I picked it up for a dollar at the library book sale in October.

[Snail in Danger (Sid) Nicolaides · Rating 3 out of 5]

I snagged this from the clearance cart at a Half Price a few weeks ago. The poetry and paintings are not always matched well, but there are interesting examples of both. Some of the paintings that stick out in my memory: Vincent van Gogh's painting of a baby taking its first steps, and 18th and 19th century depictions of children blowing soap bubbles.

[Tia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful gift (or gift-for-self:). This book pairs great poems with great works of visual art. As a huge fan of juxtapositions and interdisciplinary artistic dialogues (ever the Gallatin student!), I adore this idea.

I am not a big fan of the flowery cover, though:), so I ditched it and my version is just a cool blue hardcover. Heh.

[Abby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading the poems in this book and the art is coordinated well with the poems. The poems are a good mix of contemporary and to early AD. This time reading the poems I enjoyed the contemporary American authors. Reading poems is good for the soul.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

A stellar collection of beautiful paintings and poems. The poems are multicultural and from all eras, from Shakespeare to e.e. cummings, to Rabindranath Tagore. A wonderful book to read aloud to your beloved.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the poetry selection and the art selection, they compliment each other very well. Wonderful book.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

wonderful poetry with beautiful illustrations

[angrykitty · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is a most excellent poetry book. it's great in that it matches classic/pretty well known poems with works of art. top drawer.

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

My husband and I used this as the guest book for our wedding. It is now a lovely coffee table book that inspires us romantically.

[Clayton Chase · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the touch of love, everyone becomes a poet. - Plato

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely.....