A Poet for Every Day of the Year

by Allie Esiri (Editor)

Allie Esiri’s beautiful gift anthology, A Poet for Every Day of the Year, is the perfect introduction to 366 of the world’s greatest ever verse writers.

Perfect for reading aloud and sharing with all the family, it is bursting at the seams with familiar favourites and exciting new discoveries. Shakespeare, William Wordsworth, Christina Rossetti and Emily Bronte sit alongside Roger McGough, Wendy Cope, Imtiaz Dharker, Leonard Cohen, Sylvia Plath and Ocean Vuong.

Each of the 366 poems features a small introduction that gives a sense of who the writer was, and not just the greatness of their work. Some offer insightful biographical details or key historical context, while others may provide quirky, humorous anecdotes.

The day-to-day format of the anthology invites readers to make poetry a part of their daily routine, and makes sure that they discover something inspirational, life affirming, provocative, moving or entertaining each and every day.

Genres: Poetry, Anthologies, Nonfiction, Audiobook

601 pages, Hardcover

Published September 16, 2021

Reviews

[Linda Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

366 poets and poems.

I could not love A Poet for Every Day of the Year more. I confess I haven’t read the whole book yet as I am savouring the dated poems and poets each night so that this is a gift of a book that will last me the entire year. However, the format is the same for every day and includes an insightful and accessible potted history of the poet, with reference to social, historical and biographical detail that stirs such an interest in the reader that A Poet for Every Day of the Year provides even more entertainment by acting as a catalyst for further reading and research. For example, when I opened my copy on the day I received it, the poet was John Clare who just happens to have lived three miles from where I am, but there are other poets I’m much less familiar with so I have an introduction that can lead me to discovering more of their work. This adds to the significance and joy in reading A Poet for Every Day of the Year.

The Contents of A Poet for Every Day of the Year list the poem and poet for each calendar day although I prefer not to look at that properly until next year when I’ve enjoyed a daily surprise from the book. With poets from Angelou to Wordsworth there really is something for any and every reader. One of the absolute pleasures here is the attention to more marginalised poets such as those from the LGBTQIA+ community so that A Poet for Every Day of the Year feels inclusive and engaging.

Allie Esiri’s introduction zings with passion for poetry and reading it is a true pleasure. I don’t want to spoil the discovery for others but she raises some interesting questions about context and the balance between poet and poem in the reader’s consideration that had me thinking when I wasn’t dipping in to the poems.

I also had fun with the index of first lines at the end of A Poet for Every Day of the Year, reading them aloud like performance poetry and seeing if they would work as found poems in their own right! This anthology has so much to offer and every time I think about it next to the bed ready for me to read last thing at night it brings happiness and a smile to my face.

A Poet for Every Day of the Year is utterly wonderful and an absolute must for any lover of poetry, of words, of people. It’s also a perfect gift for any reader at any time of the year. It feels sumptuous, substantial and captivating. I loved it unreservedly and it’s one of my books of the year because it brings human connection and joy to the reader. What could be better than that?

[Karen S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I still very much enjoyed reading these with my husband on a nearly daily basis. (We did fall a bit behind in 2022.) However, one minor point is that there was some overlap with 'A Poem for Every Night of the Year', which I think should've been avoided, considering it's the same editor publishing these anthologies.

[Anna Petruk · Rating 3 out of 5]

I kept falling for this trap: a gorgeous cover, and a format that I really liked: "A poem per day + brief info about the author". The problem is, I really don't share Esiri's taste for poetry. So why did I buy her book for the third time?! I started the year out by reading poems daily, as intended. But I liked such a small percentage that I soon started falling behind, and would pick it up once a week, then once every few weeks. In the end, I decided to just finish in one go and be done with it.

Besides the matter of taste, I also think I'm just not the intended audience. The selection seemed juvenile and UK-focused.

[Sophie Amalya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally finished this! Love 😍

[Felicity · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw this advertised at the beginning of the year and bought it in an independant bookshop in Tring. This year has been a very busy and at times stressful year so reading a poem every day has helped me to cope and put me in a good place at the beginning of each day.

A beautiful book with a variety of poems from the earliest works to current ones. I loved how some poems were really short, others long and epic and how some were humorous too. This book has something for everyone, and I enjoyed discovering some new poets and poems.

[Lara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book as I have a weakness for beautiful poetry books and this does not disappoint although it is difficult to savor one poem a day. What is particularly enjoyable about this book is its layout providing detail about the poet such as the time they lived in making it a wonderful collection to dip into and I would thoroughly recommend adding it to any book lovers collection.

[Fiona · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to this as an audio book I had borrowed from the library and would listen to a few poems each day. Similar to what I am doing with Year of Wonder: Classical Music for Every Day. I found it was a great way to stop and reflect for a few minutes each day. There is something about listening to poetry read out loud that brings it to life.
This collection is a mix of poems; some funny, some reflective. Some I had heard before and some I hadn't. I have listed some of my favourites from this listening below but I think if I re-listen at some other time time of year this list might be totally different.

- 30 March, A Portable Paradise - Roger Robinson
- 12 April, Anthem Leonard Cohen
- 6 May, Bustopher Jones-The St James Street Cat, T.S. Elliot
- 8 May, Soliquoy of a Maiden Aunt, Dollie Radford
- 28 May, Vanity - Brian Patton
-21 June, Dark Sonnet - Neil Gaiman
-26 June, extract from What they did Yesterday Afternoon - Warsan Shire
-29 June, A Feather from an Angel - Brian Moses
-26 August, The Fly - Miroslav Holub (translated by George Theiner)
-28 September, The Lion and Albert - Marriot Edgar
-12 December, Desiderata - Max Ehrmann
-14 December, If - Rudyard Kipling
-27 December, One Art - Elizabeth Bishop

[🌶 peppersocks 🧦 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reflections and lessons learned:
“You…”

We’re currently reading “A poem for every day of the year”, and we’ve enjoyed it so much, have said that we need to find a good next book to keep this habit going. This is different enough to be the perfect next read - just gorgeous

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

We have reached the end of the year!
Overall it was very enjoyable to read 1 poem a night with my mum - something we have been doing for atleast 3 years now. Sometimes I did feel a few of the poems were overly long with too much description but most were short and easy to read.

[Carly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't read poetry much. But this was such a lovely idea to get to know some more writers. Though majority of them are English writing. I tried to read as the year went by but I did fall behind from time to time.

These are my favourites:
15.1. And Still I rise by Maya Angelou
19.1. You must never bath i an Irish Stew by Spike Milligan
9.2. i carry your heart with me (i carry it in my heart) by e. e. cummings
12.2. I Wanna Be Your by John Cooper Clarke
27.3. Love You More by James Carter
29.4. from The Cure of Troy by Seamus Heaney
8.5. Soliloquy of a Maiden Aunt by Dollie Radford
13.5. Invisible Kisses by Lemn Sissay
23.5. Let No One Steal Your Dream by Paul Cookson
6.6. Icarus by Kae Tempest
21.6. Dark Sonner by Neil Gaiman
22.6. People Equal by James Berry
26.6. from what they did yesterday afternoon by Warsan Shire
7.7. One Perfect Rose by Dorothy Parker
18.8. Two Guns in the Sky for Daniel Harris by Raymons Antrobus
28.8. Invitation to Love by Paul Dunbar
4.9. Homework by Allen Ginsberg
13.9. JOMO by Michael Leunig
24.9. The Art of Biography by Edmund Clerihew Bentley
3.10. Songs for the People by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper
9.12. These are the hands by Michael Rosen
12.12. Desiderata by Max Ehrmann
22.12. You Do Not Need a Chimney for Santa Clause to Come by Hollie McNish

[Leoni · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 🌟
•
A great habit to be cultivated throughout a year, for once if you want to broaden yourselves in poetry and for other to pick up books in general mire often. I am happy to have completed this anthology and with continue with another one from the same editor.
I loved to explore different poets / authors, of whome I already heard before or who I otherwise would have never known, who are dead or alive, young and old, writting on topics I find fascinating or I couldn’t care less about. It captured the essence of reading for a purpose perfectly!

[Nicholas · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a journey, and what an anthology! I’m not really a fan of the format; each piece of information could have been in separate lines or columns. But this one is fine as it is—just a preference.

I have no idea which yearly book I’ll have next—but it’ll probably be related to poetry again.

Cheers, and to an imminent breath of fresh air that is 2023.

[Adam Mills · Rating 5 out of 5]

An anthology of 366 poems, each by a different poet, one for each day of the year. Each poet gets a short biographical introduction. This is a wonderful collection of both the enduring and familiar poets and new contemporary ones. The way they are collated, with different mini themes and relevance to the dates is perfect.

[Lorna Holland · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful collection of classic and modern poetry accompanies the changing seasons throughout the year. I've loved delving into this book to enjoy a poem every day - this book has become part of my daily routine over the last year!

[MrsB · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5*

I really enjoy reading a poem/word/extract a day, and although I tend to give them moderate reviews, I appreciate coming across a variety of styles and writers - even if they aren’t always ones that I like

[Bohan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading poems from this book every day. Nice collection! And it's a wonderful daily routine to have. If anyone's interested:
https://space.bilibili.com/1218509415...

[Anna Leishman]

Loved this book. Already got another Esiri collection waiting to take me through the next year.

[Tamar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was nice opening each morning with a poet

[Willow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely as always

[Jane Riordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this up from the ship's library whilst on a cruise and loved dipping in, discovering new poets and reconnecting with old favourites.