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No Place Like Home: Poems
Place of refuge, place where we can be ourselves; place we long to escape from, place where we are confronted by absence and loneliness; shabby downtown apartment or idyllic country cottage. Like it or loathe it, home is where we do most of our living.
Home is, of course, many things to many poets. It is Billy Collins's favourite armchair and Imtiaz Dharker's 'Living Space' in the slums of Mumbai. It is Wordsworth's 'dear Valley' of Grasmere, and Philip Larkin's Coventry, that place where nothing so famously happens. It may be somewhere we long for, perhaps Ovid and Mahmoud Darwish lament their home countries, Kapka Kassabova seeks 'a house we can never find', while Jules Supervielle is 'Homesick for the Earth'.
There is an abundance of domestic life. Attend a miserable breakfast chez Jacques Prévert; observe Wendy Cope and partner happily 'Being Boring'. Cut to Anna Barbauld's washing-day, Marilyn Nelson dusting, Buson mending his clothes and Fiona Wright contending with a Tupperware party. Peep in on Amy Lowell in the bath and John Donne in bed, Auden in the privy and Joy Harjo at the kitchen table. Here are removals and homecomings, neighbours good and bad. Inevitably, after a year of enforced domesticity, some lockdown thoughts (Anna McDonald, Pauline Prior-Pitt); Mary Oliver's dream house, Naomi Shihab Nye's homes where children live, the far-from-safe houses of U. A. Fanthorpe, and some final reflections on the idea of a dwelling place from Rumi, Emily Dickinson, John Burnside, Vinita Agrawal, Derek Walcott, Les Murray and Iman Mersal.
It may not always be sweet, but there is certainly No Place Like Home.
Home is, of course, many things to many poets. It is Billy Collins's favourite armchair and Imtiaz Dharker's 'Living Space' in the slums of Mumbai. It is Wordsworth's 'dear Valley' of Grasmere, and Philip Larkin's Coventry, that place where nothing so famously happens. It may be somewhere we long for, perhaps Ovid and Mahmoud Darwish lament their home countries, Kapka Kassabova seeks 'a house we can never find', while Jules Supervielle is 'Homesick for the Earth'.
There is an abundance of domestic life. Attend a miserable breakfast chez Jacques Prévert; observe Wendy Cope and partner happily 'Being Boring'. Cut to Anna Barbauld's washing-day, Marilyn Nelson dusting, Buson mending his clothes and Fiona Wright contending with a Tupperware party. Peep in on Amy Lowell in the bath and John Donne in bed, Auden in the privy and Joy Harjo at the kitchen table. Here are removals and homecomings, neighbours good and bad. Inevitably, after a year of enforced domesticity, some lockdown thoughts (Anna McDonald, Pauline Prior-Pitt); Mary Oliver's dream house, Naomi Shihab Nye's homes where children live, the far-from-safe houses of U. A. Fanthorpe, and some final reflections on the idea of a dwelling place from Rumi, Emily Dickinson, John Burnside, Vinita Agrawal, Derek Walcott, Les Murray and Iman Mersal.
It may not always be sweet, but there is certainly No Place Like Home.
- GenresPoetry
288 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 2022
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92 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 1, 2023
I adored this collection. I have a new affinity for sweet, accessible poetry that reflects the stage of life I’m in. 2nd poetry book I’ve read on Home and I’ll be returning. 🏡
February 7, 2022
Admittedly only skimmed it, but sort of baffled by the organization and some of the selections.
June 16, 2023
With each journey it gets
Worse
What kind of learning is that
When that is what we are born for
And harder and harder to find
What is hanging on
To what
All day it has been raining
And I have been writing letters
The pearl curtains
stroking the headlands
under immense dark clouds
the valley sighing with rain
everyone home and quiet
what will become of all these
things that I see
that are here and are me
and I am none of them
what will become
of the bench and the teapot
the pencils and the kerosene lamps
all the books all the writing
the green of the leaves
what becomes of the house
and the island
and the sound of your footstep
who knows it is here
who says it will stay
who says I will know it
who said it would be all right
W. S. MERWIN (1927-2019)
Very nice collection, felt like some poems were in the wrong category or formatted quite weirdly but that's okay
Worse
What kind of learning is that
When that is what we are born for
And harder and harder to find
What is hanging on
To what
All day it has been raining
And I have been writing letters
The pearl curtains
stroking the headlands
under immense dark clouds
the valley sighing with rain
everyone home and quiet
what will become of all these
things that I see
that are here and are me
and I am none of them
what will become
of the bench and the teapot
the pencils and the kerosene lamps
all the books all the writing
the green of the leaves
what becomes of the house
and the island
and the sound of your footstep
who knows it is here
who says it will stay
who says I will know it
who said it would be all right
W. S. MERWIN (1927-2019)
Very nice collection, felt like some poems were in the wrong category or formatted quite weirdly but that's okay
June 23, 2022
A darling little collection of poems perfect for cozying up and reading before bed. Poems about longing for home, homecoming, setting up a home, families, removals, vacant possession, and more. Found this little gem at The Strand a couple of weeks before I tested positive for Covid, and it's proven to be the perfect quarantine read. I'm a collector of Everyman's Pocket Poets, and this is one of my personal favorites. A great variety, from Joy Harjo to Anne Sexton, Catullus to John Donne. Would highly recommend to anyone who enjoys curling up at home with a nice cuppa tea and a book of poetry.
May 2, 2022
This is a really great collection; one of my favorites of the series so far. I liked a good percentages of poems in here. Great variety of male/female poets, more modern selections than some others in the series but that’s great. Also a good amount of culture variety. Love the topic and enjoyed the poems very much.
March 12, 2022
I loved the diversity of selections from familiar American and English poets to translations from all over the world as well as poems from ancient Rome and other ancient civilizations. So many poets I was unfamiliar with. A lovely anthology.
August 31, 2022
3.5*
A nice collection with quite a few lovely poems and lots of themes within the "home" theme.
A nice collection with quite a few lovely poems and lots of themes within the "home" theme.
March 29, 2023
Everyman's Library never misses. Found some new favourites in this collection.
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December 19, 2023date finished estimated
August 6, 2025
A cozy anthology.
December 12, 2025
A good variety of poets from a vast time period. Some of the organization felt confusing.
June 4, 2023
As a big fan of the poetry collections made by Everyman’s Library, I am always delighted to get my hands on one of them.
No place like home was way more multifaceted than I thought it would be, grasping various aspects which turn out quite thought-provoking. There’s so much one can do in an anthology but I deeply enjoyed the journey taken by this book - despite my apprehension of the section entitled “A woman’s place” which turned out more nuanced and critical than I had imagined.
No place like home was way more multifaceted than I thought it would be, grasping various aspects which turn out quite thought-provoking. There’s so much one can do in an anthology but I deeply enjoyed the journey taken by this book - despite my apprehension of the section entitled “A woman’s place” which turned out more nuanced and critical than I had imagined.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews