Advent Street

by Carol Ann Duffy, Yelena Bryksenkova (Illustrator)

In this enchantingly illustrated Christmas poem, Carol Ann Duffy invites readers to open the windows on Advent Street. In each one is a gift. You may find yourself back-straight watching a ballerina, poised to begin, or catch your lips moving in time with a festive song that drifts out into the night. Whatever the surprise, when the curtains draw back and the lights sharpen, Duffy’s beguiling words, paired with captivating illustrations from Yelena Bryksenkova, call you inside to feel the warmth.

Genres: Poetry, Christmas, Art

48 pages, Hardcover

Published November 10, 2022

About the author

Dame Carol Ann Duffy, DBE, FRSL is a Scottish poet and playwright. She is Professor of Contemporary Poetry at Manchester Metropolitan University, and was appointed Britain's Poet Laureate in May 2009.

She is the first woman, the first Scot, and the first openly LGBT person to hold this position.

Her collections include Standing Female Nude (1985), winner of a Scottish Arts Council Award; Selling Manhattan (1987), which won a Somerset Maugham Award; Mean Time (1993), which won the Whitbread Poetry Award; and Rapture (2005), winner of the T. S. Eliot Prize.

Her poems address issues such as oppression, gender, and violence, in an accessible language that has made them popular in schools.

Reviews

[Henk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated but I expected a bundle instead of just one poem
And only a few steps,
from where you stood,
to the door of a house For Sale;
but the distance- the sure turn of a key
in the lock - impossible

Short but quite well capturing the silent, dark and somehow melancholy quality of the evening of Christmas. I liked the illustrations more than the actual poems, a small treat of a book to kick off this last month of the year.

[Callum McLaughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely harmony between the words and illustrations this time around. It's a deceptively clever little offering; managing to capture both the maloncholy and the joys of the Christmas season, and how the two often go hand-in-hand.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my best friends gave me this book for Christmas. I'm not sure if she knows that Carol Ann Duffy is one of my favorite poets. I had to read this book straight away and it's gorgeous. I love the poem and the illustrations enhance it. I think reading this little book may become my new Christmas tradition

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful 🎁 🎄 💫

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Carol Ann Duffy's little Christmas poem books, which are back after a gap of three years. They're only short poems, really, but I love her style and they are gorgeous books with beautiful illustrations. This year's offering is about someone who finds themself suddenly alone at Christmas in an unfamiliar place. It really is rather lovely, even at just 48 pages long. 🎄🎁☃️❄️🎅

[jolovesbooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved peeking in to the windows of the residents on Advent Street.

This captures the mixture of emotions Christmas can bring. In the words and beautiful illustrations there are moments of real warmth and togetherness, but also moments of loneliness.

[Kelly-Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet little read on liminal December days.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beautiful little book with gorgeous illustrations to get you into the festive vibe, but I had expected it to be a collection, rather than just one long poem. A bit disappointed.

[Arjun T · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming.

[Elisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful words, gorgeous illustrations.

[Gina Lento · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is charming although a little melancholy and lonely. Many of us forget that Christmas can also be a sad time for people who have no one to share Christmas with, even if they have family; having someone to love at Christmas is a gift itself. Although the poem is seen from a lonely point of view, the character stills sees the beauty of the holiday. The cold dark evenings of December are made festive by Christmas trees, holiday lights, etc. Christmas may be a commercial season, but if you can get past that, Christmas has made a bleak time of year…glow.

[Sem · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quiet book. A little gloomy, a little contemplative as befits the time of year. I had a mixed response to the illustrations, possibly because this style, as much as I like it, has begun to feel samey. The buildings are evocative, the people less appealing. But as a calm Advent read for adults it's worth having. I might just want to see the cover displayed on a shelf year round next to my nutcracker collection.

[John Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another welcome Christmas contribution from C.A.D., with the lovely illustrations we come to expect. The little book seemed particularly apt this year: its wistful sadness reflecting on those for whom this passing year has done no favours. Christmas is a time to celebrate friendship and to be kind.

[Mattie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful poem that contrasts the melancholy of a lonely heart at Christmas with the varied home and family activities glimpsed through windows.

This is only a single, short poem, but the illustrations are beautiful and it fills your heart with the warmth of festive hope.

I borrowed this from my library; I would not pay the full price since it is so short.

[Noa]

“On your bleak, midwinter nights.
Under your coat,
your heart pined to be whole; heal,
like the sorrow sung by the carols
towards joy.

Under your coat,
who knew or cared what you were?
A dark figure, glancing up
at the moon; its attendant star,
a curious child.”

[Suzie Grogan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hmmm. 5 stars for the illustrations but the poem sometimes seems too remote from them. It’s very gorgeous to hold and the words are more engaging after a number of readings, bringing back that nostalgic sense of curiosity and joy at the sight of a lit windows in a Christmassy residential street.

[Vicki Edmunds · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these Christmas poems by Duffy and have been collecting them for a number of years now- this one is very sweet & I do love wandering along a street in December looking at all the lights 🎄
Just a lovely tradition now ❤️

[Tea Leaves and Reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

A slightly disappointing collection from Duffy - priced at the full price of a paperback too, this is a tiny book with only one poem spread across lots of pages. The illustrations are pretty but don't sell the book on their own, and the poem doesn't make up for the lack of... well... other poems.

[Abi SF · Rating 5 out of 5]

A charming insight into human life.
Like everything Carol Ann Duffy touches, a piece of literary beauty.

[Elvis Gregory-sayce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very Good
Very Quick
So Beautiful
Illustrations R Wonderful

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a beautiful little thing this is. Turning the osge to the last image was just heartwarming

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another beautifully illustrated annual, Christmas time picture and poem combination by Carol Ann Duffy. Highly Recommended.

[Maya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cosy and wonderful. Peering through windows into families at Christmastime.

[Lani Turtsanszki · Rating 1 out of 5]

I might just be stupid, but I didn’t like this.

[Nick Karim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short 32 pages well-written & enjoyable to read.

[Dorothea Holcomb · Rating 2 out of 5]

The illustrations were great, but I didn't get the poem.

[Catherine Jeffrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m a big fan of Carol Ann Duffy’s Xmas poems and this was a perfect read on Christmas Eve.

[Evie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vague rain, smudging to mist. The clarity of frost. Snow's same, sane utterance.

[Peter Longden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated poem, a look through the windows passed on Advent Street on a Christmas night, poignant and uplifting, sadness and joy in the words.
As marvellous as this time of year!

[Diana Visi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cozy and cute.