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COLLECTED LOVE POEMS
Widely acknowledged as one of Europe's foremost writers, Brian Patten's love poems have earned him recognition far and wide. Truthful and tender, profoundly aware of the possibility of magic and the miraculous, these poems are beautiful, informed, and, even at their darkest moments, filled with courage and hope. Alongside old favorites, this edition will contain a selection of new, unpublished poems. This is a must for poetry lovers.
- GenresPoetry
192 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 18, 2015
Why so few people know of this book is beyond me, but it is a rare treasure. Incredibly multifaceted in its approach to our most complex emotion, it is a rich delight.
May 31, 2016
I should start by saying that the cover of this book and the quality of it are amazing!
I'd read a couple of Patten's poems before but this collection gave me a much better insight into the themes and his style than I had known before. Particular favourites were 'The Ambush', 'A Blade of Grass', 'Her Coldness Explained', 'The Word' and 'Don't Ask'. It was in these poems that Patten's ability was most on show, he is a poet that can create a sense of closeness and distance in the reader simultaneously. A lot of these poems seemed to have the strange intimate but haunting quality of Edwin Morgan's 'Strawberries'. Somehow the cover for me summed up the mood and imagery Patten was aiming for, as though the reader was in a room at dusk with their partner at that precarious moment between the brightness of day and the dark of night and they are never really sure whether all is safe or all is lost.
The only reason I have given this four rather than five stars is that some of the poems around the centre of the collection seemed very similar - woman in bed, close but far away, touching slightly etc. I would say that this was more a fault of the collection though as it is only a collection of his love poems and so it can midway seem a little relentless.
I'd read a couple of Patten's poems before but this collection gave me a much better insight into the themes and his style than I had known before. Particular favourites were 'The Ambush', 'A Blade of Grass', 'Her Coldness Explained', 'The Word' and 'Don't Ask'. It was in these poems that Patten's ability was most on show, he is a poet that can create a sense of closeness and distance in the reader simultaneously. A lot of these poems seemed to have the strange intimate but haunting quality of Edwin Morgan's 'Strawberries'. Somehow the cover for me summed up the mood and imagery Patten was aiming for, as though the reader was in a room at dusk with their partner at that precarious moment between the brightness of day and the dark of night and they are never really sure whether all is safe or all is lost.
The only reason I have given this four rather than five stars is that some of the poems around the centre of the collection seemed very similar - woman in bed, close but far away, touching slightly etc. I would say that this was more a fault of the collection though as it is only a collection of his love poems and so it can midway seem a little relentless.
May 24, 2024
a handful of the poems here are excellent, so it gets 2 stars but overall this was just not for me
August 8, 2025
3.5 STARS:
There were some 5 star poems, but also a lot of filler. It was enjoyable all around, though.
There were some 5 star poems, but also a lot of filler. It was enjoyable all around, though.
December 28, 2025
perfect <3
January 22, 2016
Possibly my favorite book of poems of all time.
July 21, 2013
There are some jems in here!
February 3, 2019
Desert Island? Patten + Neruda, sorted.
November 15, 2013
This is beautiful, emotional writing straight from the heart. I wanted to learn all the poems!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews