Poetry Readers Challenge discussion

Another little gem from Candlestick Press. First published in 2017, this is another of Candlestick's pamphlet anthologies - ten poems by poets old and modern on a given theme, this time "Birds" . In the order they appear, there is:

Skylark by Katrina Porteous
Pigeon Love by Rebecca Goss
Snipe by Michael Longley
Owl by George MacBeth
Bewick Swans arrive at Ouse Washes by Lynne Wycherley
The Happy Bird by John Clare
A Field Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe by Paul Farley
"Hope" is the thing with feathers by Emily Dickinson
Sandpiper by Elizabeth Bishop
Swallows by Kathleen Jamie

All poems are exemplars of their style, even if some are bound to appeal to the individual reader more than others.

As a bird lover and a reader of poems, this pamphlet could not fail to delight.

"You're all the music the heart needs,
Full of its sudden fall, silent fields" from 'Skylark' by Katrina Porteous

A couple of us have been grumbling about overly 'cohesive' collections, but this is the kind of cohesive collection I do like. Sounds like a good one. (Kind of happy not to see Ted Hughes in there.)

Do you have a favorite poem from the pamphlet?

S. wrote: "A couple of us have been grumbling about overly 'cohesive' collections, but this is the kind of cohesive collection I do like. Sounds like a good one. (Kind of happy not to see Ted Hughes in there...."

There isn't a single poem that stands out for me, but I liked Skylark by Katrina Porteous for its simple and effective use of metaphor (I've recently discovered Porteous and I am impressed), Pigeon Love by Rebecca Goss because of its original take on the view of life from a homing pigeon, Bewick Swans arrive at Ouse Washes by Lynne Wycherley because its metaphors are so apt and I love the ending -

"Their cries multiply. Their bodies
crash-land on the water

star after star after star."


and, of course, "Hope" is the thing with feathers by Emily Dickinson, because I adore Emily Dickinson and this is a fine poem.

With only 10 poems in the booklet, there is room to be cohesive without being boring and space to introduce a little variety.

I love the cover by the way!

For me, an anthology with many different voices can make up for staying on one topic. I have read a longer collection of bird poems.

I read a longer anthology just about birds of prey last year, and I can imagine equally long anthologies just about waterfowl, songbirds, poultry birds, etc. It does seem like a fun challenge to narrow down one's favorite bird poems to just ten, though.