Poem for the Day One

by Nicholas Albery (Editor), Peter Ratcliffe (Editor), Wendy Cope (Foreword)

This collection contains 366 inspirational poems from around the world. With a different poem for each day of the year, including old favourites and new discoveries, this book aims to uplift and brighten the day of those who read it.

Genres: Poetry, Poetry Plays, Nonfiction, Anthologies, Reference

165 pages, Paperback

First published November 4, 1996

Reviews

[Hilary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the idea of a poem a day, unfortunately I always fail, I either get curious and read ahead or forget. This was a nice collection of poetry, there are always repeats in these collections but this was a nice selection with some I hadn’t come across before. I really enjoyed the facts on each page and the trouble taken to place each poem on a relevant day and give background information on the poet and their inspiration for the piece.

Poetry books nearly always seem to be printed on rough yellowy paper. If this had been on some nice paper with some photos or artwork it would have been a perfect 5 star read, I would love to see more poetry with images. Worth a look and can be picked up cheaply second hand.

[Mills]

So I suck at New Year's Resolutions, even when they're in literary form.

[Danielle Palmer · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some gems in here, though in my opinion they are surrounded by a lot of mud. I wouldn’t recommend this to a beginner poetry reader. I also would’ve liked more variation, the same poets kept popping up again and again.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It actually took me a bit longer than a year to read it, but this is a great collection of poetry which ranges from classical through to modern. I found old favourites in there and some new loves. Against each date is a little list of births, deaths and other important events in the lives of poets and writers, and also a few lines generally giving some background to the poet or poem featured that day. I was bought this as a gift and I’d recommend it as suitable for anyone as there’s bound to be at least one poem out of the 365 that speaks to the soul.

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

Conceptually I think this is great, but in practice I didn’t really enjoy it. I thought too many of the poems were very similar, and so many of them were by white dudes that I started to get bored very quickly. Maybe it just want my type of poetry, but either way I didn’t enjoy it.

[Dr Poesy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've got both volumes, I used to keep one by the bed at my late partner's house and one at home.

I poem with a cup of tea in the still of the morning is a good way to start the day.

The one star review on goodreads complained of "too many white dudes" and that's a fair comment, but if you want to shake hands with the greats of English language poetry with a few modern and a few foreign poets in translation thrown in for a bit of spice then it's great. The biographical notes are brief and often odd and intriguing.

[Luba · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of poems, one per day, with an occasional few lines about the poet behind the work. Lots of great poems in this book. It's a pretty good introduction to poetry for those of us who haven't read much since the school years.

[Lavanial · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a nice read, with classical music playing in the background. I love the poem on living life with no regrets.

[Susan Grimshaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some old favourites, some interesting newer ones and several tedious and uninspiring offerings with little input from foreign poets.

[The Book Whisperer (aka Boof) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book that has a differnt poem for every day of the year. There is a real collection of classic and modern and something for most tastes.

I am not a massive poetry buff - I have read and enjoyed Wilfred Owen (war poems) and Christina Rossetti but I haven't progressed much further than that yet, which is why I loved this book. It introduced me to poems that I would never normally have looked at and I have fallen in love with some of them.

On each page is the poem for the day, some explanatory notes (if needed) and also a section for "on this day in (year)" such and such a poet was born, died, had something published etc.

I really love this book and I like dipping in and out and of course I have my favourites now that I can go back to.

I would recommend this as a lovley gift for someone or for people like me that haven't come across much poetry - it's a great introduction.

[Davidg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though I have enjoyed a poem a day for the past year, I have found the selection frustrating. Many seemed obvious choices - 21 from Shakespeare. I had hoped that I would discover some wonderful Poems new to me but generally this didn’t happen. I didn’t think that the newer poems were that good, there are much better ones out there.

I did a quick reckoning of the selection using the index at the back. (Note that the following figures add up to more than 366 but that is because translators are listed with the writers and there are 18 poems in translation- that seems low.)

There are 165 men represented and 39 women plus two poems by anon.
326 poems are by men. 56 by women.
Only Emily Dickinson amongst the women has more than 2 poems.
Blake, Shakespeare, Tennyson and Yeats have more poems (61) than all the women put together.

The second book, which I start tomorrow looks more varied. I hope so.

3.5 stars

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poem for the Day has been a wonderful way to start the day for the last year. It contains a good collection of classics old and new and also some poems that I hadn't encountered before. The editors seem to have taken a rather hit and miss approach to notes, with some poems left to stand and speak for themselves, while others are covered by a spreading rash of explanation and clarification. That aside, this is a lovely book and would be an excellent birthday gift for a friend just staring to discover the variety and depth of poetry in English.

[Jo Larkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This year I finally read every poem, though not necessarily on their allotted days. Had to play catch up often. There are some gems. There are many well known poems and poets, some heard of but not known and some never met before. Many are indeed worth learning by heart and I have added a few to my internal collection...though one a day as the editor did seems an unachievable challenge. I will take this journey again...once I have worked my way through volume two.

[Mark Glover · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pleasant enough collection of verse though perhaps tending more toward classics than modern poetry its a good way to get back into reading poetry though if you are like me you will probably find yourself heading off in a different direction after a while as you become more acquainted with the poets themselves.

[Maasa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book to learn poetry broadly, and get knowledge of many English and American poets.

Each page has a date and you will be excited to open Today's page like.. Oh what's coming today! The poem for today is my favorite; "A Thunderstorm In Town" by Thomas Hardy.
I think I will try to learn some by heart. Wanna get the version "Two" of this book, too.

[John Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like to read some poetry each day, so this was near perfect for me. Excellent and diverse selection, with interesting head and foot notes about the poets, literary figures, notable anniversaries... It is still at the side of the bed and likely to stay there for some time. I will continue to dip into it.

[Ramzzi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as valuable as I thought it would be, as the geographical scope was not as diverse as expected, but the notes—from dates to the supporting tales of some known, some unknown poets had been crisp. It led me to some paths obscured both by time and the great expectations in poetry. More so, cheers for its philanthropic cause.

[Esther · Rating 3 out of 5]

Trying to introduce a more regular routine of reading poetry and read more widely, I picked up this anthology at the beginning of the year with the intent to read a little every day. Liked the diary format and had nice contextual footnotes as well as a 'on this day' list of events/poets births & deaths. A lot of Gerald Manley Hopkins - who I don't care for and is he really that renown?

[Emily W · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll put it out there: this is a *smart* book of poems. The poems are great, a mix of traditional and quirky. It also has some literary history and biography. Can't wait to enjoy it in 2013!
[Marked as read because I don't want it sitting in my to-read folder for a year.]

[Carmen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure where this book came from. It ended up on my book shelf and no one claims it. I am not a big fan of poem books so I hope someone else can enjoy it.

[Karin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good collection of poems that I enjoyed reading.

[Marcella · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic way to start my day . Every day a new poem awaits
Kept with a small collection of bathroom reading
Ready for that contemplative moment...

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was given this as a gift. I enjoy browsing it.

[Emma Newell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book to induce thought and wonder, not all to my taste but isn't that the purpose of such a book! Worth adding to your bookshelf and dipping in to!

[Judi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had already read Poem for the Day Two and liked it so much I ordered this on line. I like it as much as the first one, the daily poems and notes.

[Dusty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fantastic book for poetry lovers. Read this since it was recommended in a class.

[Sam · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read Ten Poems, all dreadful. Might find a better book and do this again.

[Philip Cumberland · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have owned this book for a very long time.

An excellent anthology, it contains some of my favourite poems.

I used this book within the plot of my book Killing Time in Cambridge.

[John Staveley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some gems which I will treasure forever but most were forgettable.
However as a non-poetry fan I am glad I went on the journey.

[Helen Pomfrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I keep a poetry book in the loo and work my way through (the book!!) there is a mix and I love the historical references and notes about the writers.