| Title | : | Tell Me the Truth About Life: A National Poetry Day Anthology |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1789290996 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781789290998 |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | - |
| Publication | : | Published September 12, 2019 |
Tell Me the Truth About Life is an indispensable anthology which celebrates poetry’s power to tap into the truths that matter. Curated and introduced by Cerys Matthews, this collection draws on the wisdom of crowds: featuring poems nominated for their insight into truth by a range of ordinary and extraordinary people: from Britain’s first astronaut, Helen Sharman, to sporting heroes and world-famous musicians, teachers, artists and politicians.
Their choices include contemporary work by Yrsa Daley-Ward, John Cooper Clarke and Kei Miller alongside classics by W H Auden, Emily Dickinson and Dylan Thomas. Here you will find poems to revive the spirit, ballads to mobilize and life-lines to hold you safe in the dark.
Compiled for National Poetry Day’s twenty-fifth anniversary, Tell Me the Truth About Life is a book that reminds us we are never completely alone in our search to glimpse the truth.
Containing nominations from a number of high-profile poetry lovers and poets, including Michael Morpurgo, Mark Gatiss, Dolly Alderton, and Helen Sharman, among others.
Tell Me the Truth About Life: A National Poetry Day Anthology Reviews
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Honestly, I just let out a happy sigh when it ended. What more could I ask for than that.
Poetry is *for* you. -
I'm glad one of my bookclubs recommended this. I'm usually one to dip in and out of poetry anthologies, but I read this in one sitting and was quite touched. That said, I think it's going to be more enjoyable when one is in a certain frame of mind.
I like that it featured poets old and new, and that it's peppered with voices that reflect a universal feel. Some of the poems are a bit more known than others, but there are key pieces here that I liked which I've not read/heard before.
Also, anything that champions Max Ehrmann's Desiderata is a winner in my book. -
A great collection of peoms by so many great writers.
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Reflections and lessons learned:
“Go placidly among the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence” Desiderata by Max Ehrmann
Wonderful collection curated by Matthews and with choices from a myriad of characters, this covers a great range from classical to modern. Notable poems for myself included:
* Kubla Khan by Keats
* // by Chan
* The Art of Deception by Rooney
* At the Intersection by Bilston
* The Alice Case by Limburg
* Not Waving but Drowning by Smith
* Severn Song by Gross
* The Idea of Houses by Mersal
* O Tell Me the Truth About Love by Auden
* If We Could Speak Like Wolves by Moore
* I’ve Fallen in Love with my Wife by Cooper Clarke
* Take This Pen by Walsh
In clearing out the loft last month I found an old laminated card of Desiderata - so familiar that I must have had it by my bed or in my wallet for some time - did I buy it or was it gifted by a kind friend? Not sure but the final lines have never been more inspirational:
“With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy” Ehrmann -
a beautifully curated group of poems from across the ages🫶🏼
this book of poems includes poems ranging across the years with recommendations based on why people love them so much ~ a super sweet idea💫
My favourite poems were:
🧚🏻 Kindness
🧚🏻 Desiderata
🧚🏻 Advice to Women
🧚🏻 The Call
🧚🏻 What Is Now Will Soon Be Past
🧚🏻 Love Poem
🧚🏻 Take This Pen
🧚🏻 Things
I picked this lovely book up at @66bookclub_ and I hadn’t seen it advertised before, so super happy that I decided to grab it when I saw it (especially with a discount hehe)🫶🏼🧚🏻✨ -
One of those books whose pages are begging to be corner folded (oh the indignity) so that the wonderful poems are bookmarked thereby.
An absolute treasure trove of poetic goodness, from daft to profound, from long to short, but all inspiring in their own way.
Thoroughly recommended. -
A wonderful collection of poems. I liked the chapters and the comments from various people who lived the poem, although some of these comments were a little tedious. Otherwise a wonderful read, great for dipping in and out of when you get a few free minutes.
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Nice collection of poems but nothing special.
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wonderful eclectic selection and several new poets to discover - very highly recommended.
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Excellent collection of lovely poems. I have come back again and again to this book.
I love it. -
gd anthology — could have better content towards the second half, quite repetitive but a good book nonetheless
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As with any poetry collection I enjoyed some poems and had no intrest in others, I would like to make the point however that poetry is not one of my usual pass times therefore it may be a lack of understanding that impacted a little of the enjoyment. My favorite poem was Take this pen - Tony Walsh. I was also suprised to recognise a poem that I had read in an anthology over a decade ago in school (mid term break - Seamus Heaney.) overall this was a good collection of poems that I would reccomend.
