As If: Poems New and Selected - Amy Clampitt

Advantages: A varied collection of great Poets and great Poetry in one book.
Disadvantages: If you like Poetry, none at all!

...reading poetry, it is purely personal. It is a Universal language with power and impact, imagery and wordpainting. And within this book you will find the Great poets, and some of the best poems ever written. This anthology of poetry was the direct result of a poll taken in Great Britain to find out which poem was the Nations favourite, and subsequently the next ninety nine, to make one hundred favourite poems in all. The poem that came in at number one was Rudyard Kiplings 'If'. This is a wonderful poem extolling a great philosophy and integrity, which is timeless. This is a hugely motivational and inspirational poem. And it hangs at Wimbledon, on the entrance to the centre court. Rudyard Kipling had a very tragic life, he was extremely unhappy in childhood, his parents sent him away, and he was beaten and abused by his new family. His... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Genuinly touching poetry
Disadvantages: Bleak and a little obtuse

...I read this as part of my English Lit A-Level and loved it. Plath is a truly great poet and her poetry is at times heart breaking. Selected Poems includes most of her best work like Ariel and Lady Lazarus as well as some other gems such as Winter Trees. Her poetry often uses images of nature and it mainly refers to her life or moods. This means that it can help if you know a little bit about Plath before reading it. My favourite poem in this collection has to be Lady Lazarus. The poem is long compared to some others of hers but it has a real beauty about its language that makes up for this. The meaning is a little obtuse but so is much of Plaths work and readers would do better to simply listen to the flow of words and admire her talent. Plath can be to bleak for everyone's taste and you couldn't call her an uplifting poet... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: good diverse selection
Disadvantages: a few really terrible poems!

...I am really, really annoyed as I wrote this entire opinion and then deleted it so have to write it all again!! Okay... I chose this book when I won a prize at school for something (being brilliant probably, lol) a couple of years ago. I've never really been huge on owning books - I own a perfectly good library card - but I like poems and felt maybe I could do with some help getting through the day and night so I thought this would be a good choice. This book describes itself as 'A survival kit for modern life'. If you believed its editor, Daisy Goodwin, youd think it was full of ready-made miracle cures to magically solve all your everyday problems. Get real, surely none of us are that naïve, but what this book does provide is a selection of poems old and new for every occasion, featuring famous poets and introducing not... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful