Collected Shorter Poems 1927-1957 - W. H. Auden

Advantages: cheers you up
Disadvantages: you're left wanting more

...After watching the programmes on television, telling us of tales of love and more recently Christmas poems, I wasn't surprised to find a whole stack of books edited by Daisy Goodwin on the shops shelves. But this is a good thing. This is a woman who understands and has been to places that we have all visited and some that we would rather not remember, and in this book there is a poem for every occasion. Ones that let us grieve and mourn, such a s Funeral Blues by W. H. Auden and the infamous Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep to poems that make us realise that maybe life isn't as bad as it seems like Streemin by Roger McGough and Loss by Wendy Cope. This book has it covered with poems that make you laugh and cry, and even a section called "Don't let the B******s Grind You Down." It holds within its small binding a cornucopia of poems... Read review

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

.... The last poem I 'have' to include is from ' Twelve songs' by W.H.Auden. This is a fantastic poem. It is about the loss of someone. It is an elegy. W.H. AUDEN 1907-73 from Twelve Songs ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ IX ~~~~ Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone, Silence the pianos and with muffled drum Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come. Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead, Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves, Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves. He was my North, my South, my East and West, My working week and my Sunday rest, My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song; I thought that love would last for ever: I was wrong. The stars are not wanted now: put out every one; Pack up the moon... Read review

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Advantages: Creative, interesting, moving without false sentiment
Disadvantages: None

...in the poetic. Somewhat ironically, Williams was raised in a Presbyterian household (where things done decently and in good order was the rule of the day), becoming an Anglican of his own accord while still at home. Williams had a broad education that included a developing appreciation for poets in the English language – the work of T.S. Eliot and W.H. Auden are apparent in some of his work. Williams also translated poetry of writers from other languages (such as Rilke), including his native Welsh (Ann Griffiths, T. Gwynn Jones, and Waldo Williams). Perhaps the greatest strength of Williams' poetry is its immediacy and descriptive power. Anglo-Catholic liturgies are very tactile experiences – there are things to see, to smell, to hear, and to do. Anglo-Catholic theology is very incarnational – the word made flesh, something Williams takes... Read review

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