The Handbook of Heartbreak: 101 Poems of Lost Love and Sorrow [Hardcover]

Robert Pinsky (Compiler)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Pinsky, America's 39th poet laureate, brings together the likes of Shakespeare and Yeats, O'Hara and Plath, Hayden, Dickinson, and Komynyakaa on the theme of the broken heart. This is a collection of 101 salves and spells with the power to heal. The number of poems were chosen, as Pinsky tells us in his introduction, because it sounds lovely. "Why do works of art about bad things such as loss and deprivation make us feel good?" he asks. Every love and attachment brings risk; loss is almost inevitable. These laments mourn loves and friends, places and things; the title comes from Wallace Stevens, whose love is for the earth itself. Frost tells us that because of Eve's voice, "Never again would birds' song be the same./ And to do that to birds was why she came." Much of this volume is familiar, but the poems are strengthened by their setting. Highly recommended.?Louis McKee, Painted Bride Arts Ctr., Philadelphia
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 158 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow; 1st edition (September 16, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 068816286X
• ISBN-13: 978-0688162863
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #595,541 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars perfect companion for a post-breakup pity party, June 23, 2001

By 

Carol C. "ccjello" (Kansas City, MO USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Handbook of Heartbreak: 101 Poems of Lost Love and Sorrow (Hardcover)

This little treasure can lead you through the gamut of emotions. I keep it on my nightstand, crawling into it when I'm feeling unloved and alone. There's something about the physical book itself -- small, thin, with the poems printed on beautiful deckle-edged paper in an elegant font -- that invites you to pick it up, hold it. The poetry within is mournful, painful, emotional -- a fine accompaniment for a bout of miserable introspection. A wide variety of poets are represented -- from Ben Johnson to Robert Frost, Shakespeare to Sylvia Plath. My personal favorite poem in the collection: Elizabeth Bishop's villanelle that begins "The art of losing isn't hard to master;/ so many things seem filled with the intent/ to be lost that their loss is no disaster. . . ." Despite this, the collection includes a number of very eloquent descriptions of the desperation of losing a love and the disaster of lost love. This is one of my favorite (and most frequently-read) collections of poetry.

5.0 out of 5 stars Thank you Catrina2005!, May 6, 2009

By 

Liz Briggs (Michigan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Handbook of Heartbreak: 101 Poems of Lost Love and Sorrow (Hardcover)

Purchased a book from Catrina2005 not for the price but because the proceeds were going towards a worthy cause.
Book arrived SUPERFAST and it was exactly what I wanted!
Thanks so much!

5 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Collection, November 4, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Nebraska) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Handbook of Heartbreak: 101 Poems of Lost Love and Sorrow (Hardcover)

The Handbook of Heartbreak has a wonderful collection of poems. Some very touching and personal ones. I related very well to some of the poetry included in this collection- a very nice piece to read over some free time, but I think it would have been even more wonderful if it had a few more pieces of poetry in it.