27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A diverse and beautiful selection of words of the heart, February 15, 1997
This review is from: Love Poems (Everyman's Library Pocket Poets) (Hardcover)
This is one of my favorite collections of poetry. Along with the companion volume on the physical side of love, "Erotic Poems," this covers a broad enough range of topics to resonate with nearly anyone's experience of love at any stage of love. The editor has apparently and courageously selected these pearls of love poetry not based solely on the reputation of the poet or how well known the piece, but on how well the words stand on their own merit. Many of these poems are quite obscure, but very powerful. If I were to only have a single book of poems about love, this would be my choice
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful, March 22, 2001
This review is from: Love Poems (Everyman's Library Pocket Poets) (Hardcover)
This is probably the finest collection of love poems that I have ever seen. Peter Washington, the editor, picked some of the most beautiful poems that I have heard. I was happy to see that many of my favorites like "To His Mistress Going to Bed" by Donne,"Tonight I Can Write" by Neruda, and "She Tells Her Love While Half Asleep" by Graves made it into this book. This collection had all of those poems that just have to be any any love collection. The great thing about this collection, though, is the many poems included that are not so well known. There are quite a few poems translated into English for this anthology which are gorgeous. Some of my favorites that I did not know before this collection are "Love is Not" by Marcus Argentarius, "The Lord is Not Merciful" by Anna Akhmatova, and Pushkin's "I Loved You." No poems outside of this collection capture love any better. Any lover of good poetry should buy this wonderful collection. It is the definative anthology of love poetry.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Lovely, In Every Respect, April 11, 2002
By A Customer
This review is from: Love Poems (Everyman's Library Pocket Poets) (Hardcover)
I love this little book. It's chock full of poetic gems, yet each one is so different. The differences in variety are surprising...there are different moods, cadences, emphases.
The poems are arranged in broad categories and follow a rather natural progression from the joys of meeting to the pleasures and pains of being "in love," to an absence of one's beloved and past loves.
Some poets are represented more extensively than are others. These include John Donne, Boris Pasternak, Anna Akhmatova and Christina Rossetti, among others. I don't think anyone who loves good poetry will complain about his disproportionate representation, however. The poets named above are so good, and their ideas so universal, that not repeating them would have been the mistake.
Although all of these poems concentrate on a universally recognized aspect of love, the perspectives vary sharply. There are poems from ancient India, classical Greece, medieval Japan, renaissance England, 19th century France and modern-day America.
The one quality all of these poems share is first-rate writing. You will no doubt find some poems you prefer over others, but you won't find poems that are "better" than others. They are all of the highest quality.
Another thing I like about this series of books is their size. They're small enough to carry in a purse or even a laptop case. I read mine on the train, on the bus, while waiting for the bus, anywhere, really. I couldn't think of a way to improve them.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
