Tag Archives: poems

Rewrite your night routine with 100 Poems to Help you Sleep

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‘Into the golden land of dreams’

Last night as I lay gazing with shut eyes

Henry David Thoreau

With levels of insomnia on the rise, the idea of enjoying a full night of good quality sleep seems to have become a dream of its own. 

This pocket-sized collection of comforting poetry is the perfect nighttime soother that makes putting the phone down easy, in exchange for a few moments of mindful bliss. 

In this second book within a brand-new series, discover the lullabies cherished by cultures across the world, verse that worships and praises the nighttime as well as poems that encourage gratitude and optimism for the day ahead, featuring words from literary greats such as Emily Bronte, W.B Yeats and Robert Louis Stevenson.

Let this tranquil poetry anthology improve your sleep and overall wellbeing. 

Jane McMorland Hunter writes and edits books on the good things in life: gardening, nature, cookery, craft and poetry, whilst also working part-time at Hatchards Bookshop, London. She has written and edited several books, including A Happy Poem to End Every Day, Ode to London, Favourite Poems of England, A Nature Poem for Every Day of the Year and Nature Writing for Every Day of the Year. She lives in west London and can be found on social media @alittlecitygarden. 

With 100 carefully chosen poems, featuring verse about the beauty of the nighttime as well as an array of restful, tranquil, and meditative verse, 100 Poems to Help You Sleep is an essential pocket-sized guide for anyone in search of better-quality sleep. 

After a 2021 study showed that 42% of individuals feel their sleep improves from reading before bed, the push to reduce screentime has become increasingly imperative. This calming collection makes putting down the phone down easy, with its comforting words reshaping your nighttime routine. 

As the second in a new series of pocket-sized poetry, discover classical lullabies cherished by cultures all over the world and poems that encourage gratitude and optimism for what each day can bring. Observe the night sky with Emily Brontë, visit the Lake Isle of Innisfree with W. B. Yeats, and experience Shakespeare’s most calming verses. 

Poems include the serene ‘In the Evening’ by Nikki Giovanni, the upbeat ‘Everything Is Going to Be Alright’ by Derek Mahon, the nursery classic ‘My Bed is a Boat’ by Robert Louis Stevenson, and many more that are just perfect for the quiet hours of the night.

100 Poems to Help you Sleep by Jane McMorland Hunter is publishing by Batsford and out now.

A Poem for Every Day of Christmas: A beautifully illustrated Christmas book from Allie Esiri

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If you are looking for the perfect Christmas present then I suggest A Poem For Every Day of Christmas the beautifully illustrated poetry anthology from Sunday Times Bestseller Allie Esiri, it is only £10 and fits under the tree or in a stocking.

Embossed with gold foil and lavishly illustrated, A Poem For Every Day of Christmas is the perfect stocking filler for young and old, featuring 31 Christmas poems to see you through the holiday season. Compiled by Allie Esiri who has edited a series of wonderful poetry anthologies.

Perfect for reading aloud and sharing with all the family, this book is a cosy accompaniment through the holiday season. Delight in festivities with poems from Thomas Hardy, E. E Cummings, Robert Burns and more. The day-to-day format of this anthology invites readers to make poetry a part of the festive season to get you in the Christmas spirit throughout December.  

This warm and soulful book is the perfect gift for Christmas. With a little bit of magic to read every day.

Described by The Sunday Times as ‘A poetry powerhouse’, poetry champion Allie Esiri has published ten hugely popular poetry anthologies including A Poem For Every Day Of The Year and 365 Poems For Life as part of her mission to keep poetry alive and make it accessible for everyone.

About Allie Esiri 

Allie Esiri’s best-selling poetry anthologies include Shakespeare For Every Day Of The Year, A Poem For Every Day Of The Year and 365 Poems For Life. They have lit an explosion of interest in poetry in the UK, are regularly chosen for National Poetry Day and have been picked as best books of the year by The Observer, The Times and New Statesman. Yearly sell out performances at the National Theatre and major book festivals with some of our best-loved actors reading poetry – from Helena Bonham Carter to Dominic West – are capturing and enthralling a new generation of poetry lovers.  

Esiri read Modern and Medieval Languages at the University of Cambridge then worked as an actress for ten years in the English Shakespeare Company and on TV in shows such as Sharpe, Howard’s End, Men Behaving Badly and Poirot, before moving on to create the first poetry apps, daily poetry anthologies (for all ages) and live shows.  For more info visit allieesiri.com.

Spotlight on Priest and Poet Ian Tattum

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I have long been a fan of writer Ian Tattum. Ian is incredibly intelligent and a keen observer. Ian’s poems have been published in a number of magazines and it’s easy to see why. Ian’s talent is outstanding and his poems stay with you for a long time after you have read them. I cannot recommend his poems enough, nor insist enough that you keep an eye out for what he does in the future.

It was hard to find just three poems to publish here. I loved them all. One such line ‘for a bruised heart will kill first what others love’ had a huge impact on me. Ian’s poems are full of truth and beauty. He is a fantastic nature writer and a wonderful person. May we may have more like him. Now. Thank you.

Ian Tattum, poet, priest, nature, writer

Nativity

I didn’t croak, I cried.
Long armed and long legged,
and long breathed.
It was not an amphibious belch,
but a human yell
as I left my pond for the world.
And my arrival wasn’t
a leap but a tumble.
I was not smooth and green,
but red and wrinkled.
My mother objected when my father said, ‘he looks like a frog’, but looking closer she saw his point, and kept her silence.

For my mother
JOAN TATTUM

Landlocked at Olney

The Ouse lives up to its name,
slowly winding through a gentle valley.
Overlooked by the modest high point of Clifton Reynes,
and windmills that march without moving.
It floods less now, hardly a boot covering but
wild swimming still provides the odd drowning.
A snaking mirror of the sky and trees,
of barely rippled blues, greys and greens.
Where a damselfly’s stained-glass wing or a sudden kingfisher
can arrest your attention without troubling it.
A place for a closer walk with God,
where the breeze curtains out the traffic
as it did for Cowper the noise of industry and cart.
But the river leads to the sea,
one hundred and forty-three miles east.
To a place where the water and the sands move,
footing is unsure, and the tides are wilful.

Attic Verses. Cowboys and Indians

I rarely felt the cold in those days before central heating,
when the coal fireplace in the front room was only lit
for necessity and the kitchen harboured the hypnotic
skin-searing paraffin stove.
When my bedroom was icy my mind was warmed by travel.
I knelt on the carpet moving my soldiers across prairies,
and over rivers and hiding them in clefts in the rock.
Some would take refuge in a cardboard stockade,
while others whooped from plastic horses,
in circling menace.
In TV Western Land even when it snowed
it was always temperate.
There were countless deaths, but no one ever died.
Until my brother, proving how wrong Wilde was,
instituted an irreparable massacre by beheading;
for a bruised heart will kill first what others love.

Ian Tattum is a priest in the Church of England, who writes mainly about nature, local history literature- including a recent essay for Little Toller’s ‘The Clearing’. His poetry has previously been published by Spelt Magazine , The Pilgrim and Black Bough Poetry. He is a Fellow of the Linnaean Society. https://stbarnabas-southfields.org.uk/essays-and-
reviews/
Follow Ian on Twitter at @ITattum.

Poetry for Hopefulness | Bright Poems for Dark Days

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bright poems for dark days, poems, hope, poets, hopefulA fitting release for this years National Poetry Day theme of choice, Dr Sutherland’s curated collection features poetry from across globes and generations to find the perfect words of affirmation, positivity or hopefulness to aid you in moments of need or stress.

🌸 Choose from 8 themes to fit your needs, from hope to nature & escape or joy to gratitude & comfort and more

🌸 Choose words and poems from literary greats, such as William Blake and Alfred, Lord Tennyson, to modern greats like Maya Angelou and Carol Ann Duffy to name just a few

🌸 With stunning full-colour, original illustrations from artist Carolyn Gavin (@carolynj)

bright poems for dark days

An anthology for hopefulness from William Blake to Warsan Shire

Dr Julie Sutherland
Illustrated by Carolyn Gavin

Bright Poems For Dark Days Published by Frances Lincoln | £12.99 | 19thth October 2021

We all have days when we find ourselves in need of some positivity and a few hopeful words of affirmation. This collection of poetry was carefully curated and compiled by bibliotherapist Dr Julie Sutherland, an expert in the healing power of words, along with original illustrations from Carolyn Gavin, make this beautifully-bound book a worthy aid to your mental wellbeing:

  • The collection is split into 8 themes: hope, resilience & courage, joy, nature & escape, love, tranquility, gratitude & comfort
  • A diverse range of writers and words are featured; from Oscar Wilde to Emily Dickinson, Robert Louis Stevenson to Maya Angelou, William Blake to Warsan Shire
  • The selections are accompanied by explanations and illuminating context that reinforces the positive mental health message
  • Combining uplifting lines of verse with joyful illustrations means this unique book can provide a much-needed dose of hopefulness and happiness in turbulent moments
  • Perfect as a thoughtful gift for someone in need or a resource of solace that can turned to whenever needed
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In difficult times, the words of others can lift us up.

 

 

 

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Bright, joyful art to inspire hopefulness is combined with a curated collection of poems, chosen to lift the spirits through the healing power of words.

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Dr Julie Sutherland is a writer and editor based in Ontario, Canada. She is a bibliotherapist for the ReLit Foundation, facilitating and presenting a wide variety of reading for well-being events in Canada, the US, the UK and online. She is passionate about the capacity of literature to effect change in the human spirit.

Carolyn Gavin is a painter, illustrator and designer based in Toronto, Canada. Vibrant, playful and happy are perfect words to describe her style. She is principal designer for Ecojot, a family-run eco-friendly paper business and also licenses her work for fabric, homewares and packaging. Find her on IG @carolynj (460k followers).

A Poet For Every Day of the Year By Allie Esiri

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A Poet For Every Day of the Year is an essential buy. The concept of this book is so clever: every day there is a new poet to discover. A biography of the poet and one of their poems is there to discover for every day of the year.

This book is gorgeous on the outside and just as gorgeous on the inside. Perfect for adults and children. I cannot recommend this well-researched and luscious book enough. Get your hands on a copy now.

Award-winning and bestselling poetry anthologist, ALLIE ESIRI has lit an explosion of interest in poetry, through her carefully curated anthologies and exciting live performances.

Allie’s books have sold over 250,000 copies in hardback

 

·       Her three poetry collections, A Poem for Every Day of the Year; A Poem for Every Night of the Year and Shakespeare for Every Day of the Year have been chosen as Books of the Year by The Times, The Observer and New Statesman and they have featured in the top five poetry titles every year since 2016.

 

·       Allie has been announced as the Chair of Judges for the CLiPPA Awards 2021, following in the footsteps of Michael Rosen and Roger McGough. She is also a judge for The Trussell Trust Food for Thought poetry competition 2021.

 

·       A Poem for Every Night of the Year had its best sales year in 2020 – five years after publication.

 

·       In 2020, THREE of the top ten children’s poetry titles were curated by Allie, though her books are enjoyed by all ages

 

Allie is the NUMBER ONE author across children’s poetry in 2021.

 

A Poet for Every Day of the Year, Allie’s newest anthology, is published by Macmillan Children’s Books. It introduces readers to 366 of the world’s greatest poets, juxtaposing diverse, exciting, vibrant new voices alongside the enduring giants of the form, with fascinating mini biographies of each writer.

 

The day-by-day format inspires readers to make poetry as much part of their daily routine as breakfast or bedtime. It encourages them to discover theinspirational, the life affirming, the provocative and the entertaining in each and every day.

 

“Allie Esiri’s books take you by the hand with poems to restore you and make your toes tingle, that will take you away for a little while and home again, with your spirits a little higher than before.”

Helena Bonham Carter

 

Allie Esiri, on her new anthology, A Poet for Every Day of the Year:

 

Poetry at its best has always enabled us to see different worlds, or rather, our own world differently, without ever having to leave our home. It has articulated our muddled thoughts, given a voice to the voiceless and lent an ear to the otherwise unheard. But most of the anthologies we have at our disposal seem to view poetry as an almost exclusively white, western, male craft, almost untouched by women or anyone from another background or ethnicity. I think now is the time to redress this.

In this book, you’ll not only find a great poem for every day of the year, but you’ll also learn about the life, times, and work of each poet, and discover connections between writers that transcend the established canon and chronology.

I hope readers of all ages and backgrounds will be inspired by the poets they find within this anthology. As the mother of mixed-race children, I’m especially and personally proud to present a book that represents them, and countless other diverse readers like them.

A POET FOR EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR , poems, poets, books, Allie Esiri

Poets featured in A Poet for Every Day of the Year include:


Maya Angelou

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Brian Bilston

Eavan Boland

Lord Byron

William Carlos Williams

Lewis Carroll

Wendy Cope

Imtiaz Dharker

Georgia Douglas Johnson

Helen Dunmore

Bob Dylan

Louise Glück

Jackie Kay

Michael Rosen

Christina Rossetti

Stevie Smith

Ocean Vuong

William Wordsworth

 

 

 

ALLIE ESIRI is an accomplished curator and host of live poetry events, featuring some of our best-known actors – from Helena Bonham Carter to Dominic West – at the National Theatre, the Bridge Theatre, and major literary festivals.

 

She lives in London with her husband and three children.

The book is available here.

In the Corridor of a College Lodgings. A Poem By Annie Clarke | Uplifting Stories

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Who’s this?’ the lecturer asked my daughter.
She said, all bare midriff with tattoo peeping,
‘Only Mum. She’s carrying my plants,
helping to move me in.’
‘Hello, Mum,’ he said, not looking just brushing
the leaves as he passed.
It was a plant my daughter felt would make her room
look familiar, lived in. ‘Like you,’ she’d joked.
At her doorway I placed it in her arms,
but it was his bustling back I watched.
He turned this way and that
distributing greetings to other beasts of burden.
Not waiting for their replies, either.
I called, too loud perhaps. ‘My name is Margaret.
I usually wear stiletto shoes, and pink jackets,
when not camouflaged as a removal man.
I cycled off road across harsh terrain for charity. If you’d looked
You’d have seen highlights in my hair.
I belly dance and have a name.
My name, again, is Margaret.

‘Way to go, Mum,’ my daughter whooped
Up and down the corridor’s length and breadth
Plants and CD players were handed over.
Students were kissed with love. And left.
‘Yes, we have names,’ we all said.
As thoughts of achievements big and small
lent wings to trainers. ‘And places to go. And
lives to live.
Fashion statements to make, and parameters to break.

‘Goodbye, lecturer,’ we smiled, as we passed by.

Share Your Uplifting Stories With Frost Magazine

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Frost fiction, short stories, poems, non fiction, fiction.
We are living through difficult times. The news is full of heartbreak and we are all struggling in our own way. Frost Magazine are all about being positive and sharing community spirit. We want to publish any uplifting stories that you have, whether they are fact or fiction. They can be poems, short stories or real-life pieces. We want to spread joy and happiness.

Send stories and poems from children or adults to frostmagazine@gmail.com. Maximum word count for short stories is 1750 words, 40 lines for poems and 1750 for general non-fiction.

Stay safe and lots of love.

 

Free Poetry Book To Celebrate National Poetry Day

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poetry, poetry book, poems, women authors, Scottish writers, poetry book, female writers,Today is National Poetry Day and to celebrate you can get a copy of What Do You Think? A collection of poetry from Catherine Balavage, Frost Magazine’s owner and editor-in-chief. One of her poems is below.

 

Loved person

Broken promises I knew you could not keep
You only ever tried to love me and in gratitude I lay at your feet Because I was in love too, but my love was different

My love was the notion of life, a good one
All I wanted from ear to ear; a smile from my own mouth
It did not work
You loved me so selflessly I could not leave
Although I know now it was only through your love for me that I loved you You lost your own identity
You chose mine but I wanted mine to keep

Still. Here I am
This time only crying at your ever loving feet
I owe you too much to leave
So for the rest of my life. If I never find the courage I will be the living, loved dead
Even though I see
Your love in an otherwise cruel world binds me Forgive me. I doubt for all that I was ever worthy

 

Get your free copy of What Do You Think? now.