Poems to Live Your Life By by Chris Riddell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is an anthology of forty-eight poems arranged into eight life-related topical areas. The connective theme is poems that the editor, Chris Riddell, found to contain valuable life lessons. The span runs from Rumi to poets of the present day. It's a nice selection in that it includes not only old and new (thus varied styles of verse,) but also greater and lesser known poems and poets. [That's not to say that any of the poets are unknowns, but some of the oldies are remembered through the ages more than others, and some of the newer individuals are better known for other activities - e.g. Neil Gaiman (novelist / storyteller,) Leonard Cohen (recording artist,) and Riddell, himself (graphic artist.)] There are several much anthologized inclusions that almost any poetry reader will have read, including: Frost's "The Road Not Taken," Shakespeare's "Sonnet 18" and the "To be, or not to be" soliloquy from Hamlet, Carroll's "Jabberwocky," and Dylan Thomas's "Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night." However, there are many lesser known gems as well, many by masters of poetry such as Seamus Heaney, Christina Rossetti, and Philip Larkin.
The eight topical areas are: Musings, Youth, Family, Love, Imaginings, Nature, War, and Endings. Most of the sections contain five or six poems, though - tellingly - Love contains the most at twelve and War the least at three.
While Riddell not only selected the poems and include a couple of his own, he also illustrates the book. There are beautiful line drawings throughout that offer insight into Riddell's interpretation of each poem.
I enjoyed this anthology. As I said, it's a beautiful selection of poems, and the artwork is skillfully done as well. I'd highly recommend this book for poetry readers.
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