Poems That Make Grown Men Cry: 100 Men on the Words That Move Them

by Anthony Holden (Editor), Ben Holden

Grown men don't cry.

But in this fascinating anthology, one hundred men - distinguished in literature and film, science and architecture, theater and human rights - confess to being moved to tears by poems that continue to haunt them. Representing twenty nationalities and ranging in age from their early 20s to their late 80s, the majority are public figures not prone to crying. Here they admit to breaking down when ambushed by great art, often in words as powerful as the poems themselves.

Their selections include classics by visionaries such as Walt Whitman, W.H Auden, and Philip Larkin, as well as contemporary works by masters including Billy Collins, Seamus Heaney, Derek Walcott, and poets who span the globe from Pablo Neruda to Rabindranath Tagore.

Seventy-five percent of the selected poems were written in the twentieth century, with more than a dozen by women including Mary Oliver, Elizabeth Bishop, and Gwendolyn Brooks. Their themes range from love in its many guises, through mortality and loss, to the beauty and variety of nature. Three men have suffered the pain of losing a child; others are moved to tears by the exquisite way a poet captures, in Alexander Pope's famous phrase, 'what oft was thought, but ne'er so well express'd.'

From J. J. Abrams to John le Carré, Salman Rushdie to Jonathan Franzen, Daniel Radcliffe to Nick Cave, Billy Collins to Stephen Fry, Stanley Tucci to Colin Firth, and Seamus Heaney to Christopher Hitchens, this collection delivers private insight into the souls of men whose writing, acting, and thinking are admired around the world.

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction, Anthologies, Literature, 21st Century, Essays, Books About Books

336 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2014

About the author

Anthony Holden is an English writer, broadcaster and critic, particularly known as a biographer of artists.

Reviews

[Malia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started reading this book thinking I am not the best judge of good poetry, yet when I finished it I thought, who really is? What makes poetry good is so subjective, merely whether it moves its reader. What do rhyme scheme and iamb matter, if the words arranged as they are conjure gooseflesh to your skin?
As with any anthology, some of these poems moved me deeply and others left me cold. It was interesting to read the reason of the contributors for choosing each work, and I found myself scribbling down a list of all the poems I liked best, a list which now holds a good twenty titles. This book was a big break for me from my usual fiction heavy fare, but I needed something different and am very glad I reached for something which might have been slightly intimidating to me. Recommended!

Find more reviews and bookish fun at http://www.princessandpen.com

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

You don’t have to say it: I am fully aware that I am not a man. Also, I’m an embarrassingly easy crier and will shed a tear at the drop of a hat. (I’ve recently taken to speed-reading through sad scenes in books because otherwise I’d have to tag far too many reviews with “Made Me Cry.”) So what made me request this one from Edelweiss? Basically, I figured that this had to be a collection of damn good poems in order to move so many eminent men so deeply. Also, the range of contributors seemed pretty broad, and it included a lot of my favorites. I’m always interested in finding out if my tastes match the tastes of the writers/performers/etc. I admire.

The editors allowed each contributor to include a brief piece explaining why he chose his particular poem. I found it particularly interesting when two men chose the same poem for different reasons, which happened more than once. After the poem, there’s a brief bio on the selector. Although I recognized most of the names, there were a few I didn’t, and I found this feature helpful.

The poetry itself comes from various time periods and languages, though most were written in English in the last 100-150 years. Some are beautiful but not particularly emotional, some seemed chosen for strictly personal reasons (and therefore felt a bit distant for me), and some left me pacing the floors of my home while sobbing.

Some of the poems didn’t make me cry, but they opened my eyes to a new poet and a style that I admired (I’ve included links when I could find them): Abioseh Nicol’s “The Meaning of Africa,” chosen by James Earl Jones, with its sweeping descriptions; Elizabeth Bishop’s powerfully evocative “Crusoe in England,” chosen by Andrew Solomon; Philip Larkin’s terrifying “Aubade,” chosen by William Sieghart; and — one I’d read previously and forgotten about — Bukowski’s “Eulogy to a Hell of a Dame,” chosen by Mike Leigh.

Other poems’ messages moved me: Consantine P. Cavafy’s “Ithaka,” chosen by Walter Salles, and Derek Walcott’s “Love After Love,” chosen by Tom Hiddleston.

Poems that hit me the hardest — the ones that made me out-and-out cry — were the ones about family, whether having/losing a parent (Tony Harrison’s “Long Distance II,” chosen by Daniel Radcliffe) or being one (John N. Morris’s “For Julia, In the Deep Water,” chosen by Tobias Wolff; Victoria Redel’s “Bedecked,” chosen by Billy Collins; and Rabindranath Tagore’s “Those Who Are Near Me Do Not Know,” chosen by Chris Cooper).

All in all: There’s something for everyone in here. Buy a stack of copies and gift them!

Note: I received a free review copy of this book via Edelweiss.

[Avani ✨ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Definitely not for me.

[[ J o ] · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an anthology of poetry created alongside Amnesty International, presumably with the intention to shatter the stereotype that men do not cry. Whilst it feels rather like a gimmick, and just another way for men to showcase other men's work, it was a lovely way for me to find more poems and explore a medium of writing that I've never previously had time for and am very new to loving.

I'm not sure if I love poetry yet, but there are certainly some poems that I love. One of my absolutely favourites is included in this collection (C.P. Cavafy's Ithaka) though it certainly doesn't make me cry. None of the poems made me cry, though there was a theme of melancholy and loss running throughout. There are 100 poems with 100 men telling us why, when and how their chosen poems make them cry. Some are extremely personal which, whilst aren't going to make me shed a tear just because they make some masculine-type cry, do give a lovely insight to how other people enjoy poetry, which is something I'm quite interested in.

It's a good collection of poetry, from modern contemporaries to the romantics of the 18th Century; from English to Indian and all over the rest of the globe, with a good selection of celebrities who aren't all heart-throbs or muscular, Real Men who are the obvious candidates to never cry. Whilst I can't get behind the naming and execution of the collection, I think it's great these prominent men are sharing their feelings and adding to the belief that it's okay for everyone to cry, not just women and children, but men, too. It's a lovely collection to delve in and out of, to read aloud and see if these can spark some kind of emotion like they did with those who have chosen them.

Notice how none of them analyse too deeply. That's the mistake we make with poetry: you should feel them with your heart, they should reach deep down in to your metaphorical soul and tug at it-or, at least, the ones you enjoy should. If they don't do that they are not worth your time.



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[Leonard · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read most of the poems in this book but not all of them. None of them made me cry, perhaps because I was expecting, perhaps hoping, that at least one would have that effect on me. To do that a poem may have to sneak up on me or you. These are good poems but I doubt if some of them have ever made anyone cry, and some of the people represented mentioned that they didn't necessarily cry about a poem but were moved by it in other ways. I'm curious about the female edition of this book.

[Amelia Asker · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't cry

[High Plains Library District · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m a big believer in setting reading goals for myself. Picking a number gives me something to aim for and keeps me motivated to read as much as I want to be reading. This year, though, I’m also trying to pay more attention to what I’m reading. It’s pretty easy to get stuck in a rut, reading only the stuff I already know that I like and never challenging myself to stretch. (I’m also pretty good at telling myself I’m stretching when I know good and well I’m really not.) So this year I’m trying to read more diversely. I want to read more authors with diverse backgrounds. I want to explore nonfiction and genres that I’m not familiar with (or have convinced myself I don’t like). I want to read in diverse formats, like graphic novels, audiobooks, and, you guessed it, poetry. Which is where this book comes in.


Poems That Make Grown Men Cry was a finalist for the GoodReads Choice awards this last year, and the premise intrigued me. 100 notable men, from poets to actors to activists, selected one poem that moved them (preferably to tears), and wrote an introduction to that poem. It’s a great premise, and by its very nature we get a huge variety of poems to try. Everything from Shakespeare to Billy Collins. And we also get all kinds of tears: happy tears, grieving tears, angry tears. Now, I’m not suggesting that all of the poems in the book made me cry. To be honest, I didn't even understand all of the poems, let alone like them all. And that, for me, is the appeal of a book like this. It takes a thing like poetry, which is huge and intimidating and confusing, and gives you a chance to try it out. You can start to tell if you like older poems or more modern ones. If you like rhymes, or narratives, or certain styles. And for those you don’t like, it’s just the turn of a page to try something new.


Here’s a small handful of some of the poems I particularly enjoyed, in case you’re interested:


“Last Sonnet,” also known as “Bright Star,” by John Keats


“Orpheus. Eurydice. Hermes” by Rainer Maria Rilke


“Long Distance II” by Tony Harrison


“Bedecked” by Victoria Redel


And, of course, there’s always The Poetry Foundation for the poetry-curious.


-Meagan

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I believe life ends with death, and that is all.
You haven't both gone shopping; just the same,
in my new black leather phone book there's your name
and the disconnected number I still call."
from "Long Distance II" by Tony Harrison (1937-)
chosen by Daniel Radcliffe

100 men chose the poem that makes them cry. They submitted about a page of explanation for their choice. The poem then follows. And the accolades of the men who submitted their entry are quickly detailed. The list of men includes writers, film, theater, and opera directors, artists, actors, publishers, professors, playwrights, and others of highest caliber. It is really an incredible list of people that Anthony and Ben Holden got to make submissions.

Many of the chosen poems speak of death or dying. Reading just one of these can make you feel like shedding a tear. Reading multiple of these made me feel quite melancholy, to say the least. I appreciated that many of the men that chose these poems admitted that you really had to read the poem out loud for the full impact. I found myself trying to read most of these poems out loud to amplify the effect - which it did.

I liked the poems that were more about inspiration or the life of a child. I wish more of the poems had been on these topics. It would have helped my reading, and my rating.

The book is arranged by date of poem/poet. The oldest ones had some interest to me, but I found most of my post-it notes going to the middle and later part of the book.

My Favorites:
"Hokku" by Fukuda Chiyo-Ni (1703-1775)
chosen by Boris Akunin
this poem written when her little son died.
Dragonfly catcher,
Where today
have you gone?

"Of the Terrible Doubt of Appearances" by Walt Whitman (1819-1892)
chosen by Stephen Fry
...May-be the things I perceive, the animals, plants, men,
hills, shining and flowing waters,
The skies of day and night, colors, densities, forms,
Maybe these are (as doubtless they are) only
apparitions, and the real something has yet to be known;
...
When he whom I love travels with me or sits a long
while holding me by the hand,
...
Then I am charged with untold and untellable wisdom
...
He ahold of my hand has completely satisfied me.

"Ithaka" by Constantine P. Cavafy (1863-1933)
chosen by Walter Salles
the whole poem leads you to the conclusion that Walter stated in his short preface before the poem begins:
"Don't ask the way of those who know it, you might not get lost."

(My favorite line in the book just spoken by Walter :)

"My Papa's Waltz" by Theodore Roethke (1908-63)
chosen by Stanley Tucci
as father comes home late, and child follows his hero off to bedtime
The whiskey on your breath
Could make a small by dizzy;
But I hung on like death:
Such waltzing was not easy.
...
You beat time on my head
With a palm caked hard by dirt,
Then waltzed me off to bed
Still clinging to your shirt."

"The Book Burnings" by Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956)
chosen by Jack Mapanje
...when harmful knowledgeable books were ordered to be burned and a certain poet's were not chosen...'
Don't do this to me! Don't pass me over! Have I not always told
The truth in my books? And now
I am treated by you a a liar!
I order you:
Burn me!

"Liberte" by Paul Eluard (1895-1952)
chosen by Joe Wright
this poem was written on leaflets during WWII and the RAF dropped them over occupied France
On my notebooks from school
On my desk and the trees
On the sand on the snow
I write your name
...
By the power of the word
I regain my life
I was born to know you
And to name you
LIBERTY

"The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner" by Randall Jarrell (1914-65)
chosen by Paul Muldoon
From my mother's sleep I fell into the State,
And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze.
Six miles from earth, loosed from its dream of life,
I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighters.
When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose.

"The Meaning of Africa" by Abioseh Nicol (1924-94)
chosen by James Earl Jones
...
I am content and happy.
I am fulfilled, within,
Without and roundabout
I have gained the little longings
Of my hands, my loins, my heart
And the soul that follows in my shadow."
I know now that is what your are, Africa:
Happiness, contentment, and fulfilment,
And a small bird singing on a mango tree.

"Bedecked" by Victoria Redel (1959-)
chosen by Billy Collins
Tell me it’s wrong the scarlet nails my son sports or the toy store rings
he clusters four jewels to each finger.

He’s bedecked. I see the other mothers looking at the star choker,
the rhinestone strand he fastens over a sock.
Sometimes I help him find sparkle clip-ons when he says sticker earrings
look too fake.

Tell me I should teach him it’s wrong to love the glitter that a boy’s only
a boy who’d love a truck with a remote that revs,
battery slamming into corners or Hot Wheels loop-de-looping off tracks
into the tub.

Then tell me it’s fine—really—maybe even a good thing—a boy who’s
got some girl to him,
and I’m right for the days he wears a pink shirt on the seesaw in the park.

Tell me what you need to tell me but keep far away from my son who
still loves a beautiful thing not for what it means—
this way or that—but for the way facets set off prisms and prisms spin up
everywhere
and from his own jeweled body he’s cast rainbows—made every shining
true color.

Now try to tell me—man or woman—your heart was ever once that brave.

"The Lanyard" by Billy Collins (1941-)
Chosen by J.J. Abrams
all the child has to give his Mom is the lanyard he made, to repay for all she has given
She gave me life and milk from her breasts,
and I gave her a lanyard..
She nursed me in many a sick room,
lifted spoons of medicine to my lips,
laid cold face-cloths on my forehead,
and then led me out into the airy light

and taught me to walk and swim,
and I, in turn, presented her with a lanyard.
...

"Keys to the Doors" by Robin Robertson (1955-)
chosen by Mohsin Hamid
I loved your age of wonder: your third and fourth
and fifth years spent astonished, widening your eyes
at each new trick of the world - and me standing there,
solemnly explaining how it was done. The moon and stars,
rainbows, photographs, gravity, the birds in the air,
the difference between blood and water.
In true life? you would say, looking up...

[Ana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely beautiful anthology of poems that tough and not-so-tough men cry at. The idea to me seems brilliant, because it demolishes the misconception that only women feel things strongly enough to cry, or that men aren't capable of reaching certain emotional depths. Really enjoyable.

[Barnabas Piper · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t suppose it’s fair to crap on other people’s selections of poetry they love. I just didn’t love this collection. It felt so esoteric and arty, my least favorite kind of poetry. There are exceptions scattered throughout, but in general this is a sip-your-drink-with-the-pinky-raised book.

[Ana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the first half of this collection a little more than the first, but it was still good.

[Michelle (Fluttering Butterflies) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The poems themselves rarely made me feel emotion, but it was reading why the 100 men in the collection were moved to tears by these poems that got to me.

[Laura Leaney · Rating 4 out of 5]

No balls no tears, eh? Sounds like something that should be in Cosmopolitan magazine in the article "Be Understanding When Your Man Cries: Things to Know." One aspect is right; this is no collection for the young.

Well, I've got a man in me somewhere, so I read this collection thinking that I'd for sure cry at something, but the book failed me in this area. Still, "the sorrow which has no vent in tears may make other organs weep," and I felt about seven of these in the heart, three in the liver, and two in the kidneys.

Reading a poetry anthology is a bit like treading thoughtfully through a museum gallery. You stop at the paintings that catch your eye or interest, tilt your head in absorption, read the plaque, make a mental note to remember it, but then rudely give half second glances to the rest. Every once in a while, a painting socks you in the gut. Here, in this collection, there were plenty of duds (sorry, sorry) as well as high school favorites, but the whole collection was worth reading to find the dozen that made me slow down to absorb the beauty and the cadence of poetic art.

The poem that moved me the most was "Orpheus. Eurydice. Hermes" by Rainer Maria Rilke, who takes the Greek myth and makes it spectacularly haunting. When Eurydice is being brought out of Hades, she "walked beside the graceful god, / her steps constricted by the trailing / graveclothes, / uncertain, gentle, and without impatience. / She was deep within herself, like a woman / heavy / with child, and did not see the man in front / or the path ascending steeply into life." The end of this - and the part where Orpheus looks back at her - is something.

There is also Auden's "In Memory of W.B. Yeats," Les Murray's "The Widower in the Country," Berryman's "Dream Song 90: Op. posth. no. 13," and Hayden Carruth's "Essay." I'm not sure I would have found these on my own, so the book gets a manly high five.

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whatever about men shedding a precious tear, this is a superior collection of poems whose stated organizing principle at least has the merit of placing the best attraction of poetry - its ability to move a reader's emotions in a carefully crafted relative minimum of words - fully forward. And it's also fun to see what poem some of your favorite famous personalities - Nick Cave, Patrick Stewart; they didn't disappoint- select, and briefly hear from them how they relate to it.

Though the extent of my own outer demonstrative range when reading a poem ends at a furrowed brow, a bit lip, a deep breath, I'd add the following selection to this collection: Northern Irish poet Michael Longley had the poem "Ceasefire" published in The Irish Times on the occasion of the IRA ceasefire in 1994, and the combination of an emotional connection to the Northern Irish Troubles, a connection to The Iliad, and imagining the pain of losing one of my own sons, combine to rank this one way up there for me.

I
Put in mind of his own father and moved to tears
Achilles took him by the hand and pushed the old king
Gently away, but Priam curled up at his feet and
Wept with him until their sadness filled the building.

II
Taking Hector's corpse into his own hands Achilles
Made sure it was washed and, for the old king's sake,
Laid out in uniform, ready for Priam to carry
Wrapped like a present home to Troy at daybreak.

III
When they had eaten together, it pleased them both
To stare at each other's beauty as lovers might,
Achilles built like a god, Priam good-looking still
And full of conversation, who earlier had sighed:

IV
'I get down on my knees and do what must be done
And kiss Achilles' hand, the killer of my son.'

[Audie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lovely collection, but I'm not entirely sure why it was addressed solely to men. To be honest, in this day in age, I find it surprising that ANY work of literature can elicit strong emotion from anyone - male or female. I often throw the question out there on my various social media venues, but rarely if ever get a response. Most people just aren't that moved anymore I suppose, and some of the contributions in here made me wonder if they were included because they were really the ONLY poem the contributor could identify.

And though I realize it was not the purpose of the collection, but I wanted to know more of the poem's back stories. WHY was this written? Some of the contributors have summaries of the author's inspiration, but not all.

And then, we come to the end, where Nadine Gordimer inexplicably gives her thoughts on some of the poems chosen, and complains that only 12 of the 100 chosen were written by women. Odd.

A nice Father's Day gift to be sure, but I think there are better collections out there.

[Ofelia · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's hard to pick out a rating for a book like this. Many of the poems did not move me, while I could relate deeply to others. How do you rate a book such as this one? By the poems themselves, or by the concept behind their assimilation? Some people seem to have a problem with the concept: of only including male contributors. They call it unnecessary, a way of yet again only showcasing men. I don't have a problem with it though. Highlighting men enjoying poetry and showing emotion is not a bad thing. I also appreciate what an accessible and good introduction this book makes.

Even the poems I found uninteresting, meant something to the men who picked them. Hearing how they could relate to them and why they mattered was very interesting. Interesting- but esoteric. "Meaningful to a certain person" does not necessarily mean good, and I do think many of the poems were not good. I liked the concept and enough of the poems, so I would say it's a nice book. Nice poetry? Doubtful, but at the very least some interesting stories and experiences.

[Geoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll say it straight off the bat: most of these poems did not make me cry. But some of them did. Each poem is introduced by the man who selected it, and these introductions often were as likely to move me as the actual poems. The ones by or about fathers who lost a child got me pretty much every time, as did a good deal of the ones by or about husbands who lost their wives. This is understandable. But the poems are not all sad, and the overall collection is not a downer. It's serious and heavy, but it's also beautiful and comforting, and it gave me a sense of kinship with these fellow poetry-lovers, which is a worthwhile thing in and of itself. By the way, the poem that makes me cry wasn't included, so I'll offer it here as a bonus: "Last Days" by Donald Hall. Good luck getting through that one.

[Amy Neftzger · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book contains some really great poems and, to make things more interesting, each poem was selected by a prominent individual and contains an essay on why the poem moves the person. Some of the contributors are individuals who regularly read poetry or literature and some aren't. Regardless, this is a nice selection of pieces. My only negative comment is that sometimes I wished that the poem preceded the essay describing why it moved the reader so that I could read the poem without the individual's filter coloring my interpretation of the work. So, in a sense, what made the book interesting is also what got in the way of my enjoyment of it at times!

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book two years ago and it's the reason that I now read poetry on a regular basis for fun. It was so great to read an anthology solely focused on how poetry makes us feel after wasting so much energy on academic analyses in high school and college. I read "To my dear and loving husband" by Anne Bradstreet in 10th grade and never thought about it again until I read it in this anthology and STARTED CRYING AFTER READING ONLY THE FIRST LINE. This anthology is a reminder that people who lived hundreds of years ago halfway across the world aren't so unlike us. Don't ask if you can borrow my copy the answer is no

[Deborah Siddoway · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not the sort of book that you can just sit and read. It is more like you pick it up every now and then, and read through one of the poems and then sit and reflect on how wonderful poetry can be. Of equal interest is the men behind the selection of the poems, who each set out why they picked a poem, and why it moves them so profoundly. I rediscovered some old favourites, and was introduced to more modern poets that I had never heard of before. Apparently there is a companion volume that explores poetry selected by women. I will certainly be adding that to my reading list.

[Jenan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was wondering, going into this book, which of the poems would make me cry. It was the shortest and the (deceptively) simplest poem that did it. Hokku by Fukuda Chiyo-ni. Exactly seven words, I counted. Then I read it again after I finished the whole volume. Cried again.

The poet was a mother who lost her young son. She wrote:

"Dragonfly catcher,
Where today
have you gone?"

And it just broke my heart.

[Narmeen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some I really liked, some I couldn't connect with and some I didn't much care for.
Consider this a rating between 3-4 stars. Just somewhere in between.

Thank you Afreen for the recommendation, this was my fill in book for times when I was waiting for time to pass and had nothing to do but sit and wait.

[Kristīne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jā, šie pieaugušie vīrieši dalās ar emocionāli intimām savas dzīves detaļām, bet dzejolis, kas "samet kamolu kaklā" nav gluži tas pats, kas "dzejolis, kas liek raudāt".
Laba nopietnās dzejas antoloģija, bet jūtoa mazliet apkrāpta.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a whiff of contrivance in this title, in that while I can understand that someone (in this case father and son team Anthony and Ben Holden) might be looking for an angle for a poetry anthology, which is not necessarily an easy sell, what on earth have tears really got to do with it? And why get into gender at all? Because men are less likely to cry over poems? Or are more "discerning" when they do? Poppycock, as they say. And marketing poppycock at that. Maybe if rather than talking only to men they had solicited opinions from a 50:50 crowd and shown us what men and women are more likely to cry over (or consider that they MIGHT cry over if they ever cried over poetry, which many of the respondents here deny ever doing). Note: The editors did in fact ask the women and prepare a companion volume, Poems That Make Grown Women Cry, although I feel it would have more enlightening to be able to compare the responses in a single volume.

Behind the gender front, there is a relatively wide-ranging collection of emotion-aware poetry, lovingly-chosen and argued by the respondents, which clearly plumps more for war or lost dear ones than for lost youth or lost romantic love. Some of these poems are wonderful however many times you've read them (Emily Dickinson's After a great pain a formal feeling comes, or Wilfred Owen's searing Dulce et decorum est), some are a window into lesser-known bodies of work (Emily Zinneman, Peter Porter), some are reaffirmations of the well-trodden classics (Dylan Thomas' Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night, lots of Auden and Larkin). Good poems all, some extremely moving. Or chilling. Or infuriating. But I have to say, more than tears, it is the moment when the poem creeps slowly around from your mouthing lips to the sparking points dotted around back of your neck - while simultaneously linking up with the points of your temples - and literally hauls you into a shadow space with an obligatorily new view of the world. THAT is the singular effect of great poetry, and to have done so with words rather than all the flashier and more immediate senses is its true achievement and crowning glory. And there are a number of moments where poems in this collection manage to get into that kind of territory. So we'll forgive the guy thing.

[Derek Moser · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not a huge fan of poetry, unless it's a poem that was written by a friend of mine, and ABOUT ME (*shout out to Christian Shultz).
However, when said "friend of mine"--whom really digs poetry--leant this out to me, I was more than willing to give it a whirl.

I'll admit, it wasn't as torturous as I'd thought it would be. That said, poetry still isn't my thing. I have lots of "things." I read fairly "widely." I can get into most anything. Poetry, still at this stage in my life, isn't one of those many things.

This book definitely deepened my appreciation for the art of poetry, but it didn't make me enjoy the act of reading poetry any more than previous attempts. I did enjoy the descriptions of each poem by the contributors. I probably enjoyed that component a tad bit more than the poems themselves.

Also, I didn't cry. I really wanted to cry. No lie.
Double also, Daniel Radcliffe thinks that my heart is the size of a snow pea (p. 169). The Slytherin inside of me is okay with that assessment.

If you do like poetry, or if you like famous people writing about poetry (warning: mainly "famous" names in literature related disciplines), then this book might be right for you.

DM

[Will O'kelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started reading this because I know next to nothing about poetry, except what I learned in high school literature class, which was next to nothing. The book is a lovely mix of reflections on poems by interesting people who like poems, and the interesting poems they like. I liked the reflections as much as the poems, and I liked the poems...somewhat. Some of the poems were mind expanding. Some of them were the kind of literary gobbledegook you get when you put a dictionary in a blender, which is of course the kind of thing that high-brow folk like. I am not high-brow. There was a certain amount of obscurantist hobnobbing going on in this work.

Which of course brings me to the great problem of the book: I didn't cry. Options for why I didn't cry are as follows:

A) I have a stony impenetrable heart that doesn't respond to things that are blub-worthy.
B) There is no poetry that is blub-worthy, and I'm perfectly normal. The whole thing is a ruse.
C) There is snots of blub-worthy poetry out there, it's just not in this book.
D) I would have blubbed my eyes out if I actually understood poetry properly.

Not sure how to answer this quiz. Fact is, the book has some great poems. I liked them. Really liked them. Just like I like prune juice. Alas, all the prune juice in the world didn't break my heart. The hunt is still on for the poem that can do that.

[Dorothy Mahoney · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating read. The commentary by each of the men, to introduce the poem often told when they had first encountered each and why it was so moving. The poets on poets, like Billy Collins, Seamus Heaney and Robert Bly, added credit, especially since Collins' poem "The Lanyard" was chosen by J.J. Abrams. Very moving. The top choices according to frequency, as noted in the introduction by the editor, Anthony Holden, were Housman, Hardy, Larkin and Auden.
Upon reflection it seemed that there were many poems about soldiers and war... Two personal favourites included were "Ithaka" by Constantine P. Cavafy and "Do not go gentle into that good night" by Dylan Thomas. A few surprises included.

[Hayley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always been a little wary of poetry as it is very subjective as to what a person likes. Here is something I discovered. Read poetry anthologies! A collection of poetry gives a beginner or pro poetry reader variety. I highly recommend this book as a way of discovering what style of poetry or particular poets you may like. I will definitely be reading the companion novel to this one entitled Poems That Make Grown Women Cry.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

an excellent read, well edited and the stories about each poem really bring it to heart.

[Don · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very interesting collection. I'm a man that cries easily and was hoping to shed tears for each of the 100 poems, but on first reading, I did not. Hardly any tears at all! But, I'm glad this book is on my shelf and I know I'll revisit it many times in the future. It seems like it has the power to fly in under the radar and get me later.