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| Candlestick Press 2023 My thanks to the publisher for my copy of this poetry pamphlet |
How many ways are there to say “I love you”? According to poetry there are many – with room for humour, longing, lust, tenderness and a healthy dose of self-mockery.
These fourteen poems are not about love but declare it with an immediacy that’s captivating and irresistible. Longing may be expressed using all sorts of images – there’s even a riff on a famous Shakespeare sonnet where we find ourselves in outer space – but at the heart of all the poems is love and the urgent need to proclaim it:
“I love your eyes when the lovelight lies
Lit with a passionate fire.”
from ‘I Love You’ by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
This is an anthology that says “I love you” with a freshness and directness that’s guaranteed to stir even the stoniest of hearts.
Poems by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Katharine Goda, Nathalie Handal, Christopher Marlowe, Mary Mulholland, James Nash, Ogden Nash, Abigail Parry, Rachel Plummer, William Shakespeare, Penny Sharman, Dominic Weston and Ella Wheeler Wilcox.
Cover illustration by Clare Curtis.
❤My Review..
Beautifully expressive each of the fourteen poems which make up this latest poetry pamphlet demonstrate the power of love in all its many forms. Whether it be remembering a lost love or celebrating someone new, each of the verses have something special to share and awake the senses and help to evoke the charm and poignancy of love.
The fourteen poem feature a selection of work from poets who are very familiar and I enjoyed being reintroduced to Christopher Marlowe's The Passionate Shepherd to his Love :
" Come live with me, and be my love
and we will all the pleasure prove..."
Alongside less well know poets whose work is no less powerful and amongst my favourite is the very beautiful Love Letters by Nathalie Handal
"I'd like to be a shrine, so I can learn from peoples' prayers the story of hearts..."
No selection of love poems would ever be complete without Robbie Burns' delightful A Red Red rose which has been written in so many Valentines or shared between lovers.
"O my Luve's like a red rose,
That's newly sprung in June
O my Luve's like the melodie
That's sweeetly played in tune..."
Instead of a card and not just for Valentine's Day, Fourteen Poems to say I Love You is the perfect expression of love for any occasion, be it a special anniversary, or just to say I love You to that special person in your life ❤
Candlestick Press is an independent publisher based in Nottingham, UK. We’ve been publishing poetry pamphlets since 2008 not only for people who already love poetry, but also for those who will love it but perhaps don’t know that yet. Our ‘instead of a card’ pamphlets make an ideal alternative to a mainstream greetings card and are a small gift in their own right. They have matching envelopes and bookmarks left blank for your message, and are excellent companions on journeys or for a bedtime read. By supporting us, you help an independent press and our supported charities at the same time as treating yourselves, your friends and family to some wonderful poems.
Twitter @poetrycandle
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