📖 Book Review ~ Ten Poems about Fathers from Candlestick Press

Candlestick Press
November 2025

My thanks to the publisher for my copy of this poetry pamphlet 

Dads, fathers, papas, daddies: the poems in this updated edition of our best-selling mini-anthology explore fatherhood from a host of angles. We encounter a father who likes running up hills, a father who plays the accordion and – poignantly – a father who needs to be taught how to hug.

The poems celebrate the fact that fathers can be both protectors and purveyors of imaginative childhood adventures:

“My father was a bear.

He carried me through forest, sky

and over frozen sea. At night

I lay along his back

wrapped in fur and heat

and while I slept, he ran…”

from ‘You May Have Heard of Me’ by Shazea Quraishi

There are also poems of tender remembrance. Everyday happenings become special with hindsight, acting as a reminder that a father’s love is something we can carry with us forever.

Poems by Melba Joyce Boyce, Lewis Buxton, WD Ehrhart, Wilfred Gibson, Edgar Albert Guest, Tyehimba Jess, Joanne Limburg, Roy McFarlane, Shazea Quraishi, Siriol Troup

Cover illustration by Sara Boccaccini Meadows

📖 Mt Review..

This poignant mini-anthology of ten poems explore fatherhood in all its many guises, discovering the subtle nuances of nurturing a protective role whilst at the same time allowing a glimpse into the man.  I’ve enjoyed discovering new verses, each of them bring something unique, and express very personal memories which resonated with me in an emotional way. 

After my father passed away I recall going into my family home and imagining him still there in every nook and cranny.

‘Dad, 

I come home 

and find you sitting

in every room in the house,

it’s smell your smell

as if it were a jacket

you’d only just thrown off,

Still warm.

From The Return by Joanne Limburg

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this mini anthology, some of the verses made me smile, whilst others brought a tender feeling of loss which reminded me powerfully of my own father who gave so much of himself in order to give his family everything. This would make the perfect gift instead of a card for fathers everywhere, especially on Fathers Day in June, or to anyone who has lost a father recently, or even a new father to remind them all quite simply how precious they are in our lives.

About the Publisher 

Candlestick Press is a small, independent press publishing sumptuously produced poetry pamphlets that serve as a wonderful alternative to a greetings card, with matching envelopes and bookmarks left blank for your message. Their subjects include Mountains, Clouds, Walking, Birds, Wine and Happiness. Candlestick Press pamphlets are stocked by chain and independent bookshops, galleries and garden centres nationwide and available to order online.

Twitter/X @poetrycandle 

Blue Sky @candlestickpress.bsky.social

Website