Review ~ Ten Poems about Love from Candlestick Press

💘 Jaffareadstoo is delighted to share this latest poetry pamphlet from Candlestick Press 💘

Candlestick Press
July 2019

This second edition of Candlestick's popular mini-anthology calls at every stop on love’s roller-coaster journey – from the first dizzy declarations of passion, to the clear-eyed devotion of a couple in old age. In one of the most celebrated of modern love poems, we sense the boundless optimism of love at full tilt:

“…you are whatever a moon has always meant

and whatever a sun will always sing is you”

from ‘i carry your heart with me’ by ee cummings

Along the way there’s also humour and warmth in the form of a battered straw hat that has come to symbolise what it means to be together for the long haul. These are poems that capture all the light and shade of love; poems to make you think and feel.

The selection is edited and introduced by Lorraine Mariner, a poet and librarian who works at the National Poetry Library in London.

My thoughts about it..

We tend to think of love poetry around Valentine's day, a special wedding day, or an anniversary, but this beautifully designed pamphlet reminds us that love is all around us everyday.  As an angst ridden teenager I dabbled in mediocre love poetry, which thankfully has now been relegated to the recycle bin, but it goes to show that all of us have the ability, perhaps not to write love poetry, but to appreciate it when it's done as beautifully as these ten poems so clearly demonstrate. 

Lorraine Mariner has done a wonderful job in bringing together this poignant collection with such a sense of vibrancy. I loved Love Poem which she wrote to celebrate her sister's wedding. It's also lovely see included  i carry your heart with me by e.e cummings which is so perfect for weddings, but the one that brought me to tears was A Marriage by R. S. Thomas which reminded me so much of the fifty years my parents spent together before my father's untimely death:

"...Fifty years passed,

love's moment

in a world 

in servitude to time...."

It's so difficult for me to pick out an absolute favourite as each poem conjures something special, and there's such a sense of frankness and honesty to each of them, which reminds us that love is itself flawed and  uniquely vulnerable ♡

Ten Poems about Love is deservedly romantic and makes a perfect gift for a wedding or special anniversary.

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 Clouds, Walking, Birds, Home and Kindness. Candlestick Press pamphlets are stocked by chain and independent bookshops, galleries and garden centres nationwide and available to order online.

Connect: www.candlestickpress.co.uk 

Twitter @PoetryCandle