'Poems for life's ups and downs' is the subtitle of Rachel Kelly's You'll Never Walk Alone, a book which offers poetry (and a little prose) "to keep you company whatever your mood, from sorrow to joy."
Whether you seek solace when times are hard, or look for a word-mirror for your feelings when they are brighter, here is a carefully chosen and very varied collection arranged thematically by season. Winter is designated 'Time for Sadness', Spring '... Hope', Summer '... Joy', and Autumn '... Reflection'. Within each section are thirteen texts, some no more than a couple of lines, others longer, each with a commentary which, like a knowledgeable, gentle guide, points out features we might not have noticed or fully understood: 'This might help. This you might like. Look at it this way and you'll see a different side ...' There is no classroom analysis or textual criticism here, rather an appreciation that poetry unfolds - light dawns - slowly, and while connections with words, the images they conjure, the emotions they embody, can be made instantly, deeper engagements can often take longer. The book makes its own time and space for that.
In addition to the poems themselves, Rachel provides a comprehensive and personal introduction, suggestions for enhancing your enjoyment of poetry through reading, learning and using it, and biographical notes on all the poets featured. If you're not a seasoned reader of poetry, this book would make an excellent starting point, I think, for while not every entry will spark or reflect something within every individual, if even just a handful 'speak' to you and lead you on to read more, then the sense of fellow feeling - as the book's title* suggests - will be a gift to be nurtured and treasured.
As Rachel says, "when we have a poem by our side, whether on a bedside table or tucked into a bag, it feels as if we are accompanied by a friend: an authorial arm is wrapped around our shoulders." With her natural eloquence and empathy, Rachel herself gives the reader that feeling of comfort and companionship.
*Whether you know them from the musical Carousel, or Gerry and the Pacemakers and the terraces at Anfield, Oscar Hammerstein's words are undeniably powerful. Here they are sung by Joyce DiDonato.
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