Powered Poems

Poetry is powerful, so much so that it can be an insight into someone’s deepest emotions and thoughts. Anthologies are a collection of poems placed together through an association, whether that’s the theme of emotion, the poet themselves, or simply a place or event. This creates an easier gateway into poetry and a deeper understanding as a single subject matter is utilised to explore ideas. By capturing a key theme the poems all carry through similar messages, making a powerful and united collection of literature.

In the anthology “Staying Alive: Real Poems for Unreal Times” poets from all over the world have contributed to portraying life when it feels most hollow. Aimed to connect with a personal force, the humanity that binds us together shapes the anthology as events such as love, loss and sorrow influence our lives. Crafted to help remind us to stay true to ourselves, this anthology contains many great modern poems that are hard-hitting and soulful; but there are also poems about the ordinary.

Taking you on a journey of the events of the day to day and celebrating the joy of our everyday lives, these poems have resonated with a multitude of people, especially during Covid in a world which has been forced to slow down.

“Poems That Make Grown Men Cry” explores how 100 distinguished men confess to being brought to tears by the powerful art of the words of the poets. Emotions can often be deeply felt through poetry, and this anthology is associated not only with the emotions explored in its poems but through the emotions provoked from the reader.

It delves into how the sharing of a poem is an intimate act; when you know the poem that moves a person, you get to glimpse into their deepest feelings. The power of poetry portrayed in this anthology is undeniable, and the way it can resonate with thousands is extraordinary.

Instead of not only creating powerful emotions, the anthology “There Are Girls like Lions” is designed to make the reader feel powerful and rise up to adversary with confidence.

By celebrating womanhood in all of its beauty as well as its hardships, the anthology explores themes and events such as love, beauty, motherhood, work and ageing. Capturing feelings of frustration, love and most of all courage this anthology celebrates being a woman.

As well as being a powerful message, this anthology contains not only the art of literature but illustrations that dance across the pages of fierce women. The poems in this anthology are bound by the same theme and are succinct in uniting the readers with their shared powerful message.

Or if you want a more general taste of popular poetry that evokes emotion, “The Oxford Book of Twentieth-Century English Verse” holds a wide selection of poems that are handpicked by Philip Larkin, one of the most loved English poets.

Making a radical reassessment of the twentieth century’s achievement in poetry the handpicked poems are lighter in tone and much more engaging than previous anthologies crafted to represent the best of the best.

Finally, who doesn’t love a taste of London? The anthology “Poems on the Underground” unites the best of the 300 poems to have appeared on London’s underground trains since 1986.

The underground poems first appeared in 1986, through converting empty advertisement space the trains became a celebration of poetry. By providing passengers with an outlet from their day to day commute with words filled with meaning, the programme resonated with Londoners and tourists alike and united them through the power of the poems.

Now you can read the best of them all in this single volume, featuring a wide range of poems from ancient Gallic texts to romantic poetry, there is something for everyone. Showcasing old favourites alongside the new, they are all associated through their same origin of featuring on a London tube train.

Regardless of which anthology speaks to you, it is undeniable that poetry can evoke emotions and carry through a powerful message or theme when united, whether that’s being a woman or being on an underground train.

If you enjoyed this, read A Little Before here.

Read about Staying Alive: Real Poems for Unreal Times here.