Reviews

Poems to Save the World With by Chris Riddell

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widlflower's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

I liked this one even better than poems to live your life by. Riddle's collections are always a great way to discover new and old poems, I love the diversity of this collection.

jiaxinlee's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring lighthearted

3.5

ramprat's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.5

grantig's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

dailydaydream's review against another edition

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inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.5

solitaireintherenaissance's review against another edition

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3.0

⭐️⭐️⭐️.75 stars

‘Hold with both hands
The tray of every day
And pass in turn
Along this counter.

There is enough sun
For everybody.
There is enough sky,
And there is moon enough.

The earth gives off the smell
Of luck, of happiness, of glory,
Which tickles
Temptingly.
your nostrils

So don't be miserly,
Live after your own heart.
The prices are derisory.
For instance, with only one life
You can acquire
The most beautiful woman,
Plus a biscuit.’

(With Only One Life ~
Marin Sorescu
Translated from the Romanian by
D. J. Enright with Iona Russell-Gebbett)’

I didn’t connect entirely with all the poetry in this collection, but what I did connect with, was the (as usual from Riddell) beautiful, detailed illustrations. completely gorgeous, I spent lots of time just absorbing them.

A lot of the poets/writers weren’t ones I was too familiar with, and some were favourites of mine, but I enjoyed this quite a bit. I also didn’t personally mind the poems set during/about the pandemic to much, but some people reading this book nowadays mightn’t (understandably) like those poems too much.

my favourite poems in the collection; (chronologically)
With Only One Life (Marin Sorescu), ‘Hope’ is the Thing with Feathers (Emily Dickinson), Wild Geese (Mary Oliver), The Mushroom Hunters (Neil Gaiman), Kindness (Nikita Gill), What You Need to Be Warm (Neil Gaiman), The Raincoat (Ada Limón), Explaining Memes to Keats (Nadia Lines), There is no Frigate like a Book (Emily Dickinson), from ‘A Midsummer Nights Dream’ (William Shakespeare), This Is an Incitement (Chris Riddell), Lockdown (Chris Riddell), Love in the Time of Coronavirus (Nikita Gill), from ‘Endymion’ (John Keats).