River Poems

Poets have drawn inspiration from rivers for centuries, using their endless currents as metaphors and sources of meaning. Rivers have nourished modern cities, from London to New York, and poets from various countries and cultures have celebrated them in their work.

Format: Hardback
Length: 256 pages
Publication date: 06 October 2022
Publisher: Everyman

Rivers have been the lifeblood of our earliest civilizations, including the Tigris and Euphrates in Mesopotamia, the Ganges in India, the Nile in Egypt, and the Yellow River in China. These majestic waterways have not only shaped the physical landscapes of these regions but have also provided sustenance and prosperity to modern cities, spanning from London to New York. As a result, poets have been captivated by the rivers for centuries, extracting profound meanings and metaphors from their endless currents.

This poetic tradition spans various cultures and languages, with English poets such as Shakespeare, Dryden, Wordsworth, Byron, Ted Hughes, John Betjeman, and Alice Oswald, as well as Irish poets like Eavan Boland, Seamus Heaney, Paul Muldoon, and Scottish and Welsh poets like Henry Vaughan, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Robin Robertson, contributing to the rich tapestry of river-inspired poetry.

Moreover, the influence of rivers extends beyond national boundaries, with a wide array of American poets, including Whitman, Emerson, Emily Dickinson, Langston Hughes, Mary Oliver, Natasha Trethewey, and Grace Paley, paying homage to these majestic water bodies. Folk songs, African-American spirituals, poems from ancient Egypt and Rome, medieval China and Japan, and a diverse selection of modern poets from Europe, India, Africa, Australia, and South and Central America, all come together in this celebration of the world's rivers.

From the mighty Mississippi to the Limpopo, from the Dart to the Danube, this collection of poetry invites readers to immerse themselves in the beauty, power, and resilience of these natural wonders. As we delve into the pages of these poems, we are transported to the banks of these rivers, where we witness the ebb and flow of life, the interplay of light and shadow, and the profound impact that these waterways have had on human history and culture.

So, take a dip into this captivating anthology, and let the rivers wash over you as you explore the endless depths of their poetic significance.

Weight: 233g
Dimension: 165 x 111 x 20 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781841598277