The Poetry Pharmacy: Tried-and-True Prescriptions for the Heart, Mind and Soul

Sieghart, William

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1846149541 ISBN 13: 9781846149542

Publisher: Particular Books, 2017

'Truly a marvellous collection ... There is balm for the soul, fire for the belly, a cooling compress for the fevered brow, solace for the wounded, an arm around the lonely shoulder - the whole collection is a matchless compound of hug, tonic and kiss' Stephen FrySometimes only a poem will do. These poetic prescriptions and wise words of advice offer comfort, delight and inspiration for all; a space for reflection, and that precious realization - I'm not the only one who feels like this.In the years since he first had the idea of prescribing short, powerful poems for all manner of spiritual ailments, William Sieghart has taken his Poetry Pharmacy around the length and breadth of Britain, into the pages of the Guardian, onto BBC Radio 4 and onto the television, honing his prescriptions all the time., This pocket-sized book presents the most essential poems in his dispensary: those which, again and again, have really shown themselves to work. Whether you are suffering from loneliness, lack of courage, heartbreak, hopelessness, or even from an excess of ego, there is something here to ease your pain.'The book is delightful; it rightly resituates poetry in relation to its biggest and most serious task: helping us to live and die well' Alain de Botton

About the Author:

William Sieghart has had a distinguished career in publishing and the arts. He established the Forward Prizes for Poetry in 1992, and founded National Poetry Day in 1994. He is a former chairman of the Arts Council Lottery Panel, and current chairman of both the Somerset House Trust and Forward Thinking, a charity seeking peace in the Middle East and acceptance of British Muslims. His previous anthologies include Winning Words: Inspiring Poems for Everyday Life (2014), Poems of the Decade: An Anthology of the Forward Books of Poetry (2015) and 100 Prized Poems: Twenty-five Years of the Forward Books (2016).

From the Back Cover:

'Here is balm for the soul, fire for the belly, an arm around the lonely shoulder . . . a matchless compound of hug, tonic and kiss' Stephen Fry

Sometimes only a poem will do. These poetic prescriptions and wise words of advice from William Sieghart's dispensary offer comfort, delight and inspiration for all; a space for reflection, and a chance to realize - I'm not the only one who feels like this.