Reviews

Poems That Make Grown Women Cry by Anthony Holden, Ben Holden

cindypepper's review against another edition

3.0

A nicely curated anthology of poems that made for a pleasant read in the park. However, I wish there had been more range and variety in the backgrounds of women who had selected the poems; it seemed most of them were strictly rooted in the entertainment industry and the vast majority of poems and voices were Eurocentric.

awitchwhoreads's review

emotional sad slow-paced

3.75

inmaculada's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring sad medium-paced

4.0

beth_books_123's review against another edition

4.0

A beautiful 4*

I've just reread my review [b:Poems That Make Grown Men Cry: 100 Men on the Words That Move Them|18144035|Poems That Make Grown Men Cry 100 Men on the Words That Move Them|Anthony Holden|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1398190492l/18144035._SY75_.jpg|25491362] and that review contains my true feelings and emotions towards poetry. I am not going to repeat that here but those thoughts are still true. I read this book's predecessor eight years ago and I still believe in the power of poetry. I'm still not a huge poetry reader; I will try and be better.

I love how Holden edits this anthology and the reasoning of the selection is given prior to reading the poem. It really helps understanding the context before reading. My favourite from the collection is [b:I Am|54941387|I Am|John Clare|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|85715049].

A must read for all.

chillvamp's review against another edition

1.0

I wasn't expecting to cry, but I did expect to find some moving pieces here. Not for me, sadly. First two thirds need the dust off -- nothing from the last 20 years until the very last third of the book. A lot of poems about war and death and oh, the love of men! Can't relate. Also, could we as a society please stop jerking off to literature about war, nazis and the Holocaust, please and thank you? There were a few good poems (Neruda, Plath...) but other than that I skimmed a lot. Bleh.

carolynaugustyn's review against another edition

3.0

Admittedly, I'm not a huge poetry fan. I'm trying to be better and get into it but I'm not at the point where I ~*~get~*~ it, or whatever. I figured this would be a good book to try and find new poets to enjoy and get a feel for different types of poetry styles. And this definitely was a very interesting and well put together book- different contributors with completely different tastes in poems, all emotionally driven. I never actually cried but there were a few poems that felt like a delightful punch to the stomach. One of my favorite poems was included and reading the contributor's introduction to the poem was so similar to my experience with the poem, it's a really nice feeling when it feels like someone understands you. Overall, a great anthology of poetry from all different styles, eras, and countries. I'm still not completely sold on poetry yet but I did find a few poems to save and tuck away to revisit again in the future.

childdeirdre's review against another edition

3.0

Maybe I don't actually like poetry.

readbycoco_yt's review against another edition

I probably didn't like this because I actually don't enjoy really complex poetry. Im sure these poems are great, but the older poems made no sense to me and instead of feeling like I was enjoying them I felt like I was just trying to understand them and TRYING to enjoy them. Just not for me.

fionab_16's review

emotional inspiring reflective slow-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

5.0

maxinebrigue's review against another edition

emotional hopeful relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A

3.5