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perjacxis's review against another edition
3.0
This was a bit disappointing. I’ve been wanting to try Duffy’s Christmas poems for years but never have. This year I decided to change this and thought that this volume would be a great start as I’m quite curious about Dorothy Wordsworth. The poem itself felt rather simple, not festive at all and needed more Dorothy which is a shame for a poem that is titled “Dorothy Wordsworth’s Christmas Birthday”. But I like the illustrations which makes me rate it three stars and not two.
maxinebobbett's review against another edition
3.0
I always love Duffy's festive poems. Whilst this is one of her shorter offerings, it manages to evoke memories of the anticipation and cosiness of Christmas and scatters poignant moments throughout.
woolfardis's review
3.0
A very short but endearing poem about William Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy, with Coleridge coming to visit one Wintry Christmas holiday.
The imagery was at once divine and evocative and Winter entered my mind in the way only an English Winter can. Often lingering on ideas from the past and remaining there a little too long.
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The imagery was at once divine and evocative and Winter entered my mind in the way only an English Winter can. Often lingering on ideas from the past and remaining there a little too long.
Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest | Shop | Etsy
vasa_bee's review
5000 stars to Tom Duxbury for the illustrations, each is a wonder.
junkutopia's review
2.0
Whoops! I bought this this morning in a rush as it was a quid in a wh smith sale and from the cover looked like a lovely little christmas book I could add to my not yet 3 year old nieces gift.
Glad I bothered having a read as it's actually a gloomy piece of poetry haha, which if I had bothered looking that it was Carol Ann Duffy I'd never have picked it up. So yeah, I'm a idiot.
But 2 stars because the illustrations are beautiful:
Glad I bothered having a read as it's actually a gloomy piece of poetry haha, which if I had bothered looking that it was Carol Ann Duffy I'd never have picked it up. So yeah, I'm a idiot.
But 2 stars because the illustrations are beautiful:
callum_mclaughlin's review
4.0
There’s no real emotional or thematic weight to this poem; it simply follows Dorothy, sister of William Wordsworth, as she prepares to enjoy Christmas Day (which also happens to be her birthday) with her brother and their good friend, Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Duffy paints vivid pictures of the wintry setting with some lovey imagery: “Ice, like a cold key, / turning its lock on the lake; / nervous stars trapped there”, and deftly captures the beauty of the quieter moments of domesticity that make the season so cosy and enticing: “The kitchen table, / set for this festive breakfast, / an unseen still life”; “The cat at his feet / licks at her black-and-white fur / rhyming purr with purr.”
Every stanza is its own individual haiku, but they all come together to form one narrative poem. To me this felt like a nod to the structure and tradition that many of us cherish on Christmas Day, the consistent rhythm and pace also giving the poem a flowing, gentle quality. Whatever the intention, it’s a nice structural device that, coupled with the simple language, makes this a pleasant, easy read.
Each of Duffy’s annual festive poems is fully illustrated by a different artist, and this one is no exception. Tom Duxbury’s expressive style and limited colour palette are gorgeous, perfectly suited to the comforting vibe of the poem itself.
Every stanza is its own individual haiku, but they all come together to form one narrative poem. To me this felt like a nod to the structure and tradition that many of us cherish on Christmas Day, the consistent rhythm and pace also giving the poem a flowing, gentle quality. Whatever the intention, it’s a nice structural device that, coupled with the simple language, makes this a pleasant, easy read.
Each of Duffy’s annual festive poems is fully illustrated by a different artist, and this one is no exception. Tom Duxbury’s expressive style and limited colour palette are gorgeous, perfectly suited to the comforting vibe of the poem itself.
balancinghistorybooks's review
5.0
I put off reading Dorothy Wordsworth's Christmas Birthday when it was first released as Carol Ann Duffy's annual Christmas poem, but couldn't resist ordering a secondhand copy to read over Christmas 2016. It's not that festive, but it is a lovely little volume. The art style is gorgeous, and I loved the use of just a few colours, an effective and evocative choice on the part of the illustrator. The poem itself was sweet; not my favourite Duffy, but a simple and vivid story nonetheless. It is not as playful as a lot of her other work; the vocabulary used is not unusual, and was even a little simplistic in places. Still, I feel that I will probably indefinitely reread this once a year as the festive season rolls around.