A review by mariebrunelm
The Poetry Pharmacy: Tried-and-True Prescriptions for the Mind, Heart and Soul by William Sieghart

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

This delightful little cloth-bound book has 56 poems carefully picked to answer a specific prescription. For instance, a poem for Fear of the Unknown, for Displacement, for Loss of Zest for Life, for Hopelessness or for Self-Recrimination (hint: this one is Wild Geese by Mary Oliver).

Each piece is introduced by thoughts from the editor, William Sieghart, who first set up the Poetry Pharmacy in a literary festival in which he invited people to sit across from him, tell him their woes, and he’d prescribe a poem for them. How delightful is that?

Of course, you may not resonate with all of the choices, or all of the ways the editor contextualises his picks, but I do think it is a marvellous little book that will make the perfect gift even for people who aren’t used to reading poetry. Most of the poems in there are very easy to read, and the texts written as introductions, often a little longer than the verses themselves, are really good at helping you make the most of the reading experience and not pressure you in any way.