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Start giftingPoetry Unbound
50 Poems to Open Your World
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“Not only has he selected interesting poems, his down-to-earth essays describing why he loves them are excellent! Nothing uber-academic. Makes one wish this was the approach of poetry teachers everywhere. ”
— Georgia • Bookstore1Sarasota
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“This collection could easily be subtitled How to Read Poetry Like a Poetry Lover. The collection could also easily double as a memoir, as Ó Tuama not only analyzes the 50 poems within, but shares anecdotes and memories that illuminate why each particular poem resonates with him. Listening to him is like having a passionate conversation about life, and what I love most is how beautifully he shows poetry to be a living, in-the-present art form, as expressive, meaningful, and relevant as ever. ”
— Jennifer • Tattered Cover
In the tumult of our contemporary moment, poetry has emerged as an inviting, consoling outlet with a unique power to move and connect us, to inspire fury, tears, joy, laughter, and surprise. This generous anthology pairs fifty illuminating poems with poet and podcast host Pádraig Ó Tuama's appealing, unhurried reflections. With keen insight and warm personal anecdotes, Ó Tuama considers each poem's artistry and explores how its meaning can reach into our own lives.
Focusing mainly on poets writing today, Ó Tuama engages with a diverse array of voices that includes Ada Limón, Ilya Kaminsky, Margaret Atwood, Ocean Vuong, Layli Long Soldier, and Reginald Dwayne Betts. Natasha Trethewey meditates on miscegenation and Mississippi; Raymond Antrobus makes poetry out of the questions shot at him by an immigration officer; Martín Espada mourns his father; Marie Howe remembers and blesses her mother's body; Aimee Nezhukumatathil offers comfort to her child-self. Through these wide-ranging poems, Ó Tuama guides us on an inspiring journey to reckon with self-acceptance, history, independence, parenthood, identity, joy, and resilience.
For anyone who has wanted to try their hand at a conversation with poetry but doesn't know where to start, Poetry Unbound presents a window through which to celebrate the art of being alive.
Padraig Ó Tuama is a poet, theologian, and presenter of the podcast Poetry Unbound with On Being Studios. From 2014 to 2019 he was the leader of the Corrymeela Community, Ireland's oldest peace and reconciliation community. He lives in Belfast, Ireland.
