In the last few years I’ve appreciated having books that offer a reading a day, which I tend to do in the morning before I get underway. One that sticks out was 365 Tao: Daily Meditations. In that vein, I recently finished A Poem for Every Night of the Year (having begun it in early 2017).
The book is intended to be shared with a child. A brief introduction/explanation by the editor prefaces each poem. Perhaps that level of accessibility is what appealed to me. There are many classic poems in it. I suppose by that I mean I had heard them before. Allie Esiri, the editor, has made an effort to match poems to events, festivals, holidays, etc. Some are long, some are short.
If I had to pick something to dislike about it, the editor was heavy-handed in explaining the poems. Some were so obvious, I didn’t think they needed commentary, and some others I felt should be left to the reader’s interpretation.
What I like about it, however, is that I read a poem each day for a year – not something I would normally do. The mix of familiar and unfamiliar poems and poets kept me reading. It was fun to look up the poem for my birthday.
