Anthony Holden (1947–2023)

An interesting collection of poetry, but one that doesn't always hit with the force you expect. It wisely steers away from mawkishness and sentimentality, but doesn't really replace it with much more than a sense of pathos. It is this sense of pathos which is dominant, rather than hard-hitting, raw emotion. One problem is that many of the contributors are literary types (poets, writers and the like), and their suggestions are often flowery and enigmatic poems that might not necessarily show more endear them to ordinary readers like myself. It is notable that the more accessible selections often come from those not quite so invested in the literary zeitgeist, such as actors and directors. I don't consider myself a cultural Neanderthal, but I think that if you have to work to decipher what a poet is trying to convey, you're trying too hard and, whilst you may be aware of the emotion, it won't hit you honestly.

Another problem is that the reasons some of the contributors have selected certain poems are often intensely personal, reminding them of something or someone in their own past. Such poems don't always have the same impact on readers: for example, what to one contributor may transport them back to the carefree days of their youth may, to someone else, just be a poem about a tree or a field or the night sky. In this respect, one of the best potential uses of this book is as an unguarded window into the souls of each of the contributors.

That said, there are a number of great poems on offer, if not as many as I would like in order to dub this a 'great' anthology. The anthologists could have also benefited from expanding their focus group; the contributors are mostly British and, as I have said, are heavily involved in the literary zeitgeist. At times, it just felt a little bit like the anthologists were consulting their own circle of friends from among the literati. More musicians could have perhaps been consulted (Nick Cave's contribution is interesting, to say the least), perhaps some politicians and, as their selections proved to be among the most interesting, more actors. More young people too; to my mind, Daniel Radcliffe was the only contributor who one could truly class as 'young'. Certainly, there is scope and potential for a second collection of this sort: 'More Poems That Make Grown Men Cry' is a book that, despite my ambivalence to certain selections here, I would welcome. show less

You don’t have to say it: I am fully aware that I am not a man. Also, I’m an embarrassingly easy crier and will shed a tear at the drop of a hat. (I’ve recently taken to speed-reading through sad scenes in books because otherwise I’d have to tag far too many reviews with “Made Me Cry.”) So what made me request this one from Edelweiss? Basically, I figured that this had to be a collection of damn good poems in order to move so many eminent men so deeply. Also, the range of show more contributors seemed pretty broad, and it included a lot of my favorites. I’m always interested in finding out if my tastes match the tastes of the writers/performers/etc. I admire.

The editors allowed each contributor to include a brief piece explaining why he chose his particular poem. I found it particularly interesting when two men chose the same poem for different reasons, which happened more than once. After the poem, there’s a brief bio on the selector. Although I recognized most of the names, there were a few I didn’t, and I found this feature helpful.

The poetry itself comes from various time periods and languages, though most were written in English in the last 100-150 years. Some are beautiful but not particularly emotional, some seemed chosen for strictly personal reasons (and therefore felt a bit distant for me), and some left me pacing the floors of my home while sobbing.

Some of the poems didn’t make me cry, but they opened my eyes to a new poet and a style that I admired (I’ve included links when I could find them): Abioseh Nicol’s “The Meaning of Africa,” chosen by James Earl Jones, with its sweeping descriptions; Elizabeth Bishop’s powerfully evocative “Crusoe in England,” chosen by Andrew Solomon; Philip Larkin’s terrifying “Aubade,” chosen by William Sieghart; and — one I’d read previously and forgotten about — Bukowski’s “Eulogy to a Hell of a Dame,” chosen by Mike Leigh.

Other poems’ messages moved me: Consantine P. Cavafy’s “Ithaka,” chosen by Walter Salles, and Derek Walcott’s “Love After Love,” chosen by Tom Hiddleston.

Poems that hit me the hardest — the ones that made me out-and-out cry — were the ones about family, whether having/losing a parent (Tony Harrison’s “Long Distance II,” chosen by Daniel Radcliffe) or being one (John N. Morris’s “For Julia, In the Deep Water,” chosen by Tobias Wolff; Victoria Redel’s “Bedecked,” chosen by Billy Collins; and Rabindranath Tagore’s “Those Who Are Near Me Do Not Know,” chosen by Chris Cooper).

All in all: There’s something for everyone in here. Buy a stack of copies and gift them! show less

Whatever about men shedding a precious tear, this is a superior collection of poems whose stated organizing principle at least has the merit of placing the best attraction of poetry - its ability to move a reader's emotions in a carefully crafted relative minimum of words - fully forward. And it's also fun to see what poem some of your favorite famous personalities - Nick Cave, Patrick Stewart; they didn't disappoint- select, and briefly hear from them how they relate to it.

Though the extent show more of my own outer demonstrative range when reading a poem ends at a furrowed brow, a bit lip, a deep breath, I'd add the following selection to this collection: Northern Irish poet Michael Longley had the poem "Ceasefire" published in The Irish Times on the occasion of the IRA ceasefire in 1994, and the combination of an emotional connection to the Northern Irish Troubles, a connection to The Iliad, and imagining the pain of losing one of my own sons, combine to rank this one way up there for me.

I
Put in mind of his own father and moved to tears
Achilles took him by the hand and pushed the old king
Gently away, but Priam curled up at his feet and
Wept with him until their sadness filled the building.

II
Taking Hector's corpse into his own hands Achilles
Made sure it was washed and, for the old king's sake,
Laid out in uniform, ready for Priam to carry
Wrapped like a present home to Troy at daybreak.

III
When they had eaten together, it pleased them both
To stare at each other's beauty as lovers might,
Achilles built like a god, Priam good-looking still
And full of conversation, who earlier had sighed:

IV
'I get down on my knees and do what must be done
And kiss Achilles' hand, the killer of my son.' show less

This is a very enjoyable collection of poems, many of the British and most of them written since 1900, each of which has been selected by a particular author, artist, or other notable person. As the title suggests, they have been selected for emotional impact, and I did indeed find many of them very moving. I read the book shortly after the death of a dear friend, and it really was cathartic -- I cried a fair bit, and I felt the better for it. Now, I am not a man, so the fact that I cried is show more not a statistically significant test of the title. I shall, however, give it to my husband for Christmas, and see how it works on him. I thought about giving it four stars instead of five, since writers from this side of the pond seem to me somewhat underrepresented, and women writers more than somewhat underrepresented. Those are stock objections, however, and shouldn't put the interested reader off this valuable book. Anything that makes people feel that poetry is something to read for emotion and connection and enjoyment, not for academic credit, is all to the good. So I compromised on 4.5. show less