Love and Longing: A Collection of Classic Poetry and Prose

This heady collection, first published in the U.K. in 2004, features love poems and prose excerpts by writers including Sappho, Shakespeare, Milton, the Bront%C3%ABs, and Wordsworth. Works are loosely arranged according to chapter headings drawn from particular poems, for instance "Love Is a Sickness" (after Samuel Daniel's poem), creating an engaging interchange of images and ideas, regardless of poet or era. As the title suggests, not every poem ends with a happily ever after; a Charlotte Mew poem reads, "I so liked Spring last year/ Because you were here..../ This year's a different thing,%E2%80%94/ I'll not think of you." Though the collection offers little 20th-century poetry, this is a resonant sampling of both standards and lesser-known gems. All ages. (Mar.)