A Nature Poem for Every Day of the Year

A classic Batsford poetry collection, now reissued with a stunning new cover. A Nature Poem for Every Day of the Year is a glorious collection of 366 poems that celebrate nature and the changing seasons. It is the perfect morning companion for any nature or poetry enthusiast, featuring famous odes from big-name poets alongside unsung poems from less well-known writers. Each poem is chosen to chime with the natural world through the seasons. Spring is a time of hope, a season of new life accompanied by William Wordsworth's famous daffodils, John Clare's lambs and Christina Rossetti's birdsong. Summer shifts into a time of leisure, with long, idyllic holidays in the countryside: according to Henry James, the two most beautiful words in the English Language were 'summer afternoon', a sentiment echoed by Edward Thomas and Emily Dickinson. John Keats, William Blake and W. H. Auden are the poets we associate with autumn, with the natural world, and the human one, holding onto the last lingering memories of summer before they turn to face the oncoming hardships of winter. Amy Lowell and George Meredith perfectly frame this time of year, with their silver-fringed leaves and crimson berries. Winter can be savoured in poetry, rather than endured; bleak grey days are transformed into a world of glittering frost and snow-blanketed landscapes. Even in the darkest days life continues, and soon we can turn our attention to the rebirth of spring. A wonderful collection of poems that help mark the daily turn of the seasons and all the rituals marking the significant moments of the year, from Candlemas to Christmas.

Jane McMorland Hunter writes and edits books on the good things in life: gardening, nature, cookery, craft and poetry, whilst also working part-time at Hatchards Bookshop, London. She has written and edited several books, including 100 Happy Poems, A Happy Poem to End Every Day, Ode to London, Favourite Poems of England, A Nature Poem for Every Day of the Year and Nature Writing for Every Day of the Year. She lives in West London and can be found on social media at @alittlecitygarden.

Introduction January - Chill Airs and Wintry Winds February - The Last Hours of Slow Winter March - I Heard a Thousand Blended Notes April - Dancing in the Breeze May - A Thousand Fragrant Posies June - The Cornfield Stretched a Tender Green July - The Larkspurs Stood Like Sentinels  August - The Glimmering Landscape September - Silver Fruit upon Silver Trees October - The Fading Many-Coloured Woods November - The Trees Bow Down Their Heads December - Winter's Wondrous Feast Index Acknowledgements