Love's Witness: Five Centuries of Love Poetry by Women

Searching for a wedding gift, I came upon this delightful 286-page 1993 volume filled with surprises. Hadn't known that Queen Elizabeth I wrote tender lyrical verse, exemplified in the title "When I was Fair and Young." Canadian novelist Margaret Atwood ("The Handmaid's Tale") writes about the joys & tribulations of married love: "This word [love] is not enough but it will have to do." No compendium can be complete without the exquisite sexual poems by Sharon Olds. Her "The Connoisseuse of Slugs," referring to her fascination with that garden creature, "their gelantinous bodies at my mercy," ends the poem with the words, "Years later, when I first saw a naked man....gleaming in the dark air, eager and so trusting you could weep." Neither must we forget Phyllis McGinley, her sentiment similar to "Dover Beach," where she pleads in "Midcentury Love Letter" - "Stay near me. Speak my name. Oh, do not wander... in this precipitous night." Thanks also to anthologist Hollis for introducing us to many unknown poets including Karen Gershon who writes "be David to make me Bathsheba, elaborate me with legends." Alas, while the poetry soars, some of the bios are slipshod. Most are as fascinating as the poems, but in several cases, Hollis unaccountably failed to research the year in which the poet was born. Nothing's perfect. Except these ancient words of a woman mourning the death of her husband: "Tell thy soul thou roots are left in mine."

This is a great book! While the quality of the poems varies widely (there being a few which really don't deserve a place in any anthology), you will find many surprises in this book, some derived from the sheer historical interest of the works, some from unexpectedly masterly poems from little-known authors who will give you lines to remember! Every once in a while, a particular line or poem would leave me stunned at its beauty and the way it portrayed something I had personally felt (which is, by the way, one of the most important things that poetry aims at). See for example the work of Sarah Maguire, Patricia Beer, Kath Fraser and Marion Strobel, to name only a few. The biographical info is particularly useful if you want to read more from any of the authors, and also because of the interesting (if, inevitably, succinct) data it provides on these creative and talented women.

To think that women's views on love and relationships as far back as 500 years ago hasn't changed one bit and never will. So diverse, yet so common. The selections are excellent!

Love's Witness is a wonderful collection of love poetry by women. I have read it cover to cover and highly recommend it. It has become one of my favourite books - a must have! :-