Stressed, Unstressed: Classic Poems to Ease the Mind

Stressed, Unstressed: Classic Poems to Ease the Mind
Jonathan Bate

Paula Byrne

Sophie Ratcliffe

Andrew Schuman

Can you be re-lit by poetry? This little book offers everyone one of the oldest of all remedies for stress: the reading of poetry.Intended to help you endure some of your stressful moments and painful experiences, these poems tell us we are not alone. Returned again and again over the centuries by great imaginations are love and death and memory – remembrance of childhood joy, of happy days and beautiful places, of loved ones we have lost or feeling at peace and at one with the natural world. ‘Stressed Unstressed’ harvests an array of poems on such themes in the hope that they will speak to you when you are processing your worries or when you simply want to fill your mind with different, more positive thoughts.Words can act as drugs, and on the bedside or in a waiting-room this little volume of poetry can help in all sorts of difficult circumstances. So here is a selection of new poems and old, enduring classics and forgotten gems. Next time you are feeling stressed or anxious, worried or sleepless, panicky or unable to cope, ‘Stressed Unstressed’ invites you to read a poem and join the thousands of others who have read and remembered and loved these poems – to form a very special community. This is bibliotherapy.

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copyright (#u6c035132-f38e-5ffd-924f-803d52714640)

William Collins

An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers

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London SE1 9GF

WilliamCollinsBooks.com (http://www.WilliamCollinsBooks.com)

This eBook first published in Great Britain by William Collins in 2016

© Jonathan Bate and Paula Byrne 2016

Jonathan Bate and Paula Byrne assert the moral right to be identified as the editors of this book

A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Source ISBN: 9780008203863

Ebook Edition © January 2016 ISBN: 9780008168162

Version: 2016-10-28

contents

cover (#u5de545d4-fb0c-598c-977b-19e9ce4a3764)

title page (#ulink_9d62f5e5-4fb0-5b78-a87b-82a4a5c0147c)

copyright (#ulink_8a0afb9f-07bb-539e-9c90-c5468510b351)

ReLit and the Bibliotherapy Foundation (#ulink_6d09e0a5-3862-5840-a039-a663cfeeb9db)

introduction by Jonathan Bate (#ulink_4fcf19de-d666-5df9-9894-7a384b252ca1)

1. stopping (#ulink_9a1fb45b-7bbe-57c4-89e9-c08ab69ebee1)

2. composing (#ulink_085677de-a0d3-50a2-8a85-0cd1d1ca82ea)

3. meditating (#ulink_b1204ca4-88bd-589e-9073-06e92f68294f)

4. stress-beating (#litres_trial_promo)

5. remembering (#litres_trial_promo)

6. releasing (#litres_trial_promo)

7. grieving (#litres_trial_promo)

8. feeling alone (#litres_trial_promo)

9. living with uncertainty (#litres_trial_promo)

10. moving on (#litres_trial_promo)

11. seizing the day (#litres_trial_promo)

12. positive thinking (#litres_trial_promo)

afterword by Mark Williams (#litres_trial_promo)

if you need help (#litres_trial_promo)

a note on the editors (#litres_trial_promo)

permissions (#litres_trial_promo)

index of poets (#litres_trial_promo)

about the publisher (#litres_trial_promo)

ReLit and the Bibliotherapy Foundation (#u6c035132-f38e-5ffd-924f-803d52714640)

These poems were selected by Jonathan Bate, Paula Byrne, Sophie Ratcliffe and Andrew Schuman, who all contributed to the section introductions. Many of the poems have been tried and tested in healthcare settings or at stressful times, past and present. Proceeds from sales of the anthology will be donated to ReLit, the campaign of the Bibliotherapy Foundation (a charitable enterprise) to alleviate stress and other mental health conditions through mindful reading. For more information about the work of the Foundation, please visitwww.relit.org.uk (http://www.relit.org.uk).

We would love to hear about the ways in which this anthology, and poetry in general, has helped you. Please add your comments on our websitewww.relit.org.uk/stressed (http://www.relit.org.uk/stressed).

introduction (#u6c035132-f38e-5ffd-924f-803d52714640)

‘Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind’

Rudyard Kipling