Fire of Joy, The: Roughly 80 Poems to Get by Heart and Say Aloud

Clive James was an Australian who spent most of his life in England. He was a writer, critic, poet, and a humourist.The 'Fire of Joy' was his last book written as he was very unwell and he died shortly after the book was completed. It consisted of some 80 poems and all had some special meaning for him. He said that they to some extent " marked the progression of his life". Each poem is followed by a brief comment/ explanation of what the poem is about. He also said that poems should be declaimed and even gave instructions on how to declaim a poem!An original book and it is very entertaining and insightful.

This is an excellent book of poetry everyone should know. Recommended by Douglas Murray. Buy a copy and give it to your older children and read one for yourself.

I’ve been a Clive James fan for years, first being introduced through the first of his autobiographies ‘Unreliable Memoirs’ via a book club (for which I’ve forever been thankful). His body of work is immense, his intellect and insights unstoppable, his humour a delight. It is a gift to read this book, his last before he died 11 months ago at the age of 80 years. To celebrate his age, the book showcases eighty of his favourite poems, plus a few others just because he can, and doesn’t want them forgotten. From his cracking introduction (where he explains the significance of the title) you know you’re in for a treat. Even reading his ‘Rules On Reading Aloud’ is rather marvellous. And then the poems begin…They’re mostly printed in entirety, apart from some excerpts from very lengthy poems. They are listed chronologically, from an ‘Anonymous’ poem from ??, and ‘They Flee From Me’ by Sir Thomas Wyatt (1535), to the final ‘The Red Sea’ by Stephen Edgar (2008) – and a few riotous others in the Postcript. Each poem is followed by a short commentary, and that is the utter delight of the book.Clive James has the gift of cutting through language and potential inaccessibility (or not) in poetry, and making it all a thing of joy – ‘the fire of joy’, in actuality, as his title proclaims.I think my four favourite comments were as follows:1. On Christina Rosetti’s poem ‘Remember’: ‘The line “Yet if you should forget me for a while” really means “forget me and my ghost will return to make a shambles of your sock drawer”…’2. On Emily Dickinson: ‘Her collected works are a bowl of beads…Shadows still hold their breath when she speaks.’3. On Galway Kinnell (who I confess I’d never heard of) and his poem ‘The Avenue Bearing the Initial of Christ into the New World’: ‘All of his word pictures, throughout the poem, flare with that magnesium intensity.’4. On Seamus Heaney and his poem ‘Shore Woman’: ‘The only possible answer to the question “How did he think of that?” was “Because he’s him.”‘This is a book to keep on the shelf and dip into again and again. It will continually bring you that fire of joy.Many thanks to Beauty & Lace Book Club and Pan McMillan Australia for the fabulous opportunity to read this review copy. It was a privilege and delight.

Anyone having a love of poetry, or beginning to appreciate the art, HAS to have this wonderful collection and terrific commentary from Clive James. I am so glad I purchased this upon the promptingfrom a friend.I keep going back and escaping from daily hassles to read a poem from this treasure.

Wonderful to find some familiar poems and others that I didn't know before and am delighted to have been introduced to., with a helpful bit of chat for each one.

Any fans of Clive James will not be disappointed by this, his final work. A wonderful annotated anthology together with pertinent insights accumulated over a lifetime. His unique way of looking at poetry helps even the most jaded of eyes see something fresh in almost every example.Even if you disagree with what Clive says, you will learn something from the debate. That's as much as can be expected from any book.The introduction and afterword are both excellent as usual.It is unbelievably sad that there will no more from this man. This book is recommended without hesitation or reservation.

Loved the accompanying commentaries on each poem - so entertaining, so Clive James.A brilliant addition to any library.

A new book by the now deceased Clive James, an intriguing collection of poems he was encouraged by his daughter to recite and then discuss. It offers a fascinating insight into the mind of a man who was himself, as well as a famous television personality, an outstanding poet. Here are poems by others you may or may not know given an extra life with comments from a man who admired them especially.