Poems as Friends: The Poetry Exchange 10th Anniversary Anthology by Fiona Bennett and Michael Shaeffer - book review -

And to celebrate this resonant concept comes a beautifully created anniversary book, Poems as Friends: The Poetry Exchange 10th Anniversary Anthology, in which the exchange’s founder, Fiona L Bennett, and Michael Shaeffer, who has worked as an actor across theatre, film, television and radio for nearly 30 years, explore the idea of poems as friends.

The Poetry Exchange began in 2014 as an ‘artistic enquiry’ by poet and facilitator Bennett into the creative act of reading and the power of poetry in people’s lives. ​ The idea of poems as friends emerged when she recognised the powerful conversations she has with poems in her own life, and became curious about whether this idea of a poem acting as a companion was true for others. ​

Working closely with Shaeffer, they devised the unique encounter at the heart of The Poetry Exchange... an invitation to people to explore a poem that has been a friend to them, in conversation with two members of their team. ​

They created an intimate environment for these conversations at festivals, libraries, bookshops and other public spaces around the UK, making an open call for people to join them to talk about their chosen poem and the part it has played in their life. ​The result was people from all walks of life bringing poems the Exchange did not know, as well as introducing them anew to poems they did.

The invitation for people to talk about poems in this way led to such extraordinary and eloquent insights that Bennett and Shaeffe wanted to find a way to share these beautiful conversations more widely so in 2016, they launched The Poetry Exchange podcast, discovering poems as friends struck a chord with listeners across the world, and resulted in thousands tuning in each month. ​

And to mark the exchange’s anniversary, this anthology gathers together a beautiful selection of poems, alongside the stories of the readers who brought them their way, and celebrates the role poetry plays in people’s lives.

Featuring Brian Cox on John Clare, Andrew Scott on George Herbert, Maxine Peake on Tony Harrison and many more, the poems reacquaint readers with old friends, perhaps make some new ones, and provide the companionship that poetry can offer us.

So whether you are looking for friends that offer connection and empathy, friends that help to wrestle with difficult things, friends that name our own experiences, friends that comfort and help us to move forward, or friends that we simply admire, this moving, inspirational and uplifting collection of poems will be just the friend you need.

(Quercus Editions, hardback, £14.99)