Ten Poems about Libraries

Libraries are treasured places. We may remember visiting a local library in childhood to explore an early delight in reading. Or perhaps we have come to value them in later life, as a calm sanctuary where we can daydream among beloved books.

A library is also a portal into countless worlds of knowledge, experience and adventure:

and smell wisdom, put a hand out to touch

the rough curve of bound leather,

the harsh parchment of dreams.”

from ‘Maple Valley Branch Library, 1967’ by Rita Dove

With irresistible affection, these poems celebrate the many things that libraries mean to us as we move through the phases of our lives.

The poems are selected and introduced by poet Lorraine Mariner who has worked at the National Poetry Library in London for many years.

Poems by Adrian Buckner, Louise Chandler Moulton, Claire Crowther, Rita Dove, Martina Evans, Edward Hirsch, Lorraine Mariner, Ian McMillan, Charles Simic and Indigo Williams.

Cover illustration by Laura Brett.

24 PRINTED PAGES