The Poetry Pharmacy cover art

The Poetry Pharmacy

Tried-and-True Prescriptions for the Heart, Mind and Soul

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Try for £0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

The Poetry Pharmacy

By: William Sieghart
Narrated by: William Sieghart
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £7.99

Buy Now for £7.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of The Poetry Pharmacy by William Sieghart.

As heard on BBC Radio 4, the essential prescriptions from William Sieghart's poetic dispensary

Sometimes only a poem will do. These poetic prescriptions and wise words of advice offer comfort, delight and inspiration for all; a space for reflection, and that precious realization - I'm not the only one who feels like this.

In the years since he first had the idea of prescribing short, powerful poems for all manner of spiritual ailments, William Sieghart has taken his Poetry Pharmacy around the length and breadth of Britain, into the pages of the Guardian, onto BBC Radio 4 and onto the television, honing his prescriptions all the time. This audiobook presents the most essential poems in his dispensary: those which, again and again, have really shown themselves to work. Whether you are suffering from loneliness, lack of courage, heartbreak, hopelessness, or even from an excess of ego, there is something here to ease your pain.

©2018 William Sieghart (P)2018 Penguin Audio
Collections & Anthologies Inspirational & Religious Personal Success Funny
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

Dancing by the Light of the Moon cover art
Varieties of Melancholy cover art
The Nation's Favourite Poems cover art
From Song of Myself (A Poem from The Poets' Corner) cover art
Forgiveness & Other Acts of Love cover art
The Poems of T. S. Eliot cover art
Letters to My Son cover art
The Living Book: Surrender to Grace cover art
Poetry Please cover art
Seamus Heaney II Collected Poems (published 1979-1991) cover art
Richard Burton Reads the Poetry of Thomas Hardy cover art
Paradise Lost cover art
A Little History of the World cover art
Seven Ages cover art
The History of English Poetry cover art
Philosophy For Life cover art

Critic reviews

"The book is delightful; it rightly resituates poetry in relation to its biggest and most serious task: helping us to live and die well." (Alain de Botton)

"Truly a marvellous collection...There is balm for the soul, fire for the belly, a cooling compress for the fevered brow, solace for the wounded, an arm around the lonely shoulder - the whole collection is a matchless compound of hug, tonic and kiss." (Stephen Fry)

What listeners say about The Poetry Pharmacy

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    47
  • 4 Stars
    8
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    38
  • 4 Stars
    7
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    36
  • 4 Stars
    5
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The poems are only half of it

The poems are beautiful but this audiobook is for listening to the author's comforting narration and discussion of the situations, whether happy or sad, that may suit a particular poem. Relatable, well read and most of all, reassuring.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

wonderfully therapeutic, thank you!

this is a wonderfully therapeutic collection, with the poems beautifully introduced and read by William Siekhart

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A Memorable Read

As the title suggests, I found this book very soothing and hopeful. It was also great to hear some of the poems I know shared in this meaningful way. It sure is a book I'll remember in times of need, and also recommend to others.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Rather boring

I didn’t enjoy anything about this book, except for Mary Oliver’s poem “Wild Geese”; and that was not read with feeling, nor well read. The author reads without expression and there are many dull words prior to the poems; and some of the poems are only four lines long. There is no index to see what the poems are or what “condition” you need help with, and it would be much better to get the proper hard copy book. But I won’t be buying it for sure.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

No chapter descriptions

I wanted this book but the chapters are just numbers in the index and I just don’t want to trawl through all the chapters to decide which one to read.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful