Blogmas Day 4
In the rush of daily life, there’s something precious about pausing to savour quiet moments. These poetic collections offer gentle reflections, lyrical journeys and glimpses of the world that invite stillness and contemplation, perfect for reading slowly, savouring each line or giving as a thoughtful gift.
A powerful Ode to Mining Grit and Working-Class Resilience FORTY YEARS ON FROM the 1984-1985 Miners’ Strike
Forty years on from the 1984–85 UK Miners’ Strike, the largest union-led industrial action in the 20th century, Rab Wilson – a former miner deeply entrenched in the strike – delivers a powerful narrative through his mining poems and strike diary, addressing contemporary social and economic issues in Scotland and the UK then and now.
This is a poetic journey through life’s landscapes – emotional, physical and psychological. Described as a poetic journey through the intricate landscapes of life, love and mortality.
McMillan’s poems range widely in theme – from friendships, family, travel and politics to intimate reflections on time and memory. There is wit, honesty and warmth; his poetry finds the universal in the personal, making this a lovely collection to read when you want to pause and think or drift through memory and emotion.
A collection of poems from a well‑known voice whose work combines music, memory, landscape and story. Harding – known for his background in folk music and storytelling – brings those sensibilities to his verse, weaving together images of places, history and personal reflections.
The poems offer a mixture of dream, nostalgia and raw honesty – suitable if you’d like your quiet moment to carry a sense of journey, of reflection on time past or the world beyond your window.
If you love poetry that feels like a softly spoken letter or personal diary, Love Goes North does that beautifully. McNeill’s verses trace journeys – real or emotional – touching on trains, travel, longing, joy, memory and the bittersweet sense of what lies ahead.
The language is tender and lyrical; reading this feels like drifting through landscape and time, carried by the rhythms of memory and movement. It’s ideal for late evenings, lost in thought and light, perhaps near a window or under a blanket.
This is a special kind of poetic gift – a joint work of poetry and photography that invites you to slow down, to look, listen and reconnect with nature in its quietest forms. The book celebrates grasses – humble plant life often taken for granted – with both poetic language and beautiful images.
It’s described as “a verdant gathering intended to calm and restore” and seems designed to ground you, to make you more aware of the small but constant presence of nature even in everyday life. Reading or gazing through this book feels like walking through a meadow of memory, calm and rootedness — a perfect antidote to busy, noisy days.
