Collecting mementos from my travels is one of my favourite ways to relive my adventures, and share them with my loved ones, and a firm favourite way of mine to treasure those special trips is by collecting poetry books in the country’s native language. It’s something that I’ve done since I was nineteen, and first visited Notting Hill by myself. Whilst meandering along Notting Hill High Street I wandered into a book store and picked up a poetry anthology by Wendy Cope; I spent some time sat in a park reading the poetry, and it brought my heart so much joy, that I vowed to continue doing it in every place I travel.
Since then I have collected poetry books from Dublin, Edinburgh, Paris, the Lake District, Cornwall, Hanoi, Phuket, Bali, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.
I have always found poetry to be a great insight, not only in to the poet’s mind, but also that of their country. Whether it’s through Wordsworth’s description of the Lake District in ‘Daffodils‘, or Nguyen Duy’s depictions of growing up in the Vietnam War, whilst showcasing the true beauty of his country, throughout his works, you get a feel for what the poets see in the world, that may differ greatly from your own. It always feels like a little window into life in whatever place I’m visiting, and I love re-reading the anthologies when I get home and spotting references to places I saw, food I ate, or activities I took part in.
I unfortunately can’t link all of the poetry books that I’ve picked up whilst travelling the world, especially those that I added to my collection from Asia, but here are a few of my favourites.
Love Chloe x
