100 Poems To Break Your Heart

100 of the most moving and inspiring poems of the last 200 years from around the world, a collection that will comfort and enthrall anyone trapped by grief or loneliness, selected by the award-winning, best-selling, and beloved author of How to Read a Poem

Implicit in poetry is the idea that we are enriched by heartbreaks, by the recognition and understanding of suffering—not just our own suffering but also the pain of others. We are not so much diminished as enlarged by grief, by our refusal to vanish, or to let others vanish, without leaving a record. And poets are people who are determined to leave a trace in words, to transform oceanic depths of feeling into art that speaks to others.

In 100 Poems to Break Your Heart, poet and advocate Edward Hirsch selects 100 poems, from the nineteenth century to the present, and illuminates them, unpacking context and references to help the reader fully experience the range of emotion and wisdom within these poems.

 For anyone trying to process grief, loneliness, or fear, this collection of poetry will be your guide in trying times.

"Who will reach for this assemblage of poems meant to break our hearts? Those who know that solace can be found in poetry and its assurance that one is not alone in facing heartbreak and loss, which is visited upon us in new and crushing ways in the time of COVID-19. Another draw is Hirsch himself, of course, a consummate poet all-too fluent in grief, whose radiant books about poetry have guided readers to a deeper appreciation for this endlessly surprising and affecting literary form. Each profoundly arresting poem is accompanied by a succinct yet passionate essay masterfully combining biography and commentary. Hirsch has selected lyrics confronting sorrow engendered by the death of a loved one, war, genocide, exile, violence, racism, and other crimes against humanity...darkly illuminating." - Booklist (starred review)

"Teacher and poet Edward Hirsch explores the ennobling powers of poetry in his compendium of masterful works from around the world" - CBS news

“I was really amazed by Edward Hirsch’s ‘100 Poems to Break Your Heart.’ This is really a beautiful book.” - Yusef Komunyakaa, for The Boston Globe

"This collection is restorative and necessary, with themes ranging from death to violence to disease to political or sexual persecution. It is a triumph of the human condition that suffering can beget such art. These 100 poems will indeed break hearts, but they also offer examples of resilience, the lasting impact of words, and a wisdom that a reader can return to and share." - New York Journal of Books