Poems Men Cry

POEMS THAT MAKE GROWN MEN CRY is a poetry anthology edited by Anthony & Ben Holden, published in partnership with Amnesty International on 10 April, 2014.

[Ben Holden @thatbenholden]

I remain deeply honoured that the late, great Sam Neill chose to read this beauty from our anthology. These words, that voice… aahhh.

[Ben Holden @thatbenholden]

I am re-reading Reunion by Fred Uhlman for Novella Club today, on Holocaust Remembrance Day.

[Ben Holden @thatbenholden]

The novella's time has come! With reading for pleasure under siege from our attention economy, I'm exploring masterpieces that can be read in one gulp. Please join me on Substack...
Welcome to Novella Club https://t.co/AxKNIzjRRB

[Ben Holden @thatbenholden]

The week my kids have Oxbridge interviews, the legendary prof who took mine way back when - and immediately put me at ease - has died. John Carey was as generous as he was brilliant, supporting my own books years later (he chose Ben Jonson for Poems That Make Grown Men Cry). RIP.

[Ben Holden @thatbenholden]

Inspiring event from @libsconnected @MancLibraries Central Library to mark 175 years of the Public Libraries Act. Great to hear Minister @fionatwycross call libraries ‘the purest expression of democracy in action’. They remain our brightest beacons for true ‘national renewal’.

[Ben Holden @thatbenholden]

Powerful evening @eventsBL for @englishpen #PENPinterPrize, honouring imprisoned Alaa Abd el-Fattah and luminous Arundhati Roy. Momentous speeches also from @NaomiAKlein and @Linaattalah - ‘we are listening Alaa.’ #FreeAlaa

[Ben Holden @thatbenholden]

‘The goal in all life is simply contentment… the plea ‘It is only because I have wanted so much / That I have always been found wanting’ applies to most of the characters I have ever tried to bring to life.’
The late, great James Earl Jones in Poems That Make Grown Men Cry

[Ben Holden @thatbenholden]

My dad was a proud sandgrounder - Southport born and bred - as shown in this aside from his memoir, which unites his courageous, close-knit hometown with the other place dominating this week’s news.

[Ben Holden @thatbenholden]

‘Make no mistake, a turbulent heart composed these lovely, lofty lines.’
RIP wonderful Edna O’Brien - here writing about ‘Edge’ by Sylvia Plath, the poem that made her cry.

[Ben Holden @thatbenholden]

A Call on Father’s Day: this beautiful poem by Seamus Heaney concerning his dad - introduced movingly by Richard Curtis, with reference to his dad - from the anthology @PoemsMenCry that I edited with my dad... ‘Sadness somehow I expect. Kindness and love take me by surprise.’

[Imtiaz Dharker @Idharker]

'Sometimes the truth is not a beacon
but a small flame
or only the light of a phone
falling on the face of a witness'.

from 'Shadow Reader'

[Ben Holden @thatbenholden]

The range of insights at #LCSeminar24 reflected the dizzying array of services libraries offer society, as well as the breadth of our heroic librarians’ expertise. Excellent to see @AnnCleeves’ advocacy recognised too, an impact showcased via Ian’s story: https://t.co/8Cr6kQANly

[Poems Men Cry @PoemsMenCry]

RT @thatbenholden: We received some moving feedback over the years to these collections - but this is a particularly powerful endorsement o…

[Ben Holden @thatbenholden]

My recently departed dad has been name-checked in two out of three of the most recent @NewStatesman Books sections. Together, these en passant references showcase his immense range as a writer…

[Ben Holden @thatbenholden]

Two days after our big memorial service celebrating the considerable achievements of my dad Tony, whose papers are collected at Boston University, I personally delivered in a van yesterday my mum Amanda’s professional archive to its new home @bodleianlibs in Oxford. V proud son.

[Ben Holden @thatbenholden]

Benjamin Zephaniah was such an inspiring, poetic life-force. Always kept it real and then some. Loved talking back during 2019 with Benjamin about his life-and-rhymes (& love for libraries) inside his ‘home from home’ @NewhamBookshop …

[Ben Holden @thatbenholden]

Here are some obits of my beloved dad Anthony Holden aka Golden Holden aka (in Vegas) London Tony. Highlights reels of a life lived well, they admirably chart his wide-ranging achievements & talents…the greatest of which was - trust me - fatherhood.
https://t.co/ZsizSU1L2y

[Ben Holden @thatbenholden]

Thank you to all those here who have written such touching tributes to my beloved dad Anthony (aka Golden Holden aka London Tony) this past week. He was the real Big Deal… so it’s greatly appreciated, as my family and I celebrate a life well-lived.

[Library of Anglo-American Culture & History @LibraryAAC]

We wish you a lovely #PoetsDay! Let's get emotional with 📚 poems that make grown men & women cry! 🥺 These 2 anthologies by @AntHolden& @thatbenholden each got 100 poems, chosen by 100 intellectuals, stars & celebs

♂️https://t.co/7VrHeXUqtZ
♀️https://t.co/JmAtZ6lWKG
@subugoe

[Poems Men Cry @PoemsMenCry]

‘Everyone’s voice was suddenly lifted;
And beauty came like the setting sun…’
#RIPBarryHumphries