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Folio Seasons
Autumn: A Folio Anthology
An exclusive collection of poems and prose, with authors ranging from Charles Dickens to Matsuo Bashō. (Folio Society)
Celebrating the season of mists, bonfires and copper-coloured leaves, this collection brings together a selection of poetry and prose. Accompanying them are specially commissioned illustrations by the Swedish artist Petra Börner, who originally studied fashion at St Martins in London and has exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery and Claire de Rouen. Four are presented as double-page spreads, while the text, which is printed in two colours, is decorated with motifs taken from her images. (Folio Society)
Celebrating the season of mists, bonfires and copper-coloured leaves, this collection brings together a selection of poetry and prose. Accompanying them are specially commissioned illustrations by the Swedish artist Petra Börner, who originally studied fashion at St Martins in London and has exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery and Claire de Rouen. Four are presented as double-page spreads, while the text, which is printed in two colours, is decorated with motifs taken from her images. (Folio Society)
83 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
February 22, 2016
I love autumn. It’s my favourite season of the year; there’s always been something special about it for me. Perhaps, it’s because the weather is getting colder or perhaps it’s the first step along the road to Christmas. Well, either way I love it, and I simply adore this little anthology that celebrate all things autumnal; it is perfect.
Indeed, in here are some poems from poets that I truly admire. There’s even a few prose extracts. There’s a nice little poem from Robert Louis Stevenson, a wonderful set of verses by Keats and a lovely little extract form Austen’s Persuasion. This is to name but a few; it’s surprising how much the editor has actually crammed into these pages. This is, quite literally, the best free book I’ve read in my life. And, unfortunately, it’s no longer available on the Folio society website.
The aesthetic value of this book is very high. It feels nice to hold as it retains all the quality of other folio editions: it’s great. Now that I’ve got this little gem for the month of autumn, I can only hope that in the future they release one for each season of the year. I’m almost tempted to email them and ask if that’s what they intend to do. But, that might be a little odd. Well, anyway, this is a great little book to enjoy over the autumn period!
Indeed, in here are some poems from poets that I truly admire. There’s even a few prose extracts. There’s a nice little poem from Robert Louis Stevenson, a wonderful set of verses by Keats and a lovely little extract form Austen’s Persuasion. This is to name but a few; it’s surprising how much the editor has actually crammed into these pages. This is, quite literally, the best free book I’ve read in my life. And, unfortunately, it’s no longer available on the Folio society website.
The aesthetic value of this book is very high. It feels nice to hold as it retains all the quality of other folio editions: it’s great. Now that I’ve got this little gem for the month of autumn, I can only hope that in the future they release one for each season of the year. I’m almost tempted to email them and ask if that’s what they intend to do. But, that might be a little odd. Well, anyway, this is a great little book to enjoy over the autumn period!
September 29, 2018
Autumn:A Folio Anthology was a solid 4 stars for me. A pretty book- it’s filled with poems and numerous other items-parts of famous novels, letters and even a recipe. All Autumn related of course. Highly recommended-especially to those readers that love the season.
October 1, 2017
“... in those dark warm nights, golden stars startle and delight us continually by falling from the sky.” – Leo Tolstoy
A beautiful collection of poetry and excerpts, all about the wonders of autumn; falling leaves and colder winds. There seems to be no rhyme and reason in the texts chosen for this anthology, rather the aim seems to be to "have a bit of everything".
In this anthology you'll find a recipe for pumpkin pie; an excerpt on apple boiling from Laura Ingalls Wilder's much beloved childhood series, Jane Austen's little musings on autumn from Persuasion, and of course, most famous of all, To Autumn by John Keats.
But you'll also find a few lines from Leo Tolstoy, observations by Henry David Thoreau, a single line from Virginia Woolf's diary, poetry by William Blake, Emily Dickinson and Elinor Wylie – and even a letter written by Vincent Van Gogh.
While this is a small volume, it certainly contains many words on the "bonfire of leaves" (as Elinor Wylie so beautifully wrote), and it succeeded in putting me in the mood for pumpkins, golden hours of sun and crispy leaves.
“Fall, leave, fall; die, flowers, away;
Lengthen night and shorten day;
Every leaf speaks bliss to me
Fluttering from the autumn tree.”
– Emily Brontë
A beautiful collection of poetry and excerpts, all about the wonders of autumn; falling leaves and colder winds. There seems to be no rhyme and reason in the texts chosen for this anthology, rather the aim seems to be to "have a bit of everything".
In this anthology you'll find a recipe for pumpkin pie; an excerpt on apple boiling from Laura Ingalls Wilder's much beloved childhood series, Jane Austen's little musings on autumn from Persuasion, and of course, most famous of all, To Autumn by John Keats.
But you'll also find a few lines from Leo Tolstoy, observations by Henry David Thoreau, a single line from Virginia Woolf's diary, poetry by William Blake, Emily Dickinson and Elinor Wylie – and even a letter written by Vincent Van Gogh.
While this is a small volume, it certainly contains many words on the "bonfire of leaves" (as Elinor Wylie so beautifully wrote), and it succeeded in putting me in the mood for pumpkins, golden hours of sun and crispy leaves.
“Fall, leave, fall; die, flowers, away;
Lengthen night and shorten day;
Every leaf speaks bliss to me
Fluttering from the autumn tree.”
– Emily Brontë
October 31, 2020
“...in those dark warm nights, golden stars startle and delight us continually by falling from the sky.”
A wonderful collection of autumn-themed pieces of writing and poems. Really nice to dip in and out of over the season!
A wonderful collection of autumn-themed pieces of writing and poems. Really nice to dip in and out of over the season!
July 8, 2016
This anthology themed around the topic of autumn mostly contains a collection of poems, although it also holds a handful of prose texts on the subject.
Poetry isn't my normal fare, but I got this book as a free 'gift' bundled with a purchase of other Folio Society books, and I decided to give it a chance to challenge myself a bit.
With a book like this, where most poems only take up a page or two, I think it's important to take the time with each poem. Thus, I adopted a strategy of reading at most one poem per day. Even so, I found it difficult.
The first thing I discovered was that many of the poems in this book have rhyme and rhythm, but that these are hard to pick up when reading silently. Therefore, I changed my approach to always read the poems aloud to myself. That helped tremendously with picking up the verses.
Still, after a single reading, a poem would often leave me baffled. What did the words mean? Frequently, it took me four or five readings before I could wrestle some sense out of them, but I also found the process rewarding. At first reading, I'd be frustrated, but once a poem started to congeal, I'd get a sense of accomplishment out of being able to 'decipher' it.
Some of the poems are neat. Most of them are melancholy, which, I guess, is tied to the subject matter.
While I found the (slow) process of reading this book worthwhile, I don't think I'll ever become a regular reader of poetry.
Poetry isn't my normal fare, but I got this book as a free 'gift' bundled with a purchase of other Folio Society books, and I decided to give it a chance to challenge myself a bit.
With a book like this, where most poems only take up a page or two, I think it's important to take the time with each poem. Thus, I adopted a strategy of reading at most one poem per day. Even so, I found it difficult.
The first thing I discovered was that many of the poems in this book have rhyme and rhythm, but that these are hard to pick up when reading silently. Therefore, I changed my approach to always read the poems aloud to myself. That helped tremendously with picking up the verses.
Still, after a single reading, a poem would often leave me baffled. What did the words mean? Frequently, it took me four or five readings before I could wrestle some sense out of them, but I also found the process rewarding. At first reading, I'd be frustrated, but once a poem started to congeal, I'd get a sense of accomplishment out of being able to 'decipher' it.
Some of the poems are neat. Most of them are melancholy, which, I guess, is tied to the subject matter.
While I found the (slow) process of reading this book worthwhile, I don't think I'll ever become a regular reader of poetry.
October 3, 2016
This book was given to me to see if i would be interested in it. I said as a teacher there will be times that i need to focus on the seasons with children and any book of poetry would help with that. The poetry within is exceptional and varied in nature, but the book is not limited to poetry but to prose and recipes, and quotations about autumnal seasons in history from the 16th century to the present. I could not figure out the rhyme or reason for the selections, outside of their relation to autumn. But found quotes from Shakespeare along those of Tolstoy with poems of a simple life and of lives that shape our past. It was an interesting look into the season and how our experiences change what our eyes see. What stuck out most was a description of the frustration of Vincent Van Gogh who could not capture the red brown color of the autumn leaves of the breech trees he was painting. It showed how life is not always capturing the moment but seeing it as it really is and knowing that we can never capture it for all ages without someone experiencing it for themselves.
September 6, 2023
Autumn; best season ever. And of course, included is one of the few absolutely perfect poems in the English language; ‘to Autumn’, by John Keats; some of the lines found their way into my doctoral thesis;
“Where are the songs of spring? Ay, Where are they?
Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,—“
“Where are the songs of spring? Ay, Where are they?
Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,—“
September 30, 2016
3,5-4 stjerner. Jeg kommer helt i efterårshumør.
November 12, 2022
Autumn is by far my favourite time of the year, and it’s been a delight to curl up and dip into this anthology over the past few weeks. While not very long, the collection of poetry, recipes, excerpts of letters, and paragraphs from stories, are all such beautiful descriptions of the season, from some of the greatest literary minds. The illustrations throughout are a lovely addition too. I may have it on hand each autumn, to slowly read through, memorising the selection as the years go by.
June 26, 2017
A brief selection of writings about Autumn, illustrated by Petra Börner with striking cut paper images appropriate to the text. No editor/selector given but an introduction by Kathleen Jamie. First of an annual series - probably (Winter released in 2016).
November 15, 2021
Love the collection of poetry and prose. So much better than Spring: A Folio Anthology with its odd focus on war.
Descriptor: soothing, though I'd be hard-pressed to explain why.
Recommend: Yes.
Descriptor: soothing, though I'd be hard-pressed to explain why.
Recommend: Yes.
March 11, 2021
Alexander Pushkin
Rainer Maria Rilke
Edward Thomas
Rainer Maria Rilke
Edward Thomas
October 24, 2016
This is a freebie from Folio Society for fall 2015 when you renew your membership.
Pity it isn't more widely available. It's a charming anthogy.
Pity it isn't more widely available. It's a charming anthogy.
October 23, 2016
Lovely.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews