Poems of the Sea

Since Homer first sang of wine-dark seas, poets have answered the ocean’s call. Poems of the Sea gathers these voices into one stunning volume—a gorgeously jacketed hardcover anthology that spans centuries and continents, celebrating humanity’s eternal fascination with the world’s great waters.

Curated by the distinguished poet and editor J. D. McClatchy, this collection brings together the legends we’ve whispered around driftwood fires—pirates and mermaids, phantom ships and the lost city of Atlantis—alongside the stark realities of lighthouses standing sentinel, shipwrecks beneath the waves, and foam-flecked shores. Here you’ll discover Tennyson’s seductive sea-fairies keeping company with Poe’s beloved Annabel Lee, while Coleridge’s haunting “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” echoes alongside Shakespeare’s immortal “Full Fathom Five.”

From Masefield’s yearning “I must go down to the seas again” to Cavafy’s meditative “Ithaka” and Stevens’s contemplative “The Idea of Order at Key West,” these pages hold sonnets and sea chanteys, ballads and hymns—each one capturing the ocean’s power as metaphor, mystery, and muse. The anthology includes works by Homer, Milton, Plath, and Merwin, offering both timeless classics and modern masterpieces.

Published in Everyman’s Library’s signature style, this edition features acid-free cream-colored paper, full-cloth binding with elegant two-color foil stamping, decorative endpapers, a silk ribbon marker, and a full-color illustrated jacket. It’s a volume meant to be treasured, much like the sea itself—endlessly deep, endlessly fascinating.

Additional information