A dementia-friendly selection of much-loved verses by British poets

Sometimes it’s hard to maintain conversation with a loved one, as so much of our chit-chat relies on short-term memory. “How has your week been? Did you go to the concert? Did you get outside yesterday?” These are normal, friendly questions, but are challenging for anyone living with memory loss or confusion.

The solution for those who have been poetry-lovers: excerpts from classic poems by great poets, with beautiful scenic photographs, to encourage shared reading, discussion and connection. There have been studies on the value of poetry in shared reading for people living with dementia: the rhythm, the rhyme, the familiarity of the verses, and the profound messages captured in a few words – plus the experience of sharing this with another person.

I was inspired by the poetry I had studied back in my university days, and by the scenery I grew up with in the north of England (though I now live in Australia).

There are verses from classic British poets like Elizabeth Barratt Browning, William Blake and Christina Rossetti.

Reviewers comment on the large print and ease of reading (although one did say this book was too easy and had too many romantic poems!!)

40 pages, extra large font, in a bright, slim, light 8 × 10 paperback.
There is no reference to dementia or other illness inside the book or on the cover. The back cover says simply: A selection of classic British love poetry. Keep your mind active as you read aloud or read along!

You can find Illustrated Love Poetry on Amazon by clicking on this universal link: https://mybook.to/IllustratedLovePoetry  – or why not try your local library? (Tell them it’s ISBN number 9781922191366.)