Dancing By The Light of The Moon

Description

A brand-new collection of Britain's best-loved poetry, handpicked by Gyles Brandreth. Following the recent success of Have You Eaten Grandma? Gyles Brandreth is back with his next love-letter to language.
In his last book Gyles lamented the rise of emojis, this misuse of punctuation and the younger generation's lack-luster approach to language. In this stunning new book, Gyles celebrates the finest uses of English by handpicking the ultimate anthology of Great Britain's best-loved poems.
He urges us to savor the perfect couplets, delicate words, and clever quips by learning these exquisite poems by heart. By savoring, memorizing and sharing these poems we can begin to increase literacy rates, which are at an all-time low, while enriching our lives with the joy of language.
Gyles writes emphatically about the beauty, diversity and ingenuity of the language used in these poems, and the way in which they can transform our lives. "To instill a love of literature, a copy of Dancing by the Light of the Moon ought to find its way into every home in the land." —Daily Mail, Book of the Week "Gyles has discovered the secret of finding happiness through learning poetry by heart. It's wonderful and so much fun." —Dame Judi Dench "Brandreth provides over 400 pages of top-notch poems by everyone from Shakespeare to Simon Armitage. But his mission is to get you learning the poems by heart." —Mail Online “[A] witty usage guide. . . . His passionate, enlightening, and easily navigable manual is certainly the right book at the right time.”  ― Publishers Weekly on Have You Eaten Grandma? "In this irreverent and conversational style guide, Brandreth makes improving one's language skills easy and even fun . . . great for communicators of all stripes." ― Booklist on Have You Eaten Grandma? Gyles Daubeney Brandreth is an English theatre producer, actor, politician, journalist, author and TV presenter. Born in Germany, he moved to London at the age of three and, after his education at New College, Oxford, he began his career in television.
He went from presenting Puzzle Party in the 1970s, to appearing in Countdown's Dictionary Corner for over 300 episodes. His career has since encompassed becoming an MP and appearing regularly on TV and radio, but writing is his true passion.
His past books include Word Play, Oxford Dictionary of Humorous Quotations and Breaking the Code: Westminster Diaries.

Over 250 poems to read, relish, and recite

Title derives from the closing refrain of Brandreth's favorite poem, ‘The Owl and the Pussycat’, which he learned by heart as a child.

Not just an anthology, but includes arguments, supported by psychology and neuroscience, for the benefits of memorizing and reciting poetry

Learning poetry by heart can boost your brain-power and extend the active life of your mind – by several years.

Practical wisdom on memorizing and reciting gathered from many poets and actors, including Ian McKellen's advice on reciting blank verse

Gyles Brandreth is a former European Monopoly champion, president of the Association of British Scrabble Players, president of Oscar Wilde Society, founded a teddy bear museum, held the world record for the longest continuous after-dinner speech (twelve-and-a-half hours), and has made cameos on That Mitchell and Webb Look and IT Crowd

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