My thanks to Peter Dean for sending me a copy of his anthology Best of Poems in return for an honest review. It’s my pleasure to share that review today.

Published on 15th January 2024, Best of Poems is available for purchase here. 

Best of Poems

Best of Poems is a collection of Peter Dean’s poems taken from the best of the poems in his poetry books. They are family friendly and very diverse in theme but they all tell a story through rhyming verse.

My Review of Best of Poems

A collection of poetry for all readers.

If your poetic preference is for the challenging literary verse of the likes of the Metaphysical poets or perhaps the Romantics, Best of Poems is not for you. However, if you want to be entertained by an accessible, varied and relatable set of poems that can be shared amongst all age groups, then Best of Poems could be just what you’re looking for. 

Peter Dean has a lively and engaging style that feels light and often quite humorous as he understands just what makes humanity tick. Yet, underneath that seemingly casual approach, is a much deeper set of themes. Peter Dean considers all kinds of human experience and emotion from love to guilt. His poems are varied and wide ranging, covering everything from the experience of an asylum seeker, to the loneliness of an elderly and increasingly frail woman, right through to the effects of cowboy power washers, the weather and kittens at Christmas. This means that there really is a poem for any reader in Best of Poems. I certainly identified with Leanne’s attitude to garden gnomes in Beauty.

I enjoyed encountering the wide cross-section of humanity between the pages of Best of Poems. It was heart-warming to encounter those who’ve loved and lost, those who know the value of tomato soup and even Sir David Attenborough! I think Bombshell was my favourite poem in the collection because it encompassed the concepts of fame, appearance, truth and the impact of celebrity that so affects many in society, but you’ll need to read Best of Poems to see if you agree that’s it’s your favourite too! 

About Peter Dean

Peter has been writing for pleasure and publication since 1989 when he had a poem published in a magazine. Since then Peter has self-published several books of stories and poems, and has had stories in magazines such as Dream Catcher, Dandelion Arts Magazine and Take a Break.

You’ll find all of Peter’s books here.