A beautiful collection of poems to nourish, inspire and change the people who read them.

Here is poetry for those no longer being spoken to but speaking, no longer being looked at but looking, from the contemporary voices of Fiona Benson and Jane Yeh to the evocative imagery of Christina Rossetti, Anna Akhmatova and Emily Dickinson. Even the haunting voices of Sappho, Venmaniputti and Li Qingzhao sing out to us from across the centuries.

These poems span the worlds of desire and care, responsibility and work, family and friends. Their words empower us with strength and courage, fill us with verve and spirit, and inspire creativity and imagination. Here are poems written by women, with women's lives in mind. As Gertrude Stein writes, 'such a sweet singing' is in the poetry that comes to us clear and lovely from out of the dark.

Read these poems aloud. Remember them. Share them.