Poems That Make Grown Men Cry

📅 2014 ✏️ Anthony Holden and Ben Holden 📖 Simon & Schuster 📚 Followed by Poems That Make Grown Women Cry (2016)

ContemporaryThematicTestimonial21st CenturyAnthology-as-Interview

Poems That Make Grown Men Cry (2014), edited by father and son Anthony and Ben Holden, gathers poems selected by 100 notable men — writers, actors, scientists, and public figures — who each name a poem that moves them to tears, paired with a personal explanation. The anthology reframes poetry selection around lived emotional testimony rather than editorial or academic judgment.

Overview

Published by Simon & Schuster in 2014, Poems That Make Grown Men Cry was conceived by journalist and biographer Anthony Holden after a friend broke down attempting to recite Thomas Hardy's "The Darkling Thrush" during a personal crisis. Holden began asking male friends and literary contacts whether any poem could reduce them to tears — critic Frank Kermode instantly answered, "Go get the Larkin." The overwhelming, immediate responses convinced Holden and his son Ben to build an entire anthology around the question.

Contents and Structure

The book presents contributions from 100 men across literature, film, science, architecture, theatre, and human rights, ranging in age from their twenties to their eighties and representing twenty nationalities. Each contributor names a poem and writes a short personal reflection on why it moves them. Selections span the 16th to 21st centuries and include Whitman, Auden, and Larkin alongside contemporary poets like Billy Collins, Seamus Heaney, and Derek Walcott, plus international voices such as Pablo Neruda and Rabindranath Tagore.

Editorial Approach

Unlike traditional anthologies organized by period, movement, or theme, this collection is organized around the testimony of the selectors themselves — effectively an anthology built through structured interviews. This "anthology-as-interview" format foregrounds the emotional and personal function of poetry over its literary-historical placement.

Historical and Cultural Significance

The anthology intentionally challenged the cultural assumption that men do not cry over poetry, using well-known public figures to normalize emotional vulnerability. Its commercial success — an international bestseller — demonstrated strong reader appetite for anthologies organized around emotional confession rather than academic curation.

Legacy

The book's success led to a companion volume, Poems That Make Grown Women Cry (2016), extending the same testimonial format to 100 women. Together, the two volumes represent a distinctly 21st-century anthology model: crowdsourced emotional testimony as the organizing editorial principle.

Related Anthologies

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is Poems That Make Grown Men Cry?

Poems That Make Grown Men Cry (2014), edited by Anthony and Ben Holden, is an anthology in which 100 notable men each select a poem that moves them to tears and explain why, spanning the 16th to 21st centuries.

Is there a companion volume?

Yes. Poems That Make Grown Women Cry (2016) followed with 100 women selecting and reflecting on poems that move them.

How are the poems organized?

Rather than by period or theme, the book is organized around personal testimony — each contributor's chosen poem is paired with their own explanation of its emotional significance to them.

Last updated: 2026-07-01