Book review: ‘Days Like These’ by Brian Bilston

This is a fun idea for a book: a poem for every day of the year, each poem having something to do with the day in question. The poem might celebrate the birthday of a famous historical figure, or the anniversary of a historical event. It might even mark one of the (mostly) spurious national/international days of… so beloved of marketing departments, and media desperate for copy.

I’m no great judge of poetry, but I think it’s fair to say Brian Bilston wasn’t expecting to win any major awards for this collection, but was mainly aiming to entertain. With a few exceptions, the vast majority of these poems are humorous, with no serious message—and there’s absolutely no harm in that.

The poem that amused me the most in this collection was, perhaps, the shortest. Indeed, it was so short that I found I had inadvertently memorised it after a single reading. It was written to mark U.S. ‘National Battery Day’ (18th February):

Oh dear, what can the matter be?
My phone has run out of batt

I don’t expect the Nobel Committee will be calling Bilston any time soon, but, it might be argued, harmless fun like this deserves more recognition.