Poetry Says It Better

Ellen Burstyn won a Tony Award for her role in Same Time, Next Year (1974), is a six-time Oscar nominee, winning the Best Actress Award for Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974), and a six-time Emmy nominee, with one win for her guest role on Law & Order: SVU (2008-09). She has appeared on Broadway, off-Broadway, and regional theatre for more than five decades. Ellen is the co-president of the famed Actors Studio. In 2006, her memoir, Lessons in Becoming Myself, became a national bestseller. She also lectures around the country on a wide variety of topics.

"Burstyn's tender, graceful selections serve as ample evidence that a poem may inspire 'our day-to-day, moment-by-moment intention to be kind and to be conscious.' A generous, heartfelt gift." — Kirkus (STARRED review)"From Rumi to Wordsworth to Angelou, the poetry Burstyn celebrates here might save your life, too." — The Boston Globe"A thoughtfully curated walk through the heart-gallery of a creative titan. Reading Poetry Says It Better, one feels brighter, warmly accompanied, and better made." — Kaveh Akbar, New York Times bestselling author of Martyr!"Ellen is a poem, and Ellen has filled my life with poetry. I treasure every collection she sent me over the years because they always change me. Now to have an entire book on her inspirations! What a gift to the world." — Darren Aronofsky, Academy Award-nominated filmmaker"Ellen has done it again... This book is just what we need right now... when a collective numbing is at work in society—to be controlled... We must turn to free thinkers, history, artists... We must not allow the washing away of our hopes and dreams... We desperately need art... I’m so in love with this book." — Pamela Anderson, actress, model, and New York Times bestselling author of Love, Pamela"Indeed! Poetry does say it better! Ellen Burstyn reminds us that poetry is not merely read, it is lived. In these pages, her reflections feel like the warm recognition of an old friend who somehow knows the secret language of the heart... This book will accompany me everywhere!" — Marcia Gay Harden, Academy Award-winning actress"In Poetry Says It Better, Ellen Burstyn has assembled a thoughtful and passionate biographical anthology of poems that have shaped her life and given it depth and meaning... An invitation to readers to investigate poetry for themselves, and to recognize, in these dark times, just how central poetry is to cultivating awe and understanding in our own lives." — Todd Colby, poet and author of Splash State