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250 Poems: A Portable Anthology

Peter Schakel, Jack Ridl

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Editorial Review:

250 Poems offers a wide and well-balanced selection of chronologically arranged poems, supported by succinct, practical editorial features, at a great price.

This volume in Bedford/St. Martin’s popular series of Portable Anthologies and Portable Guides offers the series’ trademark combination of high quality and great value for teachers of literature and their cost-conscious students.

Rhyme's Reason: A Guide to English Verse

John Hollander

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Proves that rhyme can still be relevant 5 out of 5 stars.
9 of 10 people found this review helpful.

This is a clever and masterful book. The author demolishes the new fashional nonsense about rhyme being creatively passe. Rhyme is not necessarily restrictive or formulaic. It can still be powerful, enjoyable and richly expressive.

Not particularly useful 3 out of 5 stars.
8 of 15 people found this review helpful.

Bit too witty to learn anything. The author is too busy being cute to explain anything very well. Also, only marking stressed syllables only does half of the job of scansion; marking both stressed and unstressed syllables provides a complete visual aid for discerning meter. Add to that the author's party-line views on free verse and you have a rather lame book. Consider this a book-length version of Coleridge's horrible little piece on meter. Timothy Steele's All the Fun's in how you Say a Thing is much better.

Editorial Review:

In his classic text, Rhyme's Reason, the distinguished poet and critic John Hollander surveys the schemes, patterns, and forms of English verse, illustrating each variation with an original and witty self-descriptive example. In this substantially expanded and revised edition, Hollander adds a section of examples taken from centuries of poetry that exhibit the patterns he has described.

House of Belonging

David Whyte

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Truly wonderful, inspiring 5 out of 5 stars.
27 of 28 people found this review helpful.

This is one of my favorite books of poetry -- ever. Like many other reviewers have noted here, Whyte's poetry lacks that murky and inaccessible quality that so many modern poets seem to strive for, as if they DON'T want us to "get" what they are trying to say. Whyte's poetry, on the other hand, is accessible without being simplistic. These poems celebrate the art and craft of a careful writer and a deeply thoughtful soul -- and they invite us inside. I love this stuff.

Work that lacks the murky qualities of much poetry 5 out of 5 stars.
25 of 26 people found this review helpful.

We owe a debt of gratitude to David Whyte for work which lacks the obscure, murky, digressive qualities often associated with poetry and which are responsible for turning large segments of the reading public away from quality literature.

He writes with exquisite simplicity about life's monumental concerns: love, creativity, aloneness, beauty. These are the very things which, by virtue of their universality, should be easily perceptible, but which we have made endlessly complicated.

There is a pervasive, Zen-like aspect to Mr. Whyte's work. By following him back to the wild Yorkshire moors of his youth and forward to the vast potential of the land he adopted in adulthood, we are reminded to take note of each moment, to pay heed to even the most mundane articles of daily existence --- bees, trees, daisies, dishes, kettles --- because they are all facets of the ever-changing whole that is each life.

Whether dealing with the fullness of nature's many moods, or the long search for a special connection with another human being, his poems each hold at their core a lustrous pearl of truth.

He speaks to a generation now learning to accept the difficult, i.e., that not all dreams are possible but that new hopes can rise to take their place, that there is a continuance of life after what one believed to be an `only' love, and that solitude can be a genesis site for constructive activity, realization and joy.

Collected Poems

Anthony Thwaite

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 32 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Astounding 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Perhaps Larkin has been somewhat overlooked because he wrote in rhymed verse and the past century has been increasingly focused on free verse. I generally favor free verse, myself, but Larkin's skill at rhyme is such that it is always unobtrusive, never strained or forced, and sometimes.

But, his modernity is indisputable, combining, and perhaps exceeding, the humanity of Auden as well as the perspicacity of Eliot.

His is clearly a concise body of work, but it is large in its range and insight. Larkin's poems often express an thought or feeling that the reader will recognize as a part of his own experience, finally put into words with the utmost clarity. He played his "tennis" with the net, but remained distinctly modern.

A great poet, a great edition. 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I have only recently discovered the poetry of Larkin, and his work is insightful, droll, sometimes depressing, but always engaging. He was not afraid of rhyming and using strict meters, and his poems are often beautiful because of, not despite, these elements of traditional poetic craft. A worthy addition to any bookshelf of top-flight poetry.

Editorial Review:

A selection of poems, made by the author, to celebrate his 77th birthday.

The Poems of Dylan Thomas, New Revised Edition [with CD]

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

The most complete edition of the works of one of the twentieth century's greatest poets.

This new, revised edition of The Poems of Dylan Thomas is based on the collection edited by Thomas's life-long friend and fellow poet, Daniel Jones, first published by New Directions in 1971. Jones started with the ninety poems Thomas selected for his Collected Poems in 1952 (at a time when the poet expected that many years of work still lay ahead of him) and, after exhaustive research and consideration, added one hundred previously finished, though uncollected, poems (including twenty-six juvenile works), and two unfinished poems, and arranged them all in chronological order of composition, creating the most complete edition of Thomas's poems ever published.

This revised edition contains all the original material and incorporates textual corrections. Also included are an Introduction and concise notes by Daniel Jones, a brief chronology of the poet's life, and a compact disc containing vintage recordings of Thomas reading eight of his poems in his famous "Welsh-singing" style, making this edition of The Poems of Dylan Thomas a truly remarkable collection.

Idylls of the King

Alfred Tennyson

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 23 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Wow 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

This book is certainly a classic in all regards. I feel that every man alive in this day and age should read this to revive the idea of chilvary and bravery. Perhaps, it would alleviate some of the problems of our nation.

Not for the casual reader 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

The style of writting within this book differs greatly from what the casual reader is probably used to not only because of the poem format but the language as well. The Medieval style of speech is carried into this book and older words we dont hear any more are used as well. It takes a page or two to understand the flow. I did find this book interesting and very useful for my research into the Arthurian Legends but would not recommend it for casual reading.

A Gift Well Received 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I purchased this book for my seventeen year-old daughter, an avid reader of this genre and classics in general. Her reaction was very positive and was delighted that it also contained other work by Tennyson.

Editorial Review:

The longest and most ambitious work of his career, Idylls is a reflection of Tennyson's lifelong interest in Arthurian themes. His personification of Arthur, the highest ideal of manhood and leadership, is achieved through a delicacy of phrase and metrical effect that are unmatched.

Gerard Manley Hopkins: The Major Works (Oxford World's Classics)

Gerard Manley Hopkins

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Ah! Bright Wings 5 out of 5 stars.
17 of 19 people found this review helpful.

A great many people would like to read poetry, even recite some, but don't know where to start. Start here. Why? Hopkins is both easy to read and a unique voice. His "sprung rythm" results in a beat running all through the poem that has something in common with rock music and something else in common with beat poetry and something in common with rap. In short, it's poetry to be read out loud, exulting in the words and the wordplay.

Hopkins is too good to be hidden away in dusty tomes for English majors to drag out once in their careers. One of the early editors of the Oxford collection was Charles Williams, a fellow Inkling and friend of C.S. Lewis. His goal was to make Hopkins available to more readers, and later editors seem to have echoed this goal.

Almost everyone who reads him gets captivated by a favorite poem. Mine is "God's Grandeur", which begins: "The world is charged with the grandeur of God; it will fan out like shining from shook foil." I don't think "fan" is the right word here; I don't have the book handy and I'm reciting from memory. But that's my point; these are poems that bring back the joy of quoting a few lines here and there. Another great poem is "The Kingfisher". Then there is "The Binsey Poplars".

Another reason to dip into Hopkins is that he is so post-modern. He wrestled with the dark night of the soul, the topic of practically all contemporary alt-rock. His own journey led him to join a monastery and give up writing poetry, after which he was deeply sad. Wisely, his insightful director allowed and encouraged him to return to his calling, which in following he produced these amazing poems. This Oxford opens the door to what for many will be a new and delightful world, and if anyone can re-enchant poetry for our generation, it's Hopkins.

Editorial Review:

This authoritative edition brings together all of Hopkins's poetry and a generous selection of his prose writings to explore the essence of his work and thinking. Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-89) was one of the most innovative of nineteenth-century poets. During his tragically short life he strove to reconcile his religious and artistic vocations, and this edition demonstrates the range of his interests. It includes all his poetry, from best-known works such as "The Wreck of the Deutschland" and "The Windhover" to translations, foreign language poems, plays, and verse fragments, and the recently discovered poem "Consule Jones". In addition there are excerpts from Hopkins's journals, letters, and spiritual writings. The poems are printed in chronological order to show Hopkins's changing preoccupations, and all the texts have been established from original manuscripts.

Paradise Lost (Dover Giant Thrift Editions)

John Milton

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Cheap and well done 5 out of 5 stars.
8 of 8 people found this review helpful.

A heafty volume for a thrifty price. Good binding, clean & easy to read font and enough room in the margins for notes if you are a student. A great side item if you get the Dore' engravings of Paradise Lost [which are just quotes from the book and not the whole poem] and want to read more than just the famous lines.

Unabriged and yet small enough to get away with lugging around.

From the Publisher 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 8 people found this review helpful.

"'From almost the moment of its publication in 1667, Paradise Lost was considered a classic. It is difficult now to appreciate both how audacious an undertaking it represents, and how astonishing its immediate and continued success was. Over the course of twelve books Milton wrote an epic poem that would ''justify the ways of God to men,'' a mission that required a complex drama whose source is both historical and deeply personal. The struggle for ascendancy between God and Satan is played out across hell, heaven, and earth but the consequences of the Fall are all too humanly tragic--pride, ambition, and aspiration the motivating forces.' In this new edition derived from their Oxford Authors text, Stephen Orgel and Jonathan Goldberg discuss the complexity of Milton's poem in a new introduction, and on-page notes explain its language and allusions."

Editorial Review:

First published in 1667, Paradise Lost is considered to be the greatest epic poem in English literature. Its roots lie in the Genesis account of the world's creation and Adam and Eve's expulsion from Eden; it also references tales from the Metamorphoses, the Iliad and Odyssey, and the Aeneid. Notes by John A. Himes.

The Poems, Short Fiction, and Criticism of Samuel Beckett: Volume IV of The Grove Centenary Editions

Samuel Beckett

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Edited by Paul Auster, this four–volume hardcover set of Beckett's canon has been designed by award-winner Laura Lindgren. Available individually, as well as in a boxed set, these books are specially bound with covers featuring images central to Beckett's works. Typographical errors that remained uncorrected in the various prior editions have now been corrected in consultation with Beckett scholars C. J. Ackerley and S. E. Gontarski.

"[Beckett] settled on philosophical comedy as the medium for his uniquely anguished, arrogant, self-doubting, scrupulous temperament. In the popular mind his name is associated with the mysterious Godot who may or may not come but for whom we wait anyhow. In this he seemed to define the mood of an age. But his range is wider than that, and his achievement far greater. Beckett was an artist possessed by a vision of life without consolation or dignity or promise of grace, in the face of which our only duty is not to lie to ourselves. It was a vision to which he gave expression in language of a virile strength and intellectual subtlety that marks him as one of the great prose stylists of the twentieth century." — J. M. Coetzee, from his Introduction

Dylan Thomas: The Caedmon Collection

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Beginning in February 1952, Dylan Thomas made a series of memorable and historic recordings for a new record label called Caedmon. In fact, Dylan Thomas was the first to record for this new label, started by two 22–year–old women, Marianne Roney and Barbara Cohen. Little did they know that in addition to capturing a part of history they also launched an industry of spoken–word recording.

This collection not only contains the incredible Caedmon recording sessions, but also recordings from the BBC, CBC, and other archival material Caedmon originally published in the 1950s and 1960s.

Highlights include: "A Child's Christmas in Wales" and "Five Poems"; "Do Not Go Gentle Into that Good Night", his prose: Adventures in the Skin Trade and Quite Early One Morning, and his final work – Under Milk Wood, a play.

With stunning original album cover art, and an introduction read by former poet laureate Billy Collins, this unique collection includes not only Dylan Thomas reading his finest works, but also rare recordings of Thomas reading his favorite writers, including W.H. Auden and William Shakespeare.