Poets, A-Z Books

101 Great American Poems (Dover Thrift Editions)

Edgar Allan Poe, Walt Whitman, Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, Emily Dickinson, T S. Eliot, Marianne Moore

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

Quite a Bang for Your Buck!.......... 4 out of 5 stars.
23 of 23 people found this review helpful.

............this small book of poetry contains the work of nearly forty of the best known American poets. From Emily Dickinson to Walt Whitman to Edgar Allan Poe to Robert Frost, there are poems in this collection that are sure to appeal to everyone! Also represented in this collection are ten women poets and eight African Americans including Paul Laurence Dunbar, Langston Hughes and Phyllis Wheatley. There's even a poem by Abraham Lincoln that reveals his thoughts about his childhood experiences.

This collection is a simple, inexpensive way to introduce oneself to the wonderful world of American poetry. Each poet is introduced with a short biography followed by his or her most memorable work. Great buy!

Editorial Review:

Rich treasury of verse from the 19th and 20th centuries, selected for popularity and literary quality, includes Poe's "The Raven," Whitman's "I Hear America Singing," as well as poems by Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, Emily Dickinson, T. S. Eliot, Marianne Moore, many other notables.

Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 72 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

The Enduring Master of the Macabre 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Edgar Allan Poe, born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 19, 1809, died October 7, 1849.

What is it that makes an author famous? I don't mean famous in the sense a news article reports that "Jack Greylea's novels sold 15 million copies last year," but in the sense that he is thought of as being profound, and seminal. That he is quoted, and scholars analyse his works, and he is looked upon as being the original voice of his style, or the font from which many imitators have drawn inspiration.

Edgar Allan Poe is one such. The very hint of his name calls up images of midnight graveyards, of crumbling mansions lit by wax candles, the home of strange and tormented aristocrats, till the description "Poe-like" can draw as vivid a picture in our minds as "elephant-like."

Yet his output was not great. Basically a short story writer and poet, he produced only one full-length novel, which received more censure than praise, and which very few people today can name. Without wishing to run him down as an author (what he did, he did well, but what he did well, was to be Poe) he was a limited writer, and all of his works over twenty-two years can be contained in one thickish book.
So what is the secret of Poe, whereby a scanty writer becomes the cult-centre of a world of horror that carries his own stamp? It lies I think in two things.

Not to place these two in any order of importance as regards his continuing fame - I leave this to you - but I would say....
Firstly, that it was his choice of subject and execution of it. The mournful, weird and macabre, in which man becomes little more than an instrument of darkness, and that usually the worst darkness, that which wells up from within, whose black light shows us as being not the pawns of evil, but the source of evil itself. But to seize on this idea - or any other idea - as inspiration is nothing, merely the starting point from which the quill hits the paper. It is in the execution of his vision that Poe's genius emerges. Not with a great deal of subtlety, nor a much complexity, but with great and disciplined fixity on the horror of his intentions, Poe moves relentless to the nasty culmination of his stories, and they come to us with all the rawness of unconsoled misery. His art was that of the short story writer, and as such he wrote little, but when reading Poe a little is more than enough.

Secondly, that Poe more than any other author is identified as a man with his works. An orphan and an outcast from his adopted family, overly sensitive and reckless, he lived wildly, lied readily, lived in poverty, married strangely to his thirteen-year old cousin, was widowed miserably, and finally died mysteriously at age forty, from uncertain causes that speculation has named as anything from drug addiction to murder. As if this were not enough, his works were controlled after his death by his executor, who attempted to blacken his name. More than any other author that I can readily think of, Poe was his own tormented, tragic hero, and his oppressed characters were him.

In the nineteen-sixties, several of Poe's stories and poems - The Pit and the Pendulum, The Masque of the Red Death, The Raven, The Tomb of Legeia and others - were made into popular, low budget films, cementing Poe's reputation firmly into the mythology of modern horror movies. It's common of course for movies to be nothing like the original written work, but all of these are based on not on fully worked out novels, but ideas that Poe dealt with in comparatively few pages.

Incidentally, the principal actor in many of these was Vincent Price, whose tall, mournful frame instantly springs to mind as well nigh inseparable from Poe's weird gems.

Graham Worthington, author, Wake of the Raven

Editorial Review:

Dark green book with yellow lettering on spine. DJ is not price clipped. Edition brings together all Poe's stories and poems in a single volume designed for easy readability as a permanent part of your home library. Jacket design by Reisie Lonette.

The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 40 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Disappointed in Maya Angelou's poetry 1 out of 5 stars.
5 of 8 people found this review helpful.

Maya Angelou is one of the weakest poets to be published in America. She writes drab, shallow prose puddles that seem more theater monologues. Her style equivalent to the average telephone conversation. Though a good actress, she doesn't seem capable of the multi-level metaphors, imagination or deep engagement.

Her work runs conversational, sleepy at best. A famous actress, however, her writing is weak, a surface which reflects almost nothing profound. What a horror to think Americans find in her writing even the slightest bit of literary prowess.

The uneducated reading public not familiar with great poetry like Elizabeth Bishop encounter Maya Angelou as a source of little more than sapid, over-done, monotone breathing exercises. Barely the stuff of literature.

Poor binding and overall physical book quality. NO reflection on the poetry. 2 out of 5 stars.
1 of 4 people found this review helpful.

I bought one for me and one as a gift, but the pages were uneven and the binding fragile with a dented cover on one of the two. For the price, I expected a sturdier book. I wonder if I just got defective ones. I've seen poorly made books sold at outlet bookstores. The two I received wouldn't last long before they fell apart.

I'm a huge fan of her work, so I'll be hitting the bookstores ASAP to find sturdier versions of the same collection.

Editorial Review:

Brought together for the first time here are all of Maya Angelou's published poems -- including "On the Pulse of Morning," her inaugural poem -- in a handsome hardcover edition.

A Child's Garden of Verses

Robert Louis Stevenson

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 30 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Step Back in Time 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

To wander through your childhood, as I recently did, I highly recommend Robert Louis Stevenson's, "A Child's Garden of Verses". The illustrations combined with the poetry reminded me of my first introduction to poetry. That early experience instilled a life long love of poetry in myself which I passed along to my children. My son has become "the family poet" so I purchased this volume for him for Christmas. Poetry conveys in a few eloquent words the emotions that no other form of writing can. We would be much poorer humans without this medium.

Editorial Review:

Here is a delightful look at childhood, written by master poet and storyteller Robert Louis Stevenson. In this collection of sixty-six poems, Stevenson recalls the joys of his childhood, from sailing boats down a river, to waiting for the lamplighter, to sailing off to foreign lands in his imagination. Tasha Tudor's watercolor paintings evoke a simpler time in the past, and celebrate two of the things she loves most -- children and nature. Her talents are the perfect match for these inspiring poems, making this a handsome gift edition that will be cherished by families for generations.

The Best American Poetry 2008: Series Editor David Lehman, Guest Editor Charles Wright (Best American Poetry)

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Writers Unite 5 out of 5 stars.
9 of 14 people found this review helpful.

This year the job was done very well. The works were pulled from unique sources regardless of the place (a theological review & the New York Review of Books etc.) & the writers were focused upon. John Ashbery is in this year's work as well as the entire Dark Room Collective. I saw Kevin Young's poem appear in Poetry & knew this would be included. They did a good crunch time job of uniting all the sources & strongest writers of our generation to pull together the best work. Kudos to Lehman & Wright.

Just a note: This is my third year buying the collection & it's the best I've seen, Gluck, Trethewey, Young, everyone basically.

I thought 2006 was dominated by Kay Ryan's poem.
I thought 2007 was focused upon "sounds" as opposed to word choice.

& this years collection is focused upon voice.

Editorial Review:

The Best American Poetry series is a beloved mainstay of American poetry. This year's edition was edited by one of the most admired and acclaimed poets of his generation, Charles Wright. Known for his meditative and beautiful observations of landscape, change, and time,Wright brings his particular sensibility to this year's anthology, which contains an ecumenical slant that is unprecedented for the series. He has gathered an astonishing selection of work that includes new poems by Carolyn Forché, Jorie Graham, Louise Glück, Frank Bidart, Frederick Seidel, Patti Smith, and Kevin Young and showcases a dazzling array of rising stars like Joshua Beckman, Erica Dawson, and Alex Lemon.

With captivating and revelatory notes from the poets on their works and sage and erudite introductory essays by Wright and series editor David Lehman, The Best American Poetry 2008 will be read, discussed, debated, and prized for years to come.

Phenomenal Woman: Four Poems Celebrating Women

Maya Angelou

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 16 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Great as a gift or for yourself 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

What a wonderful collection of poems celebrating women. This book of four very soulful, strong, empowering poems has quickly become a favorite. I would recommend this book as a gift for any woman. Or better yet, buy it for yourself - you won't regret it!

Uplifting Book for Women 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I heard Oprah recite the title poem at her workshop and had to have it. It is a great little book and would make a nice gift for a 'phenomenal woman'

Be Your Own Woman!! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Whether you are tall, thin, heavy, young, old, beautiful, ugly; we are all our own phenomenal woman!!!! Each of us has our own power within ourselves to shine and be our own wonderful person. Maya Angelou's own life, reaches within and brings us to this point with her words.

Editorial Review:

Maya Angelou, the bestselling author of On the Pulse of Morning, Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now, and other lavishly praised works, is considered one of America's finest poets. Here, four of her most highly acclaimed poems are assembled in a beautiful gift edition that provides a feast for the eyes as well as the heart. (Poetry)

The Pleasures of the Damned: Poems, 1951-1993

Charles Bukowski

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

To his legions of fans, Charles Bukowski was—and remains—the quintessential counterculture icon. A hard-drinking wild man of literature and a stubborn outsider to the poetry world, he wrote unflinchingly about booze, work, and women, in raw, street-tough poems whose truth has struck a chord with generations of readers.

Edited by John Martin, the legendary publisher of Black Sparrow Press and a close friend of Bukowski's, The Pleasures of the Damned is a selection of the best works from Bukowski's long poetic career, including the last of his never-before-collected poems. Celebrating the full range of the poet's extra-ordinary and surprising sensibility, and his uncompromising linguistic brilliance, these poems cover a rich lifetime of experiences and speak to Bukowski's "immense intelligence, the caring heart that saw through the sham of our pretenses and had pity on our human condition" (The New York Quarterly). The Pleasures of the Damned is an astonishing poetic treasure trove, essential reading for both longtime fans and those just discovering this unique and legendary American voice.

Love is a Dog From Hell

Charles Bukowski

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 34 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

The laughter of the mutilated who still need love 5 out of 5 stars.
24 of 36 people found this review helpful.

It's hard to think of a person less likely to
achieve posthumous fame than Charles Bukowski.
His poems don't scan or rhyme, they're imposs-
ible to memorize and the stories that they
tell repeat themselves like a whisky drinker
around 1:30 in the morning. In fact, you could
write a decent-sized essay on why nobody
should ever remember Bukowsky.

And yet. . .

There have been two movies based on his life
and work. His name hasn't exactly become an
adjective: 'Bukowskian' doesn't scan any
better than his poems, but he is certainly a
reference point in the literary imagination of
our time. If someone says "he's a Charles
Bukowski kind of guy" you get an image, bright
and clear like it came from cable TV.

So why? Why hasn't this guy been consigned to
the trash heap of misanthropic/misogynistic,
narcissistic drunks with no sense of rhythm?

Well, for staters, look at the title of this
review. There are enough people who see them-
selves as 'the mutilated who still need love'
to forgive any poet who came up with a line
like that.
Then there's this, from a poem about people
who call him asking for advice about a
literary career:

...they think I have held back my
secret.

I don't write out of
knowledge.
when the phone rings
I too would like to hear words
that might ease
some of this.

that's why my number's
listed.

Now that last poem, called 462-0614
is the one with the bookmark in my copy
of Love is a Dog. Little stuff like that,
small marks of compassion and vulnerability
that you have to dig for, that's a big
part of why we're still reading him today.

In a more general, story-telling sense he is,
like Billy Collins, the master of the double-
back and bite-you-on-the-butt technique of
spinning a very short tale and that's a very
addictive quality in a poet.

Of course, another reason that we're
reading Bukowsky today is that John
Martin out of Santa Rosa, CA sold his
collection of first editions and founded
Black Sparrow Press to publish guys like
this.

So, if you keep a few volumes of poetry
beside the bed, here's one to keep whenever
you need to be reminded that mutilation
leaves scars and that under the scars, the
mutilated need love too.


--Lynn Hoffman, author of THE NEW SHORT COURSE IN WINE and
the forthcoming novel bang BANG from Kunati Books.

Editorial Review:

Description not available

The Portable Dorothy Parker (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)

Dorothy Parker

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 13 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Get the earlier edition, if you can find it 2 out of 5 stars.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful.

I'm one of those who, like some other reviewers, has worn out at least three copies of the earlier edition and found this one to be the only new one available. It's not as good as the earlier one.

Although some of the new materials are welcome, many of the insightful and very funny reviews from the last third of the book are missing in this version. What happened to the review of Sinclair Lewis's _The Man Who Knew Coolidge_, "Mr. Lewis Lays It on with a Trowel," which gives a portrait of the age as well as an accurate, if savage, picture of the book? Or the hilarious review of Lou Tellegen's _Women Have Been Kind_? ("Mr. Tellegen is one who kisses, among other things, and tells.")

Those aren't reviews of "dusty tomes," as one reviewer put it, but significant articles for those interested in Parker or twentieth-century literature.

In short, some of the strongest material has been deleted. Those who want to see the real genius of Parker's work need to purchase the earlier edition, too.

Edited to correct an error: The statement attributed to Tellegen above, which I'd included from memory, is actually from "An American Du Barry," a review of Warren G. Harding's mistress Nan Britton's account of her affair with Harding.

From the review: "The book bears the subtitle _Revealing the Love-Secret of President Harding_, which is but a mild statement. For when Miss Britton gets around to revealing, Lord, how she does reveal. She is one who kisses, among other things, and tells. An attempt was made to suppress the book. The author states, in one of her prefaces, that 'six burly policemen' (on the day that that man bites that dog, another front-age item is going to concern a policeman who is not burly) 'and John S. Sumner, agent for the Society for the Suppression of Vice, armed with a 'Warrant of Search and Seizure,' entered the printing plant where the making of the book was in process. They seized and carried off the plates and printed sheets.' 'Lady,' you want to say to the author, 'those weren't policemen; they were critics of literature dressed up.'"

Editorial Review:

The second revision in sixty years, this sublime collection ranges over the verse, stories, essays, and journalism of one of the twentieth century’s most quotable authors.

Oscar Wilde's Wit and Wisdom: A Book of Quotations (Dover Thrift Editions)

Oscar Wilde

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

Thin small and funny 4 out of 5 stars.
20 of 20 people found this review helpful.

Everyone knows OW was a witty guy.

If you want to find witty things he said in one small book such that you can try to emulate his wit, this book is for you.

It's good for an hour's read where you will snicker, snort, and grin.

It's exactly what i expected and exactly what I got. Whee!

Unparalleled Wit & Wisdom 5 out of 5 stars.
18 of 18 people found this review helpful.

"I can resist everything except temptation."
"There is no sin except stupidity."
"It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances."
"It is always with the best intentions that the worst work is done."

These laconic aphorisms are just the tip of the iceberg of Wilde's impressive, yet oftentimes eclectic and nihilistic, use of the English language. Dover gives us 60 pages of brilliant witticisms and axioms to use over and over again for a mere dollar. You can't go wrong. Also recommended - Dover's Shakespeare quotes book for a dollar. Enjoy.

Editorial Review:

Epigrams, aphorisms, and other bon mots gathered from the celebrated wit’s plays, essays, and conversation offer an entertaining selection of observations both comic and profound. Organized by category, the nearly 400 quotes range in subject from human nature, morals, and society to art, politics, history, and more. A superb compilation, ideal as both an introduction to Wilde and as a treat for devotees.