But I am a sucker for a vintage book. When I discovered A Little Treasury of Great Poetry on the Friends of the Library sale table, I snatched it up quicker than you could say "Tyger! Tyger! Burning bright..."
This anthology, which boldly promises to hold The Best Poems of Seven Centuries, was published in 1947. Its editor was Oscar Williams, himself a poet, although he was more well-known for his collections of others' poetry than his own.
What I like about this anthology, American and British poems ranging from Chaucer to Dylan Thomas, is that the works are divided into categories.
So we have Poetry of the Earth, Beginnings, Spirit of Man, Mortality, Snow, Auguries of Innocence, Time, Age and others. And finally there is the delightful section of humorous ditties, Jabberwocky.
In all there are 766 pages of long, short, narrative, and lyric poems; ballads; songs; and, passages from great plays. There is an index of authors and titles, an index of first lines, and lo, and behold, portraits of the poets. I just love looking at their faces! Only two females are featured in this gallery - Elizabeth Barrett Browning and the anthologist's wife, poet Gene Derwood.
The book is just the size to sit on my bedside table which may encourage me to pick it up and read a stanza or two before bed.
I kept thinking that Mr. Williams' name sounded familiar, so I searched my shelves and sure enough, I came across Immortal Poems of the English Language which he also gathered. It was given to me by a dear friend on my birthday (which just happens to be tomorrow - I hope there will be cake!) many years ago. To give you an idea of just how long ago, the little paperback cost seventy-five cents.
Are you reading any poetry these days?
Hello Belle,
ReplyDeleteGreat topic, I try to always have a poetry book among the current readings. I too like anthologies where its nice to flip through and experience new poets/poetry. My favourites I return to on a constant basis; Yates, Emily Dickinson, Patrick Kavanagh, John Clare and Seamus Heaney, but I have enjoyed discovering through similar anthologies (Good Poems by Garrison Keillor) and BBC “Poetry Please”; Billy Collins, D.H. Lawrence (big surprise how wonderful his poetry is compared to his prose!) Tony Harrison, Galway Kinnell etc., etc.,. Some prolific readers, who should know better, are intimidated by poetry, its sad but once the toe is dipped in the pond it will never be regretted. Don’t start with Beckett or Ezra Pound but find a poet you find accessible (Stevenson, Cerruth, Liesel Mueller etc) and never look back.
Ah, Tullik, I was hoping to hear from you on this topic. You have given me the names of many poets to explore. Thanks. I did pick up my new Treasury this morning and read Wordsworth's 'Intimations of Immortality'. It is one of my favorites.
DeleteI thought of you recently when at my Monday Afternoon Club (at the meeting which fell this year on St. Patrick's Day) we were treated to a reading of Seamus Heaney's "Digging". It is especially beautiful when read aloud! I just found a video of it being read by Mr. Heaney himself on YouTube. Wonderful.
I don't read much poetry these days, despite having written a lot of poetry and having some published many, many years ago. I'd rather write it than read it, oddly.
ReplyDeleteMore importantly - Happy Birthday! I hope there's lots of cake! Best wishes!
Hi, Joan. Thanks for the birthday wishes!
DeleteI, too, wrote some poetry years ago when I belonged to a writers' group we called the Noms de Plume. I think hearing poetry read aloud is the best way to experience it. I have a tendency to rush and want to read more than one or two poems at a time instead of simply sitting with the words of just one. It is difficult to slow down!
Yes, that's how I read it, too. We all feel so rushed these days and yet we miss so much!
DeleteMaybe it's not too late to slow down?
DeleteI am not a poetry reader either except for some childhood favorites my mother used to read to me. Reading poetry isn't on my "someday" list either. Never say "never" however.
ReplyDeleteHope you are having the happiest of birthdays!
Hi, Joyce. Thanks for the celebratory wishes. I am looking forward to having cake today!
DeleteHow lovely to have the memory of your mother reading poetry aloud to you. That is the best way to experience it I think which may be why I don't read poetry very often. Perhaps that will change. There are some delightful readings on YouTube. I will explore that source and see what I can find.
Sorry Belle I forgot to add sincere Birthday wishes!
ReplyDeleteJoyce's comment about her Mother reading poetry brought back some memories. My Mother (RIP) when the muse took her would stand on "the landing" as we called it, the common space between all the bedrooms (so all could hear) and recite from memory many Kipling poems and other very long poems such as "The Green Eye of the Little Yellow God" by J. Milton Hayes and Robert Service (the Yukon Poet), it was wonderfully entertaining, especially the ones that ended in a shoot-out or mystery, sleep was never a challenge after that, I owe her so much in my love for books ...thanks for the reminder Joyce!
What a delightful memory of your mother's enthusiasm! I will have to look up the poems of Kipling and the others she recited. Thanks, Tullik.
DeleteBelle, I'm so sorry I missed your birthday! I hope it was filled with wonderful books and plenty of cake!
ReplyDeleteI do like poetry, and always have ambitions of reading it every night before bed. I have several books of poetry on my nightstand: Mala of the Heart, edited by Ravi Nathwani and Kate Vogt; Late and Posthumous Poems by Pablo Neruda; and Mary Oliver's New and Selected Poems. I always enjoy reading poetry when I do it, but somehow I don't do it as often as I want to.
To add to Tullik's recommendations, my favorite way to dip a toe into the poetry pond is Poet's Choice: Poems for Everyday Life, selected and introduced by Robert Hass. I found several poets I really like in this collection and it inspired me to read poetry more often.
April is National Poetry Month, so your post is in good time for that!
Thank you, Kathy. Actually I had supper with the friend who gave me the book of poetry lo those many years ago. I was telling her how she and her gift showed up in this entry.
DeleteI will take your book recommendations to heart. "Poet's Choice" sounds particularly entrancing.
I didn't know about April being National Poetry Month. Another one of those literary coincidences that so often happen to me!