Poetry Books

Dog lovers will enjoy this book, and will also enjoy "August Magic" and "Heart of the Savannah" by Veronica Anne Starbuck. These two must-reads will be treasured additions to your canine library!

I know Dr. Villalobos from working at the animal clinic in Hermosa Beach, CA, and she does a wonderful job of capturing the bond between pets and their owners in this book. She is such a hardworker and her love for animals is apparent through her work in the oncology field.

I would recommend this book to anyone who has lost a beloved pet, or as a gift to someone who has. If you want to show you care without saying a word, give this book. In the privacy of their grief they will read this book and know that you understand what they are going through. Even more, they will know that many many people have come before us who have gone through the same hell.

i have just bought a second copy to send to a friend who needs to say farewell to her beloved jack russell for awhile. the poems are beautiful...i especially love "the house dog's grave", which just might be my favorite poem of all time.

i use this book frequently to quote passages for friends who have lost their dogs...and i cannot read it without crying. it's very comforting to know that people have felt the same way about their dogs over many years......beautiful, beautiful!

There comes a time in every dog owner's life when you look down at the furball by your feet and come to the realization that this is no longer just your pet; this is your friend. Dogs surpass human beings in just about everything: from sense of smell to hearing, from loyalty to love. A dog's capacity to love is something profound; they want nothing more than to be accepted, to please you and to be loved in return. "Angel Pawprints" showcases some beautiful poems about this love which dogs have for centuries offered and received. Laurel E. Hunt edited some great pieces, including works by such famous poets as Rudyard Kipling and William Wordsworth. (My personal favorite is "So Long, Pal" by Ethel Blumann.)

One does not by any means have to have lost a canine companion to enjoy the works presented in this book. If you have ever loved a dog so selflessly, unconditionally, and faithfully, then all of these pet memorials will speak to you, even if you cannot comprehend the depth of the poets' pain. If you have lost a good friend in the past, this book could possibly be a fine method of therapy to help you feel better about everything. (It helped me when my friend of 12 years died.) "Angel Pawprints: Reflections on Loving and Losing a Canine Companion" is, in a nutshell, just a really great way of honoring your dog's memory and love. It may cause some tears but it'll get you through.

CJ Heck has really touched on the important issues that perplex and interest children from three to ninety-nine. Her concise but child-like style embodies much wisdom in her seemingly effortless story telling in the form of poetry. Her poems are geared to be understood by a child, yet the content reveals subjects that a child will wonder about, but not be able to be fully addressed by a child. The poem, Grandmother's Apron is especially pertinent. The poem is about death and explains the pain of losing someone close to you, but in such a reassuring way. Many of the other poems are whimsical and care-free like Barking Spiders, but addressing only the lighthearted things won't carry a child into adulthood. CJ Heck knew that, so she mixed all aspects of growing up into a wonderful blend of poems.

You cannot afford to pass this book by. It is well worth the cost and a must have in your child's library.

CJ Heck has published an incredibly creative and FUN book! My husband and I sat for hours sharing and laughing out loud... and then we shared it will our sons. All three, ages 5, 8 & 10, absolutely loved the great rhyming stories and silly illustrations. We can't wait for another book by CJ Heck!

Hi everyone! I'm CJ, the author of "Barking Spiders". I would like you to know, autographed books are available through me. I ship within two days and I include extra gifts with every order, too. Just click on the "New and Used Books" link to order. No extra fees, no waiting.

Thank you -- may you always see the world through the eyes of a child!
Hugs,
CJ

REVIEW FOR "BARKING SPIDERS,"

Once in awhile an author comes along with a truly delightful children's book. CJ Heck, author of "Barking Spiders and other such stuff" has been able to reach into the child within all of us. Her poems lead us through the inquisitive minds of children everywhere! The imagination in her poems is enlightening, witty, funny and sometimes sad. The wisdom through her work is woven together in a way that each poem tells a story that is both honest and clear.

This book captured my attention until the very last page, therefore telling me that it is a must for every household. What child wouldn't want to know what a "Barking Spider" is? What do they do? What adult wouldn't want to know either? I enjoy how CJ Heck is able to take a simple action such as a child brushing one's teeth and transpire it into a poem delivering a message of family, knowledge, and above all that ANY subject is worth noting! She has been able to go down to the level of a child without losing her adult perspective. Each poem has a simple message that tells a child that no question is silly.

What is really exciting about "Barking Spiders" is the way poems are introduced to children. What a wonderful teaching tool for any class! It is great to peak the interest of youngsters today and I would have to say "Barking Spiders" most certainly delivers.

Dorothy Krusky, Canada
Author of "The Christmas Cat" a children's Christmas story. 2005
"Life's Ride - A Journal of Poems 2007

CJ Heck touches on some things I don't remember reading in children's poems or stories. I like how, from a child's perspective, she articulates their thought processes which are not that much different than adults with the exception of conclusions drawn. I found the book funny, entertaining, and sweet. One of my favorites is "Just Like Me", a poem about identity, with a great humorous last line. "Waiting" is another one of my favorites and is so universal whether you are a child or adult. I thought "Monkey Me" was very funny and true. Overall, I'm glad I have the book and will read it to my friend's children and my own someday. It would be fun to get their reaction.

They enter the new world naked,
cold, uncertain of all
save that they enter. All about them
the cold, familiar wind--

--from William Carlos Williams's
Spring and All (1923)

Looking at Sandro Botticelli (1444-1510)'s Birth Of Venus (ca. 1482), one can actually feel the fresh and fragrant breeze, the golden light, the bounty; the Italian painter is approaching 40 when he paints this. Reading Wallace Stevens (1879-1955)'s "The Paltry Nude Starts On A Spring Voyage" from Harmonium (1923), one senses a mind utterly quirky, brisk, assured; the American poet is in his early 40's.

This collection lacks 22 poems which appeared in "The Palm at the End of the Mind", Holly Stevens carefully edited selection highly approved of by Harold Bloom. Missing are "Of Mere Being", "A Child Asleep in Its Own Life" and "For an Old Woman in a Wig" to name but three. It leaves out the added lines of "The Man Whose Pharynx Was Bad". It lacks an index of first lines. If you're going to buy a book of Stevens' poems spend the extra $10 and get the magnificent Library of America "Collected Poetry and Prose" which contains EVERYTHING, is a huge bargain and will keep you occupied for the rest of your life. Or possibly get Holly Stevens "The Palm at the End of the Mind" which eliminates a lot of lesser poems which could confuse a newcomer to Stevens. The Vintage people have thrown this together without much thought. It's better than nothing, but the other two books I have named are the one's to get.

"Her terrace was the sand/And the palms and the twilight" -- and those are only the first two lines. Dipping into surrealism and imbued with spirituality, his poetry is compiled into "The Collected Poems of Wallace Stevens," which includes seven compilations of his work.

Over his lifetime, Stevens wrote several books of poetry, but his exquisite poems are best taken by themselves: the lush grandeur of "Sunday Morning," the hymnlike "Le Monocle De Mon Oncle," and the humid grittiness of "O Florida, Venereal Soil." He takes multiple looks at "Thirteen Ways of Looking At A Blackbird," and the lush "Six Significant Landscapes."

In other poems, Stevens dips into outright surrealism, like in the delicate "Tattoo" ("There are filaments of your eyes/On the surface of the water/And in the edges of the snow"), and also adds a meditative bent into "The Snow Man" ("For the listener, who listens in the snow,/And, nothing himself, beholds/Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is").

If nothing else, Stevens' poetry can be read just because it is exquisitely beautiful. He lavished details all over almost every poem he wrote, and gave many of them the quality of a dream. His descriptions are simply written, but brilliantly laid out: "When my dream was near the moon,/The white folds of its gown/Filled with yellow light."

His style tends to be a bit on the ornate side -- Stevens freely uses the more exotic terms -- such as "opalescence," "pendentives" and "muleteers" -- wrapped up in complex verse, sometimes with a rhyme scheme and sometimes free-form. And lush detail is added to many of his poems, with descriptions of the moon, sun, plants and lighting, along with dazzling descriptions of the colors.

But his writing is more than beautiful. Stevens' work often poses questions about death, life, religion, and art, taking the conventional and turning it on its head. His belief in the importance of his art is reflected in poems like "Not Ideas About The Thing But The Thing Itself," which ends with the portentous lines: "Surrounded by its choral rings,/Still far away. It was like/A new knowledge of reality."

Wallace Stevens is one of the most unique poets of the 20th century, and the sprawling "Collected Poems of Wallace Stevens" is a wonderful read.

Wallace Stevens is my favorite poet. This collection was prepared late in his life and is in a sense definitive, though the excellent Library of America collection is to be preferred as including a number of additional poems (including the controversial long poem "Owl's Clover"), as well as alternate versions of some poems, juvenilia, and also Stevens's essays.

Stevens is known, it seems to me, in two separate ways. In the popular sense, he is known for a series of remarkable early poems, in most cases not terribly long, notable for striking images and quite beautiful prosody. Of these poems the most famous is surely "Sunday Morning" -- other examples are "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird", "Peter Quince at the Clavier", "Sea Surface Full of Clouds", "Tea at the Palaz of Hoon", "The Emperor of Ice Cream", "The Idea of Order at Key West", "Of Modern Poetry". The great bulk of these come from his first collection, Harmonium, and indeed from the
first edition of Harmonium, published in 1923. These were certainly my favorite among his poems on first reading. And they remain favorites.

But his critical reputation rests strikingly on a completely different set of poems, all later than those mentioned above. (Though it must be acknowledged that at least "Sunday Morning" and "The Idea of Order at Key West" as well as two early long poems, "The Comedian as the Letter C" and "The Monocle de Mon Oncle", are in general highly regarded critically. And that most of his early work is certainly treated with respect.)

I think it's fair to say that "late Stevens" begins with "Notes Toward a Supreme Fiction", perhaps his most highly regarded work. Of course the terms "late" and "early" are odd
applied to Stevens. His first successful poems appeared in 1915
(including "Sunday Morning"), when he was 36. He was 44 when the first edition of Harmonium came out. That's pretty late for "early"! And by the 1942 publication of "Notes Toward a Supreme Fiction" he was 63. Indeed, his production from 1942 through his death in 1955 was remarkable: two major collections each with several long poems as well as at least another full collection worth of late poems, some included in this _Collected Poems_ but quite a few more not collected until after his death.

What to say about late Stevens? The most obvious adjective is
"austere". But that doesn't always apply -- he could also be quite playful. However, there is never the lushness of a "Sunday Morning" or "Sea Surface Full of Clouds" in the late works. The sentences tend to extraordinary length, but the internal rhythms are involving. The poems are all quite philosophical, much concerned with the importance of poetry, the nature of reality versus perceptions of reality, and, perhaps more simply, with growing old. (A Stevens theme, to be sure, that can be traced at least back to "The Monocle de Mon Oncle".)

So: Stevens is an impossibly wonderful, remarkable, poet, either early or late. His lush and imagist early work remains a delight, and his philosophically involving late work rewards rereading and concentration. He is a poet to whom you can return again and again, and he will always be new.

Stevens is for me the great American poet of the twentieth century.
His music is the supreme music of poetry . Not since Keats is there anyone as rich in the most elaborate kind of longworded poetry.
His metaphysical meanderings may confuse but somehow find themselves justified by the memorableness of the great lines- and again the music.
No one comes close to him in the kind of deep and complicated beauty he presents- and again the music.
The meanings he makes are musical meanings, and the sounds of his lines sing in us ever more strongly , the more we read and reread.
Stevens is the kind of poet we want to memorize and always have with us inside, so wherever we go , we can stop and to ourselves recite lines of beauty in joy.
I may be wrong but I simply hear his poetry as the greatest America has had in the twentieth century - though lesser than Whitman and Dickinson.

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock is T.S. Eliot at his best. He depicts an entire generation by painting a beautiful and tragic image of the one main character. Eliot's words are both flowing and concise, which is no small feat, and his metaphors and allusions are well chosen and relevant. This poem is absolutely worth reading several times over.


T.S. Eliot's The Wasteland is like the fourth season of Family Guy. It's more of the same from a source that has produced quality work in the past, but falls short this time. Family Guy and T.S. Eliot are each known for their strange connections; T.S. Eliot once compared a skyline to a patient etherized on a table, and Family Guy once compared Ronald Reagan to a toaster. However, in both the newest season of Family Guy and The Wasteland, the randomness gets confusing and just not worth it. Here is how to write a poem like The Wasteland. Copy and paste an introduction and a conclusion from an alternative religion book, come up with some outside the box metaphors, and fill the rest in with pirated foreign literature.

--Ian M.

While I am only an amateur when it comes to poetry, I believe this collection will satisfy any reader looking for a stimulating and engaging experience. I was introduced to T.S. Eliot in my high school English class and read only two of his poems from this collection: one, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and two, The Wasteland. If I had more time to spend with these poems and really analyze them, I would get even more out of them.

TS Eliot portrays an intriguing setting in The Wasteland. He alludes to various religions and gods. In particular, Eliot portrayed a modern European society lacking a sense of unity and control. He makes eccentric references to anything from religious structures, blooming flowers, praised figures, historical events, and influential European cities. After reading this poem, I highly recommend reading the novel The Road, by Cormac McCarthy. This piece by McCarthy was strongly influenced by this particular poem.

Who is Prufrock? In Eliot's, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, he depicts a modern middle-aged man who is very self-conscious; he does not dare speak of love to a woman, which is ironic to the poem's title. The poem epitomizes the frustration and self-consciousness in any human being, which makes it easy to relate to the character. What reader does not enjoy finding familiar satire between the lines of a love poem?

Eliot also references Shakespeare's Hamlet in The Love Song, alluding to his personal insecurity and mental weaknesses, as well as his incapability to handle love appropriately.

Though this is only a small window into T.S. Eliot's assorted collection, I hope I can give you an apposite perspective on his engaging work. I recommend reviewing this collection and strongly encourage spending time with these particular pieces.

Faber and Faber has recently announced they will print "The Complete Prose of T.S. Eliot" in a gargantuan seven-volume set!

Also announced the much anticipated, eagerly awaited second volume of Letters of T.S. Eliot: 1898-1922 edited by Mrs. Valerie Eliot, as well as a completely revised edition of the first volume which will include nearly 200 letters that has surfaced since the initial printing!

Both the seven-volume set and the second edition letters are due out late 2008.

To the all the Eliot nuts out there, this is good news. To those who have not read Eliot's Selected Essays, they are as affecting as his poetry, as important as Johnson, Arnold, and Coleridge in their times.

His language is effortless in its flow and it is conducive to deep meditation in its style. After reading 'Prufrock', and the 'Hollow Men' I got the sense that this is something truly withstanding and classic - one of our bards of the 20th century.
Only a handfull of modern poets stick in my mind - Elliot, Cummings, Rilke, and Yeats are among them!

I'm not at all rating this book five stars; that's my rating for T.S. Eliot's plays. This book was the typical library edition and has everything wrong with it: the cover of an old, wise Eliot (why not a young maverick one?), "Complete" in the title when it's not at all complete, big, heavy, hardback and way too literary looking for the passing reader to crack the cover.

But look how much T.S. Eliot you already know. The Wasteland may be a maddingly obscure poem sequence built around a book by Jessie Weston, but Pete Townshend used the idea in a song: "Teenage Wasteland." You know from another song that T.S. Eliot, in "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" said that life was measured out in coffee spoons. We all know that Old Possum's Book of Practical...plays out dramatically in a musical titled for the last word of that book...Cats. You could have tackled (or rather relaxed with) his most famous poem sequence, Four Quartets and the accompanying readers' guide by Thomas Howard.

But for all those bits of poetic imagery, you still might not stumble on the plays. I've never seen one of Eliot's plays put on, but they make wonderful reading. As an astute reviewer suggested, don't get this volume, which leaves out two of the five plays (or six if you include "Choruses from the Rock," which is not among the best). That reviewer also provided the helpful advice to track down the Faber edition which really does have all the plays. Some of them, notably Murder in the Cathedral, are available in single editions. But don't miss The Confidential Clerk, The Cocktail Party and The Elder Statesman for a great reading experience.

The only other play I know that reads this well is J. M. Barrie's original play of Peter Pan. Murder in the Cathedral is notable because it falls in the Church of England (Anglican) tradition of putting on plays at the Canterbury Festival. Charles Williams also wrote plays related to this event (Thomas Cranmer of Canterbury), as did Dorothy L. Sayers (The Zeal of Thy House, The Devil to Pay). All of which is to say that there is a lot of great dramatic writing to be rediscovered as reading as well as performance (see also my review of Christopher Fry's plays A Phoenix Too Frequent and The Lady's Not for Burning). Many Sayers readers are also aware that she wrote the first radio play for the BBC on the life of Jesus (and updated it to common language), as well as essays on her experience dealing with the Gospel accounts in dramatic form. The best known of these is "The Dogma is the Drama," available in various collections.

It's amazing how soothing just reading William Blake's poetry is on the troubled soul. I always look for his work to ease my mind and lift my spirit. Everyone should treat themselves to his work. Peace be with you.

A wonderful paperback edition, containing all the works of
William Blake, with a excellent introduction
of Harold Bloom. An priceless tool for students
and teachers

This is an outstanding resource for anyone interested in the works of William Blake. It's well organized and easy to work with. I'm very pleased with it.

What to write for my last review? That was tough. Since I was a little boy I have always been one of those who had his face in a book. Books, books, books. When I began my jobs as a paperboy, and later at the grocery store, I began buying books. This hobby grew so large, that my father made our rumpus room a library for me. And it grew ever larger. By the time I enlisted in the Air Force, I had amassed quite a large number of volumes. While in Europe and the Middle East, I would scour book stores and began purchasing leather books. Some very old, and many in foreign languages. Since the Air Force only allowed for a 5,000 lb limit, I spent a fortune sending books home. When I left the service my house looked like a library. Running out of space, I began to make my garage a library. However, it grew ever larger. Therefore, I made use of my brothers garage, then my mothers, and eventually even had to make due with having to rent a few storage spaces.

Yes, it's that large. I was hoping to make a large home library some day. Books have been my life: Even though I write mostly about Asian films. And I was glad that VHS films came into vogue, as they afforded me the opportunity to begin amassing a large collection of Japanese films which I have a soft heart for. That got real big too! Anyway, back to the question as to what to write for my last review? Well, I just happened to stumble across this book last night, one of many. There is a poem by the gifted and enigmatic poet, engraver and painter William Blake. I do recommend the book by the way. Events in my life have gone in a very negative way, therefore, I have decided to impart a poem as my last review. Hope you like it. It's one I have remembered from my childhood. There are too many great things to write about, and I figured this would not be a bad goodbye. It is William Blake's "THE TYGER"

THE TIGER

Tiger, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare seize the fire?

And what shoulder and what art
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand and what dread feet?

What the hammer? What the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? What dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears,
And water'd heaven with their tears,
Did He smile His work to see?
Did He who made the lamb make thee?

Tiger, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?


William Blake (1757-1827)

It has all his writings: letters, anotations scribbled in the margins of other people's books, everything. Only downside: it doesn't show his illuminated printing.

This is a great book for littlies and big kids alike. I love reading to children and this book is so much fun I felt I needed it for my home collection. Enjoy!Cows in the Kitchen

This is an adorable farm book with a twist- the language is predictable so young children can easily sing/read along. If you have puppets (or a little toy farm)kids love to act out the story too.

This is the cutest book. All the kids just love it, from 1-5 years. You can sing the words to the book to the song "Skip to my lou" There is a cute little white mouse hiding on every page. The kids can't get enough of it!

My two-year-old is CRAZY about this catchy, colorful book. Not only is it populated with silly, misbehaving animals playing tricks on Tom Farmer, and written to the rhythm of a song, but there's a little mouse hiding on every page. It would be appropriate for kids 1 years +.

This is one of my favorite books to read to my preschool class. They learn the book quickly and love to chant along with it. The children also love to search for the mouse on each page.

I grew up with Eloise Wilkin's Golden Books so when I saw this collection in the store I was very pleased. I ended up not buying it at the time and when I went back a few months later they weren't carrying it anymore. I was so happy to find it on Amazon. I bought it for my 4 year old daughter's birthday and she has quickly made it her favorite story book. The illustrations, as usual are amazingly beautiful! The stories are classic and unlike so many other story books, I don't have to edit any of the content. ( I often see what or shut up, ect in children's books and change it to please be quite or yes mam, ect) I love that the stories are simple enough that my 8 year old enjoys reading them to her little sister at bedtime. This book goes everywhere with us and suprisingly my 4 year olds favorite story is Busy Timmy. Her favorite books as a baby were Good Night Moon and The Big Red Barn which Eloise Wilkin also did so I went on the hunt for more of her books and was very surprised at how many of my favorite child hood stories were attributed to her.

Both my 5-yr old and my 2 1/2yr old girls love this book! So simple, and beautiful pictures!

I gave this book to my daughter on her 2nd birthday and for over 7months now it has been one of her favorite books she has her Nonna read her "Busy Timmy" everyday and when its time for my daughter to do things on her own like use her potty or eat if you remind her that Timmy does them she just can't wait to do them as well! This book is a treasure for any toddlers library!

I love this book. I grew up with "We Help Mommy". It brought back memories and tears!

Eloise Wilkin Stories (Little Golden Book Treasury)
The sub-title says Little Golden Book Treasury and treasury is an appropriate title. This book is a treasure! Each of the 209 pages is a delight! The pages have a sentimental familiarity for me as I can remember relishing them as a child, reading them to my children, and now sharing them with my grandchildren. The reproduction is excellent- much better than some other publishers are offering- each detail still intact altho some of the images are as old as 1948. I heartily recommend this edition to anyone who enjoys the peaceful beauty of Eloise Wilkin's illustrations!

"I became saturated with his poetry and began to translate his poems. Although there were many beautiful existing translations, many others did not flow as I felt they should and I often had interpretive differences with them." ~ Mark Eisner, translator

"The Essential Neruda Selected Poems" is the best translation I've read so far. The words are alive with beauty in a way that feels authentic to the heart. You can immerse yourself in the poems and emerge with a sense of wonder.

"Leaning into the evenings I throw my sad nets
to your ocean eyes."

Mark Eisner has captured the soul of Pablo Neruda's art and perhaps even enhanced the creative majesty of each poem. At times the poems can make you feel a little breathless as if you have happened upon a new discovery or secret revelation.

"And the air came in with orange-blossom fingers
over all those asleep:
a thousand years of air, months, weeks of air,
of blue wind, of iron cordillera,
that were like soft hurricanes of footsteps
polishing the lonely boundary of the stone."

The imagery is at times so vivid, as if you were transported to each scene. Pictures flash across your mind and you can almost catch the scent of the ocean or see the colors vivid and pure. Angels and death dance through the poems with equal ease and at times the words are heavenly or earthy and dark.

"Full woman, carnal apple, hot moon,
thick smell of seaweed, crushed mud and light,
what obscure clarity opens between your columns?
What ancient night does man touch with his senses?"

If you are new to the poems of Pablo Neruda then this would be an excellent place to start. The poems present many facets of the poet unlike other books that simply reveal his romantic nature. While I seem to enjoy his love poems best, I can say that this experience gives a more wide-ranging portrait of Pablo Neruda.

~The Rebecca Review

I got The Essential Neruda when it came out in 2004. I already loved Neruda, and have the old Selected Poems edition (which unfortunately ends at 1968, and some of the translations are just plain flat) plus the 20 Love Poems, Residence on Earth, Canto General, and some of the odes. But the translators here (former US Poet Laureate Robert Hass just won the Pulitzer!) just bring Neruda so alive, and the selection of poems just captures his whole range of 'the many Pablos'. So when I came here today to buy one as a gift, I'm pleased by the reviews of how great an introduction to Neruda it is, but I want to stress how great it is as a book to keep going back to again and again. Actually, to quote the great writer Ariel Dorfman on the back cover of the book:

"What beter way to celebrate the hundred years of Neruda's glorious residence on our earth than this selection of crucial works - in both languages! A splendid way to being a love affair with out Pablo or, having already succumbed to his infinite charms, revisit him passionately again and again and yet again."

Gorgeous work. Neruda is my all time favorite. A beautiful book to give as a gift or to get some started with Neruda.

This would be my first introduction to Pablo Neruda, and I must say I'm a bit disappointed. Not that Neruda isn't a great poet, the Nobel Prize and critical acclaim prove the contrary, but perhaps the translation could use some more work.

I picked this copy up noticing the name of Robert Hass', the translator and author of the Essential Haiku, on which he did a great job. Unfortunately, Eisner is the editor of the majority of the poems. The analogy to Eisner's translation would be like what Zondervan did to the bible in their NIV. It's not a bad translation, but it's moderned up a bit. I would have appreciated a more King James-like translation of Neruda's poems as I could infer a lot of missed nuances that appear to be in the original Spanish on the opposite page. A lot of the translations lack the depth and texture of what a great poet should have, and sometimes it feels like I'm reading a different poet altogether.

For instance, a line "Hermano, hermano!" is translated as "Hermano, hermano!" in the English, though it could have plainly been have translated as "Brother, brother!" considering the second "hermano" is not capitalized. Perhaps this was Neruda's original intent, but there is no way to tell as there are no footnotes.

Poetry is about texture, a poet's voice, and brilliance in how the artist uses his words to paint; this translation doesn't do enough to convey the voice of Neruda, but merely makes it accessible to new readers of not only Neruda, but also poetry.

Neruda has given us some of the most incredibly poignant poetry of our time. Do yourself a favor; buy this collection.

Love on your mind? Read TWENTY LOVE POEMS: 15 --- "I like it when you're quiet."



"I like it when you're quiet. It's as if you weren't here now, and you heard me from a distance, and my voice couldn't reach you.

It's as if your eyes had flown away from you, as if your mouth were closed because I leaned to kiss you."

The title of the collection says it all "The Essential Neruda."

This is a re-order. I've been using this wonderful book as a gift to friends who have lost loved ones for some time and it is always appreciated. I work at Lighthouse Hospice, Inc. and we are currently reviewing The Gift of a Memory to be used as a gift for the families going through the grief process.

This is a great book for those who have lost a loved one. I have given many of these to friends.

This is a beautifully illustrated book with a comforting message. I have given it often when someone has lost a loved one and it is always appreciated. Recommend it highly.

For anyone who has lost a loved one this book will be a lasting treasure to help with the grief. It brings help for the sorrowful heart and reassurance for the tearful soul.

I have given this book to several people, after having received it after my sister passed away. It is so comforting and the pictures are just beautiful. I can't say enough about this book. Everyone I have given it to has truly loved every page.

The young Hal and his instructor in the art of living the good life , Falstaff cavort through the first half of Henry IV as if life were going to be one long , irresponsible entertainment. The dramatic transformation of all of this , and Hal's casting off of Falstaff, and moving to kingly responsibility will come in the Henry IV Part II.
What is present here throughout is the tremendous richness of Shakespeare's imagination in his creation of character, and inventiveness in language , in his ability to create so many different moods and feelings.
'Falstaff' is one of Shakespeare's most beloved characters, and one of the great figures in the Comedy of world literature.
Enjoy.

This is the play where the Percy rebellion begins and centers around the Achilles-like Hotspur. Eventually, Hotspur (Henry Percy) and Prince Hal (Henry Monmouth - later Henry V) battle in single combat.

We also get to see the contrast between these young men in temperament and character. King Henry wishes his son were more like Hotspur. Prince Hal realizes his own weaknesses and seems to try to assure himself (and us) that when the time comes he will change and all his youthful foolishness will be forgotten. Wouldn't that be a luxury we wish we could all have afforded when we were young?

Of course, Prince Hal's guide through the world of the cutpurse and highwayman is the Lord of Misrule, the incomparable Falstaff. His wit and gut are featured in full. When Prince Hal and Poins double-cross Falstaff & company, the follow on scenes are funny, but full of consequence even into the next play.

But, you certainly don't need me to tell you anything about Shakespeare. Like millions of other folks, I am in love with the writing. However, as all of us who read Shakespeare know, it isn't a simple issue. Most of us need help in understanding the text. There are many plays on words, many words no longer current in English and, besides, Shakespeare's vocabulary is richer than almost everyone else's who ever lived. There is also the issue of historical context, and the variations of text since the plays were never published in their author's lifetime.

For those of us who need that help and want to dig a bit deeper, the Arden editions of Shakespeare are just wonderful.

-Before the text of the play we get very readable and helpful essays discussing the sources and themes and other important issues about the play.

-In the text of the play we get as authoritative a text as exists with helpful notes about textual variations in other sources. We also get many many footnotes explaining unusual words or word plays or thematic points that would likely not be known by us reading in the 21st century.

-After the text we get excerpts from likely source materials used by Shakespeare and more background material to help us enrich our understanding and enjoyment of the play.

However, these extras are only available in the individual editions. If you buy the "Complete Plays" you get text and notes, but not the before and after material which add so much! Plus, the individual editions are easier to read from and handier to carry around.

I am actually reviewing both Parts One and Two with this since they should be read together.The reason why I enjoyed these plays so much is because we see Falstaff in both of them. He is my favourite Shakespearean character - big, bawdy, rough, a liar and a cheat, but again we know what he is right from the beginning, and Shakespeare keeps him so true to character. These plays are a bit different from some of the other histories. There are more comedic parts in them for one thing. The plays are certainly used as a medium for introducing young Hal (who will become King Henry V). We see him as a young man, and watch him grow and see the influences that his society and the people in it have on his development. He doesn't appear to be growing up well according to his father because he is so irresponsible. King Henry IV was not England's strongest ruler. He was haunted by his guilt over the death of his predecessor, King Richard II. In Part Two, comedy still plays a big role, and we still see Falstaff's influence on young Hal until the shocking moment of Falstaff's death. The best part about Part Two though is the deathbed scene between old King Henry IV and his son Prince Henry. The play leads us to "King Henry V". Prince Hal does finally grow up and he becomes a very strong leader. Actually King Henry Iv, Parts one and two should be read before King Henry V. It is the correct sequence and we see Prince Hal grow and mature.

Henry IV remains one of my favorite Shakespeare plays, even though the tragedies and comedies get far more attention and seeming appreciation than do the histories. As an English major, I examined Henry's (Hal's) character, and I focused on his development from a somewhat foolhardy young man into a self-assured, even manipulative prince. It is hard to say which of these Hal truly is, or if he is a little bit of both.

At the beginning of the play, Hal spends his free time cavorting around with his friend Falstaff (who provides all of the laughs in the play and is cited as one of the best comic characters in all literature). In the first act we already see hints in Hal's sololiquy that he may not be as carefree as we are led to believe, and that he might betray friends like Falstaff to be the prince that he is expected to be. Read on in "Henry V" to see just how much of a polished politician Hal becomes--his battle cries and his "once more unto the breech, dear friends" is masterful in its persuasiveness and ability to induce his countrymen to fight.

Hotspur serves as a nice counterpoint to Hal in "Henry IV." Hotspur is the hothead and Hal makes his decisions calmly and rationally. This almost inhuman rationality comes into play again in "Henry V" and makes you long for the seemingly carefree Hal.

All in all, "Henry IV" is a great read and quite an interesting character study--I highly recommend it!

In Part One of Shakespeare's "Henry IV," the titular king tries to defend his throne from a rebel army led by the hotheaded Hotspur, who has a long list of grievances about the king's treatment of his family, the Percys. Hotspur has allied himself with several principal figures including his uncle the Earl of Worcester, his brother-in-law Mortimer the Earl of March, Lord Douglas the Scot, and Owen Glendower, a Welsh chieftain with a vivid mystical imagination -- he is so egotistical that he insists an earthquake that occurred the day of his birth was a divine proclamation of his importance -- and a desire to usurp all of Wales from the king.

While he is preparing for war against the rebels, Henry IV laments that his own son Henry (Hal), the Prince of Wales, is a shameful libertine living the high life in London and consorting with a gang of scurrilous miscreants. Indeed, Prince Hal's idea of fun is robbing people, and his best friend and accomplice in this activity is Sir John Falstaff, who turns out to be not Hal's peer but a middle-aged man. In a character transformation of an abruptness that can only be described as magical, Hal becomes a serious young man determined loyally to defend his father's kingship from Hotspur's assault after he receives an earnest lecture from his father about the dangers of acting irresponsibly as a public figure.

Not enough can be said about Falstaff, who is undoubtedly one of the most richly realized characters in literature. He is fat, lazy, cowardly, yet boastful, but not in the same way Owen Glendower is -- Owen really believes what he says; Falstaff is just trying to make himself look better than he actually is, but fools nobody because he prevaricates and embellishes without bothering to remember his previous lies for the sake of consistency. You probably know somebody like this in real life -- especially if you're ten years old. Falstaff's piquancy, in fact, so outweighs the stature of the other characters that his absence is sorely felt in the scenes in which he does not appear.

Most of all, Part One of "Henry IV" is a play of contrasts personified by Prince Hal and Hotspur, who incidentally is also named Henry. In their confrontation on the battlefield, it seems unlikely that Hal, who wasted many of his best days living as a rake, could conquer a seasoned warrior like Hotspur in a swordfight. But there wouldn't be much of a tale to tell if not to show Hal triumphing after his resolution to change his weak habits, and the play ends with the conviction that, despite his past mistakes, he would make a noble king himself.