Poetry Books

this book changed my life. it's so inspiring to see a feminist poet as rich DO what she does. it's sincere, it's powerful, it's not plath, it's personal, it calls every woman's name to feel something, to identify, and to wonder what her place is in the world. The 2nd section within the book, 21 love poems is the most romantic thing I've ever read, by far.

Years ago I was trying to keep warm at an MBTA bus stop where I read the opening lines of "The Dream of a Common Language" on a poster that advertised a reading and discussion by the author at Brandeis. I was moved to tears. I didn't get to Brandeis, but I bought and still cherish the book.

Adrienne Rich is a poet for everyone - especially those who say they don't like poetry - and the Dream of a Common Language is her most fascinating and accessible collection to date. Think poetry is boring, pretentious or hackneyed? Open up to "Love Poems" and find 32 sultry and pain-stakingly honest celebrations of lesbian love and urban survival. Rich has recently been receiving the wide recognition she deserves, and she will perhaps be the one to convince Americans to open their poetry books again.

I sat in a cushy green chair at Barnes and Noble reading these poems by Adrienne Rich and something unexplainable - almost impossible to put words to - happened to me.

I connected deeply to her messages, the words she wrote when I was a teen, might as well have been written right in the here and now. A lone tear slid down my face as I read about a woman in her 40's, like me, who was dying, not like me, who had a friend, like me, who wasn't sure how to support her in her time of need, universal.

I have experienced a lot of loss this year. The poetry of Adrienne Rich reached into my heart and let me express it more.

Isn't that what good poetry is supposed to be? A catalyst to awakening, cathartic, enriching?

Rich writes of power, female power.

She writes a poem about Paula Becker and Clara Westhoff (bride to Rainer Rilke, another favorite poet of mine.)

My favorite is "Transcendent Etude" which is, indeed, transcendent.

"No one ever told us we had to study our lives, make our lives a study..."

Study these poems and dive deeper into your life. You will not regret it.

I had not read this poet's work. I bought this particular collection because it was highly recommended in the books by artist/author/poet Tee Corinne in `Courting Pleasure', `The Body of Love' and `Dreams of the Woman Who loved Sex' - she particularly noted `The Floating Poem, Unnumbered' from the selection "Twenty-One Love Poems".

I figured it was a not to be missed book and so it is.

The only thing missing from this slender volume, that I find is often illuminating, is an introduction or afterward from the author.

From the publisher's website - One of our country's most distinguished poets, Adrienne Rich was born in Baltimore in l929. Over the last forty years she has published more than sixteen volumes of poetry and four books of nonfiction prose. Rich's work has achieved international recognition and has been translated into German, Spanish, Swedish, Dutch, Hebrew, Greek, Italian, and Japanese. She has received numerous awards, fellowships, and prizes, including the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, the Lenore Marshall/Nation Prize for Poetry, the Fund for Human Dignity Award of the National Gay Task Force, the Lambda Book Award, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Poetry, the National Book Award, the Poet's Prize, the MacArthur Fellowship, and, most recently, the Dorothea Tanning Prize of the Academy of American Poets and the Lannan Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award (2000). Since l984 she has lived in California.

"Rich's poems do not demand the willing suspension of disbelief. They demand belief, and it is a measure of her success as a poet that most of the time they get it. . . . The affirmation and the occasional moments of pure joy in these poems are quiet but fully earned."--Margaret Atwood, New York Times Book Review

"Adrienne Rich's new poems are important because they come so close to achieving the dream they're all at least partly about. The Dream of a Common Language explores the contours of a woman's heart and mind in language for everybody--language whose plainness, laughter, questions and nobility everyone can respond to. . . . No one is writing better or more needed verse than this."--Boston Evening Globe

A voice of passion.
A voice of pain.
A voice of diminishing (?) but determined hope.
Husam crys - crys out!
Would that more ears hear.
Would that more hearts are stirred.
Would that......

From its opening call to "Be Flexible" to its closing "Prayer For Another Day," this impressive first volume of poems is an impassioned plea for Middle East peace, as well as an important insight into the minds and attitudes of peace-loving Palestinians who ask of each new leader, "Who Will Set Us Free?" "The lonesome dove eager for a berth" makes the poet long for the peaceful coexistence so long sought after and so elusive. I was moved by the view this volume offers of the impossible situation that faces both sides in this conflict. It was refreshing to hear a different point of view and to enjoy a new and exciting poetic voice.

An original and unique collection of passion-filled poetry framed by the question of self, identity, family, and love through the lens of Palestine and America. Ultimately, I loved it for its honesty - painstaking at times even - which is the ultimate threshold we can ask our artists to attain. You will feel a semblance of the pain and hope which has fueled this work. Any lover of poetry will enjoy this uniquely laid out work, as will anyone endeavoring to answer the toughest questions of all: the ones we ask of ourselves.

How does a Palestinian-American convey the need for a solution to the deadlock in Palestine? By asking for a middle way of compassion, tolerence, and peaceful co-existance. He attempts to explain who he and other Palestininans feel about being stateless without the rancor of blaming anyone. He asks that people examine their motives; seek deep into their hearts; and asks for logic over emotion. However, his poetry does delve into how he feels; his emotions are not submerged. He wants the reader to feel his pain; his degration; and his emotional needs. But he understands that emotions only led to non-solutions and that a path toward peace must be one that leads away from emotion to rational thought.
But his poetry appeals to a wider audience-those who are willing to explore their own deep despair and learn from that despair can allow us to come to a joy which we may be overlooking. One looks forward to his next book with anticipation.

On your next visit to your homeland...and you will go...because it will be one of hope, reconciliation, understanding and the courage to stay the course of truthfulness and patience.
I can picture the author sitting on the balcony referenced in one of his poems...the one torn down today..when it is rebuilt tomorrow...and when rebuilt he will be able to savor the beauty of his land once more without the hatred and tyranny that has infected it now.
In essence that is what "Dreaming Inspite Of..." is all about. And so clever to end the book with a prayer of hope and forgiveness.
I smiled at the 'great laxative' in the pharmacy in The Cure. I was intrigued by the dilemma of ignorance in between thunder and wonder in Kufr-Rai. In Detention at Airport I was struck how coping was juxtaposed with spoofing when surrounded by uncertainty.
A most thought provoking tome.
Thanks for sharing your iner thoughts. And my prayer is that this book will provide someone with the same dream you have...and that person pass it on to another...and they another...until one day that dream becomes a reality.

In the winter of 1998, Barry Schieber undertook a contemplative retreat at his house on a small lake in Montana. He watched; he listened; he felt. He saw in the lake a reflection of his own mind-often roiled and agitated at the surface, disturbed sometimes by silent tracks in the snow, at others by noisy, even raucous, visitors, but always, always, still and silent at depth. As spring came, he thawed, a bit. He healed, at least some. These poems, in short, haiku-like form, contain his experience. They are worth sitting with, at some length.

I smile when I think about this book. It is warm and friendly to the reader. It feels as if the writer has used the stillness of a winter season to put his strongest thoughts into poetic form, thereby giving voice to his integrity. Very enjoyable and touching.

Magically Barry Schieber took me out of a busy Summer in California to the quietude of a Montana Winter. These little poems have a great effect. Not only did they take me to Montana again, they also inspired me to start writing my own little poems. If I'll ever have the courage to publish them, it will be because of DRIPS GURGLES CHIRPS. Thank you Barry Schieber!

Ever been to Western Montana? If not, then all you have to do is read Drips Gurgles Chirps. The book beautifully describes the solitude of a Montana winter. The poetry is illustrative and insightful. A delightful and refreshing read!

In Drips Gurgles Chirps the silence of winter magically wispers through the lines of the poems. This little books wonderful contents and beautiful design make it into the perfect gift for any dear friend with a contemplative mind.

I've always had a liking for Edgar Allan Poe, with his tales of horror, mystery and suspense, done in the atmospheric prose of a master writer. Since I live close enough, I've even made some trips to his gravesite, a place that is always surrounded by a sense of sadness.

Poe was a tormented genius who died young, under mysterious circumstances, and at the time of his death he wasn't deservingly popular. Certainly his work was not cute romances for the masses -- he explored the darkness of the human heart, love, satire, and the earliest whodunnit stories. And "Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe" brings together all of his poetry and writings in one book.

Poe's fiction writings include short stories and novellas, which tend to be rather weird -- a treasure-hunt and a golden insect, a ship caught in a whirlpool, a hypnotized man talks about the universe, and stories of despair, madness, and occasionally beauty. There is also his trilogy of Monsieur C. Auguste Dupin stories, which were the first to feature a brilliant detective solving an impossible crime.

Most people know about "The Raven" (which even has the Baltimore Ravens named after it) but Poe actually wrote a lot of poetry, most of which readers never heard of. Sometimes dark, or whimsical, or even both. "By a route obscure and lonely/Haunted by ill angels only/Where an Eidolon, named NIGHT/On a black throne reigns upright..."

And, of course, the horror. This is what Poe is best known for, including such well-known stories as "The Fall Of The House Of Usher." But there are also lesser-known gems -- tales of a plague invading a party, being buried alive, a portrait that siphoned the life out of its subject, and a nightly visit to an Italian crypt leading to madness.

Don't read "Complete Stories and Poems" all at once. It's too intense. It's better to soak it in a little at a time, so that you can get a better feel for the different kinds of writing that Poe did, and how he excelled at pretty much everything he put down on paper. Most great writers can't boast of that much.

Poe's writing is what makes even his least story or poem come alive -- he brought a gothic, misty vibrancy to his stories, and could make his quiet dialogue seem utterly chilling (" "I have no name in the regions which I inhabit. I was mortal, but am fiend..."). It's not hard to see why he was an influence on authors such as Fyodor Dostoevsky, Oscar Wilde, Arthur Conan Doyle and Franz Kafka.

The Library of America edition is a lovely collection of Poe's work -- the paper is thin and of high quality, the binding is very strong, and great care has been made for this copy. It's expensive, but it's ideal for the serious, frequent Poe reader.

"Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe" is a must-have for anyone with an appreciation for great literature and beautiful, dark writing.

There's no point whatsoever in reviewing the work of Poe. As you know, or soon will know, it is the work of genius & above reproach, particularly from a mere mortal Amazon reviewer like myself.

So instead I am reviewing this collection of his works specifically. Safe to say there a hundreds of books out there containing his work, many of which are misleadingly titled 'the complete...' or 'the definitive...'. Nonsense. None of these books have been anywhere near complete. On top of that, few, if any, are attractively presented or pieced together with some logical thought process evident.

This thick, hefty (but not large-sized) 1984 Library of America edition tips the scales at over 1500 pages(!) and has all of his mesmerising short stories, all of his fascinating poems, and his other sought after works which other reviewers here detail more closely. Better yet, for once they are in chronological order, which gives the reader the opportunity to follow Poe's own development.

Yes, it is expensive, but this is an absolute essential for your library, and assuming you bring up your children to love reading, will be in your family for many generations. This is not an expensive book, this is an investment for you and your family that will give you decades of pleasure (150 years after his death and we're still reading Poe!)

THIS my friends, is the absolute and comprehensive collection of the works of Poe, contained within a beautiful and fittingly gothic-styled hardback. Don't sell yourself short and look for a cheaper & inferior book, snap up one of the remaining copys of this book, it will outlive you...

If you want the real Poe, the Library of America version of Poe's Poetry and Tales is the best bargain going. This volume should give either a lover of Poe or a serious scholar a handy volume of the Poe canon. I am not going to extol the virtues of Edgar Allan Poe. He was one of our most important national authors and an innovator of forms and genres. Master of the macabre, inventor of the detective story, explicator of the psychotic soul-Poe was the father of psychological horror literature as well as an accomplished satirist, critic and poet. If you want all of the poems and tales all in one place, go buy this book. Apparently the two volume Borzoi Poe (Knopf) edited by Arthur Hobson Quinn and Edward H. O'Neill is out of print. That was certainly a respectable edition of the poems and stories, and it included, the marvelous metaphysical Eureka as well as all the tales and poems and a respectable cross-section of the criticism in a handsome two-volume edition. The Modern Library and Doubleday complete Poe's are good enough to read for pleasure. But if you want a version of Poe that can be used as a reading text as well as a scholarly resource (meaning serious stuff) then this Library of America volume is just the thing for you. It is edited by Patrick Quinn, a highly respected Poe scholar, and its texts are good-and you get all of them. It's certainly a bargain when compared to the Thomas Ollive Mabbott/Burton Pollin variorum edition, a multi-volume extravaganza. And most of us don't need all that detail anyway. This is a nice volume because it encapsulates the canon of the fiction and poetry-clean and compact. Here you get all the poems and tales (short stories) as well as The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, the timely Poe version of Lewis and Clark called The Journal of Julius Rodman, the cosmological extravaganza/ metaphysical tour de force that Poe called Eureka. This is all of Poe that you might want to read. And the texts are all derived from the real authoritative readers' texts defined by the best Poe scholars. There is a second volume in the series that contains criticism that brings it all back home.

Book was in even better shape than advertised; service was prompt and hassle-free.

The books of the Library of America are among the very best and most beautiful editions I know of. The paper is acid-free material, it won't yellow and get all brittley any time soon, and you can lay that book open on a table and it won't close itself. It is a great object and I won't even discuss Poe's work here, though tons could be said, of course.

This is a hardcover book with a neat dusjacket; it also has one of these thin ribbons to mark your page. It's pure awesomeness I tell you! Anyone who enjoys Poe would do well to get this edition, it's the best out there and it contains all of Poe's fiction, including some never-published-before material.

If you like contemporary poetry this is the book for you. The wide range of styles contained in the book is amazing. It revived my own desire and ability to write. It is the perfect companion to Six American Poets. I can not wait for Conarroe's next work.

Ah, a fine comparison and contrast in studies on the eight best American confessional poets ever. Kudos to the editor on a fine choice of poems, and candid biographies on each poet. Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, Allen Ginsberg, John Berryman, Theodore Roethke, Elizabeth Bishop and the other guy, here's to you.

"Eight American Poets," edited by Joel Conarroe, is a fine anthology. The introduction notes that this book was "designed as a companion volume to 'Six American Poets,'" also edited by Conarroe. "Eight" follows the same plan as "Six": rather than anthologize a huge company of poets who are represented by only a few pieces each, each of Conarroe's books focuses on a relatively small group of poets, each of whom is represented by a substantial selection. Conarroe's approach allows the reader to get a fuller feel of each poet in the anthology format.

The poets of "Eight" are Theodore Roethke, Elizabeth Bishop, Robert Lowell, John Berryman, Anne Sexton, Sylvia Plath, Allen Ginsburg, and James Merrill. Each poet's work is prefaced by a substantial individual introduction.

There are many masterpieces in this book. Curiously, I found the most compelling poems to be those that focus on nature: Roethke's "The Meadow Mouse," Bishop's "The Fish," Plath's "Mushrooms," and Merrill's "The Octopus." Poems like these combine skillfully used language with keen insight, and reveal these poets to be true heirs of Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson (two of the featured artists in "Six American Poets").

Overall, I felt that "Eight" was not as strong as its sister volume, "Six." Although there are many poetic masterpieces in "Eight," there is also much material which, in my opinion, hasn't aged well. The so-called "confessional poetry" of some of these writers strikes me as overwrought. Some of the longer poems failed to resonate with me. I was particularly disappointed by Berryman's "Homage to Mistress Bradstreet," especially since I am an admirer of Anne Bradtreet's own work. Admittedly, this criticism may merely reflect my own personal tastes, but I submit it for the reader's consideration.

The fact that so many of these poets either wrote about each other, or pop up in the editor's introductions to each others' work, sometimes gives the book as a whole a creepy, incestuous feel. And the fact that so many of these poets committed suicide, had long-term mental health problems, and/or suffered from addictions further gives the book as a whole a rather morbid feel. On second thought, maybe this group of eight is a bit problematic!

Still, editor Conarroe has assembled an impressive anthology that I would recommend for students and teachers, as well as to a general readership. Although a mixed bag, "Eight American Poets" contains some truly enduring work by an octet whose legacy is secure.

For someone just coming into an appreciation of poetry-somewhat suspiciously like myself-Conarroe's anthology approach is perfect: concentrate on just a few major poets and provide an introduction to each and a generous sampling of their poetry.

I have owned this book for several years now and it introduced me to what are now some of my favorite poets (Elizabeth Bishop, Theodore Roethke, Anne Sexton, Robert Lowell). It is a book that I go back to time and time again, and I encourage anyone to include it in their collection.

Jeremy W. Forstadt

.........the best known and loved poetry of eight well-known twentieth century American poets. Includes well known poems such as Bishop's "The Fish", Roethke's "My Papa's Waltz", Berryman's "Dream Songs", Merrill's "Lost in Translation", Sexton's "Ringing the Bells", and many others.

Like Conarroe's "Six American Poets", the anthology introduces us to each poet with a short biography that is presented before the poet's work. We learn about their lives and come to understand some of the primary forces that have shaped their poetry. I have found that this greatly enriches the experience of reading poetry because I better see the struggles that lead to each individual creation. After each collection, Conarroe offers a list of books and anthologies where each poet has been published so that we, should we wish, can come to know the work of a given poet much better.

This anthology is a wonderful starting place for someone who, like me, desires an introduction to some of the greatest American poetry ever produced. Personally, I feel, after reading this anthology that I have come to truly appreciate the work of Elizabeth Bishop and Theodore Roethke, in particular. I had never known their work well, but suddenly each jumped off the page at me, Bishop for her wonderfully vivid descriptions and Roethke for his intensely moving subjects. Plath and Sexton also really spoke to me, their work so reflecting their lives. Overall, this anthology is superbly worthwhile reading!

A great book for those who wants to learn about Argentinian way of life and traditions. If you can read it in Spanish Language you'll apreciate it more. Regards.-

I bought this edition of the unforgettable classic by José Hernandez (meaning, the one by iUniverse, ISBN 1-58348-811-1) misled by the review below that recommends it as including both, the Spanish original and the English translation, and as being extensively annotated. That review must refer to a different edition, for this one only includes the Spanish text (both parts, Martín Fierro and La Vuelta de Martín Fierro) and is NOT annotated.

It is a spanish editio

If you want to understand the life-style of the gauchos in Argentina by the begining of the century then this book is for you. Unfortunatly unless you read it in spanish you might lose 80% of it's value, since it is written in the gaucho's jargon.

THIS HARDCOVER EDITION IS NOW OUT OF PRINT, GET THE PAPERBACK HERE AT AMAZON: Martin Fierro.

I would like to thank Mimi for allowing me the opportunity to take part in this book/project. I had the pleasure of speaking with Mimi and Candace on a blog talk radio show live and it was very touching. Every page is filled with classic art and poetry. P. 89 is my page and the title of the piece is called "L.O.V.E." and it was read during the blog interview and I'm happy to say that Candace was emotional...I thank you guys for allowing me the particpate...(Poet/Author Anthony Chavon Hanes/An Abstract World Vol.2 Emotions).......God Bless

I am bias. Miriam is a friend of mine. I will never let a child suffer, and I am one of the poets featured in the book.

The collection of tallent all bias aside is excellent, and the reason for this book is about as genuine, and wonderful as can be.

Restoring a smile, and giving a sense of normalcy to a child is a beautiful gift, and to be a part of this, and to consider them friends of the family makes this a no brainer.

As soon as I have my retail license, and business started I will be buying several more copies to sell in my store.

Good poetry for a great cause. Isn't that one of the things that makes poetry what it is? The voice of history.

A heartfelt collaboration of talented poets who came together to give one sweet little girl hope, courage and inspiration to one day be able to live a wonderfully normal life. The love that flows from these masterful pens is endless...

In 'Ode To Candace', a wonderfully gifted 9-year-old pours out her soul to Candace, who was born with a large nevus acros her face, and supports her friend lovingly, and with unbelieveable conviction and strength.

Your heart will sing and your spirit will soar as you embrace the essence of Candace, and love her as your own. GREAT TRIBUTE!

There are so many books on Amazon. I myself have two on here and I am sure that every day new titles are added. I bring this up for a reason. Many of these books are for education, many are for entertainment.
In this book you will receive both. But more importantly than what you will receive, is the blessings that you will receive as well when you purchase it. Because you aren't just buying a book, you are buying something that will give a very special little girl a better shot at life. I can't say enough about how much she has touched me and all who have had the good fortune of getting to know her, nor can I begin to say what a courageous soul her Grandmother is, and how I believe that it wasn't merely fate or chance that Candace has Miriam for a Grandmother. I could go on and on about the great writing that it contains, but what I would prefer to say is simply this. Buy this book, learn about a rare condition, and a courageous little girl who is defying the odds and continuing to grow stronger because of the love she is receiving, and more importantly, the love she is so willing to share. Purchase it and then tell a friend, and tell them to tell friends, and let's make it spread like a wave....

Do your part to make this a top seller, and in so doing, know that a little girl is far better off because of it...

Like I said in the beginning of this, there are so many books to choose from here, I couldn't begin to imagine what the count is and I know it is steadily growing. But I do know that there is ONE book, this BOOK, that when you purchase it will improve the life of a truly remarkable little girl. I would like to close this by also saying ask yourself this question and answer honestly.

Of say, the last three to five books that you have purchased in recent memory... How many of those do you think by purchasing improved the life of a very special child who has dealt with more operations than I care to think about, while still in single digits of age, when it comes to living life? Having a seven year old daughter, I can't begin to imagine, but also having spoke to Candace on a few occasions, I wouldn't even know if I wasn't told.

She is a very well adjusted, sweet, loving and very knowledgeable little kid.

So do.... Embrace Candace...

You can also follow along on her Grandmothers web page to see what your contribution has achieved.

http://www.myspace.com/mimi36912778 ;

Love and light to all

Sincerely,

Chase von
tlp
The Last Panther

PS
Again I say
Embrace:)


Your Chance to Hear The Last Panther Speak

Ownership of this book is a definite must.

The words are uplifting and makes a great gift for children
or anyone inspired to improve their outlook on life.

My rating is five stars and two thumbs up for this collective
effort.

This is a great collection of some of Emily Dickinson's most famous poems, and I love the paintings taken; they fit the poems so well. Great little collection.

what this little book does very nicely is make great poetry very accessible. The format is designed with 'young' people in mind, however I left my copy on a shelf during a recent family gathering and it was my 40 year old daughter who picked it up and without referring to her own children picked out her favourite poem.

This is a book for everyone, if you don't already know, Emily Dickinson is one of the explorers of human nature, and every other form of nature.

Finally, my favourite poem is Revery.

As an adult, I didn't realize how much that I would appreciate this book. I wish that it had been available to me when I was younger. I believe that this book is definitely intended for children between the ages of 9 to 12. I think a child under that age may not understand the full impact of the poetry.

The introduction to this book gave a good synopsis of the life of Emily Dickinson. Also, I liked how some of the poems were mentioned by page number to check out in the book.

Visually, this book was on target. The illustrator was very detailed with the drawings. In one section of the book, Emily Dickinson writes some poems that were riddles. The drawings give you the answer to those riddles.

It was very helpful to find definitions at the bottom of each page for some of the poems that may have had more difficult words. I learned that a frigate was a medium-sized warship with sails and that coursers were graceful, swift horses or runners.

This book supports the ideas of reading and poetry. I will end this review with one of Emily Dickinson's poems, on page 44, to support those ideas:

There is no frigate like a book/ To take us lands away,/ Nor any coursers like a page/ Of prancing poetry/ This traverse may the poorest take/ Without oppress of toll;/ How frugal is the chariot/ That bears a human soul!

I cannot think of a better way to introduce the poetry or Emily Dickinson than this small volume. The selection is excellent and of interest you the young reader. The commentary is quite relevant as are the pictures which accompany it. I find that often now, our young people go all the way through the early grades in school and many of them have never heard of Emily Dickinson,much less read their poetry. This was the sort of stuff my generation and the generation before it grew up on and cut our teeth on. I do not feel I am any worse for the wear. I am fearful that we are bringing up an entire generation (rightfully or wrong, although I feel it is the later) of young folks who will have no appreciation to this great art form and will miss a lot. This book helps. This entire series helps, as a matter of fact and I certainly recommend you add this one and the others to your library. Actually, it is rather fun reading these with the young folk and then talking about them. Not only do you get to enjoy the work your self and perhaps bring back some great memories, but you have the opportunity to interact with your child or student. It is actually rather surprising what some of the kids come up with. I read these to my grandchildren and to the kids in my classes at school. For the most part, when I really get to discussing the work with them, they enjoy it. Recommend this one highly.

All the Poetry For Young People books are wonderful for all ages, for those who "want" to like poetry but just don't know where to start. Each has a biography of the poet, and the poems are guided by illustrations, background info, and helpful word definitions. So much better than opening a huge book of just words... this is such a gentle, approachable introduction!

Great news for anyone interested in the traditional folk ballads known as the "Child Ballads" that Francis James Child's late 1800s compilation "The English and Scottish Pupular Ballads" is now republished in a fully corrected and revised edition with the traditional tunes reunited with the texts. The new edition by Loomis House Press (...) is now available in paperback and cloth editions - so far volumes 1, 2 and 3 (of 5) are issued. Amazon lists them but the three volumes are hard to find on the Amazon site. The earlier 1965 facsimile edition by Dover has also now been republished - but the Loomis House Press edition is greatly superior - and is available from Loomis in USA and Springthyme in UK as well as from Amazon.

I first heard of the Child ballads when I was about 13 years old and have been looking for a copy ever since. I was delighted to discover they have been brought back into print. This publication is particularly exciting since the editors have chosen to include musical notation collected by Child but not included in the original publication. Many of the ballads still sung today in Eastern Canada and the US were derived from these ballads, so these books are a facinating study of the earlier origins of these and many other ballads from the british iles.

Child's "English and Scottish Popular Ballads" is THE sourcebook for anyone interested in the traditional ballads of the British Isles, and also invaluable to all aficionados of European folklore and folksong in general. For those not up on their terminology, a ballad is a folksong with a plot, and Child's collection covers everything from foul murders to star-crossed lovers to Robin Hood, in five volumes.

I am extremely happy that someone has finally issued an edition incorporating the various addenda and corrections that Child made before his death. There is nothing here that Child did not write, so if you are looking for additional scholarship or commentary you will be disappointed; but the Loomis House edition vastly improves over the Dover facsimiles in completeness and convenience. Additional variants, comments and even some tunes (the one big omission in the original) are placed conveniently near the main text of each category rather than buried in appendices (most of which aren't included in the Dover editions at all). It's well worth the few extra dollars over the Dover books.

My one quibble is that they do not reproduce some of the typographical distinctions that Child occasionally used to indicate different features of a text, but this is overshadowed by all the good points of this edition.

Overall this is a wonderful and affordable edition; I fervently hope that all five volumes are issued as planned (it's been almost a year since Volume 3 came out...). I have no idea why Amazon makes these books so hard to find on their site: fix this, guys!

In summary: Buy this book. Now if someone would only reprint Bertrand Bronson's "The Singing Tradition of Child's Popular Ballads" as well....

The English and Scottish Popular Ballads are, as noted here, out of print in their Dover edition ... but fear not, they are being re-issued (in 5 volumes, 2 of which are actually done) by the folks at Loomis House Press. (I am not affiliated with Loomis in any way; do a Google search if you want to find 'em.) The books are authoritative and complete, and it's disappointing that Amazon doesn't list them.

Superb. For anyone interested in either the words or origins of English & Scottish folk music this is essential. You can settle those arguments (over a beer) as to who has the correct words or the origin.

The biblography needs some getting used to but when you understand it you will find this book a good companion.

Anna Carson is brilliant, the arguments set forth in her book are incredibly valid and reinforced with brilliant examples from ancient Greek poets one of which is Sappho. Very enlightening read, will change the way you view love, desire and want, it will change the way you view Eros forever. If you havent read it yet i suggest you do NOW.

This book applied to life. No only did the book put into words what can only be thought but it speaks to you. It starts out over most heads but then comes down to relate to all those in love.

This is a delightful book that analyzes love [desire] through classical literature. It is an academic treatise, poetical prose, and philosophy all at the same time. Carson's close reading and her wit make Eros the Bittersweet a must read.

The Greeks did not cover everything but they made a pretty good start. Anne Carson has always been the queen of fitting classical allusions to the evident. The book could be described as an extended exploration of `Odi et amo: quare id faciam, fortase requiris/ nescio, sed fieri sentio et excrucior.'- Catullus. (I hate and I love/ Why do I, you ask ?/ I don't know, but it's happening/ and it hurts.)A splendid place to mine for obscure quotes: `We aren't shutting you out of the revel, but we aren't inviting you either/ For you're a pain when you're present, and beloved when you are away'- Theognis

Carson is an inspired guide through the tangled and fragmentary corpus of Greek lyric love poetry. She has a whirlwind mind and a gift for pithy expression, though once in a while she slips into a kind of gauzy equivocating that weakens her arguments. Still, this idiosyncratic take on ancient eros has moments of great insight and deserves the attention of classical scholars and non-specialists who are interested in the topic.