Poetry Books

Donald Hall's memoir of health and illness with his wife Jane Kenyon has stood in my mind years after I read this book. It is an understanding of issues in living through a bout of illness, of survival to regain health, or the fall when one loses the fight.

Above all the book is of a poet who loves another fellow poet.

But I think poetry is secondary to loving a wife who shared his home and passions for animals, people, words and social engagements to be with people who appreciated their love of literature and the love in the marriage.

I thought this book was a wonderful, loving tribute to the author's wife. :)

I recently finished reading Jane Kenyon's collected poems which left me missing her and wanting more. And so I picked up The Best Day The Worst Day: Life with Jane Kenyon written by Kenyon's husband--the esteemed poet Donald Hall. While the subtitle of this book is "Life with Jane Kenyon," I would argue that it is not so much about Kenyon's life with Hall as it is about her death, her dying. Yes, Hall does recount memories and vignettes of their life together, particularly how it was they came to live in their beloved farmhouse in New Hampshire.

Mostly I found this touching book to be an exploration of a husband moving through the process of grief, of holding on, and of letting go. Throughout, Hall beautifully and matter-of-factly reveals what it feels like when the one you love dies, and what are those threads that carry you through to this end, and what are those threads that bind you to this life afterward: "Poetry gives the griever not release from grief but companionship in grief. Poetry embodies the complexity of feelings in their most intense and entangled, and therefore offers (over centuries, or over no time at all) the company of tears."

I saw Donald Hall read at AWP almost a year ago and decided then that I had to have this book. I was moved to tears in the reading. I bought it and it took me a while to have the time to read it, and then a month and a half to read. It is not in anyway shape or form, easy to read. Not only is language dense and medical at points, but somehow each technical word is embedded in a love that is as strong 10 years after Jane Kenyon's death as I imagine it was at Hall and Kenyon's marriage 35 years ago. It a book that moves you to tears on almost every page. And not only is this written in tribute and memorial to a life of love, but it is a catalogue of life for popular and well respected poets. Writing habits, readings, trips, the things you write and do to have the money to write, the way that dedication is your life.

Hall lifts off the ornate cover of his 27 year marriage to the poet Jane Kenyon, once his student at Michigan, to reveal some down home truths about her personality. It seems that Kenyon's depression made his life pretty bleak, for she might lash out at him as easily as she tormented herself with her vague phantoms of anxiety--all very real to her, of course, for drugs of the Prozac class had no effect on her unfortunately. So take it all in all whenever the family came to call they were never sure whether or not Jane was going to be her warm, friendly and sometimes bawdy self, or her other self, the tormented one who preferred to be "invisible." My hat is off to Donald Hall because even if she was great, it's not always easy to be around someone who's dour to that degree.

But Hall does not suffer in silence, and he lets us know that her famous friends, poets like Galway Kinnell and Liam Rector, also witnessed episodes of depression that were pretty chilling. There's a new book in which the friends give testimony to this effect, celebrating her life and work, yet not skimping on her acerbity and gloom. And yet they loved her! She must have had something. For me, "THE BEST DAY THE WORST DAY" was a bit of a tell-all, and has its exploitative moments like the recent book by Michael Bergin about Carolyn Kennedy. Why couldn't Hall have shown us more of the happy hours? Why alternate every chapter of her life with one of her dying? It smacks of something a poet might do, for effect, for formal reasons, rather than sitting back and thinking, "This will make my readers think that I valued her only when she was dying."

There's something of a Jane Kenyon industry right now, and this book and others like it will, of course, add bricks to the mortar. As we turn our love for Jane Kenyon's writing into an actual house of mourning, I find it hard to predict what will be next on the platter. I expect that somewhere, somebody is working on a volume of selected letters to go with the selected and collected poems we have already been given. The Bill Moyers film, oddly, already came out. It was one of the few things Jane Kenyon was happy about, for as Hall tells us sometimes work helped, and sometimes the occasional good news like getting the NEA award of the Guggenheim. Good for her. Everybody needs something.

What a legacy this woman of God left before she went home to heaven. Her life was a life of the right priorities. This anointed book will draw many people closer to God as they read the insight she shares. Reading about the testimonies of others who have overcome encourages you in your walk with the Lord Jesus.

Another theme from Holy Scripture that she emphasizes throughout the book is love, i.e., love for God and for other people. In fact, love for God will cause these other matters to fall into place appropriately. The motivation, desire, and focus will naturally flow out of a heart that loves God.

This is an awesome book. Answers some basic question of how God can allow the horrible things to happen here on Earth. How to forgive those who have hurt you. A must read.

This book propelled me to go deeper in my personal walk with God. It was instrumental in my understanding on faith, surrender, forgivenss and love. Since then I have given this book out to many folks struggling in their faith and it has been such a blessing. Though written in 1961 it is as fresh as the day it was written.

It is amazing how God reveals divine healing power through Ms. Catherine's "Beyond Our Selves". Every time I feel down, God has used the book words to lift me - no - to let me soar up in the spirit. This treasure embraces divine healing power to emotional hurts, discouragement, confusion, depression, self-worthlessness, grieve. Truely, God's word never returns empty.

This book is so simply written, and views God so simply, that the whole thing really appealed to me. The simple concepts of prayers and how to reach God, as well as how to place God in your life are really easy. The many spiritual stories and accounts are very hard to quit reading. Very excellent! Very easy to read!

I have read this book to my grandchildren who are now all in their 20's and I buy it for every child I know. My great grandchildren now hear Jeff Moss's butterfly jar when they come to spend the night. The favorite poem is "Grandma's Kisses" which they all love. Thanks Jeff Moss.

Love it! Great way to expose your kids to the beauty and fun of poetry. Highly recommend it!

I first recieved this book when I was 7 or 8 years-old, and I loved it I'm now 20 and still enjoy Jeffery Moss's poems just as much. Some poems are beauiful, some are fun, and some are just plain silly. This is a wonderful resource for anyone who wants to introduce their children to poety. Esspecially if they wish to enjoy the poems right along with their young ones (I know my parents did)!

Playful, childlike and nonsense verses can be some of the most enjoyable things to read. This book is a collection of verse written for children. The author was the head writer for "Sesame Street" and his talent is certainly displayed here. All of the verses are short and is accompanied by an illustration. These illustrations are very well done and many of the verses also contain a message. Some examples are:

Two Against One

Two against one
Isn't much fun
Especially if you
Aren't part of the two.

Hi, how are you today

I'm feeling very horrible
And low and mean and mad
And dreadful and deplorable
And rotten, sick and sad
And nasty and unbearable
And hateful, vile and blue
But thanks a lot for asking
And please tell me ...
How are you?

Children in the early years of elementary school will really enjoy this book

This book of peoms will really touch you. I LOVED it. find it in your heart to BUY THIS BOOK!!!! =0p

I have read this book to my grandchildren who are now all in their 20's and I buy it for every child I know. My great grandchildren now hear Jeff Moss's butterfly jar when they come to spend the night. The favorite poem is "Grandma's Kisses" which they all love. Thanks Jeff Moss.

Love it! Great way to expose your kids to the beauty and fun of poetry. Highly recommend it!

I first recieved this book when I was 7 or 8 years-old, and I loved it I'm now 20 and still enjoy Jeffery Moss's poems just as much. Some poems are beauiful, some are fun, and some are just plain silly. This is a wonderful resource for anyone who wants to introduce their children to poety. Esspecially if they wish to enjoy the poems right along with their young ones (I know my parents did)!

Playful, childlike and nonsense verses can be some of the most enjoyable things to read. This book is a collection of verse written for children. The author was the head writer for "Sesame Street" and his talent is certainly displayed here. All of the verses are short and is accompanied by an illustration. These illustrations are very well done and many of the verses also contain a message. Some examples are:

Two Against One

Two against one
Isn't much fun
Especially if you
Aren't part of the two.

Hi, how are you today

I'm feeling very horrible
And low and mean and mad
And dreadful and deplorable
And rotten, sick and sad
And nasty and unbearable
And hateful, vile and blue
But thanks a lot for asking
And please tell me ...
How are you?

Children in the early years of elementary school will really enjoy this book

This book of peoms will really touch you. I LOVED it. find it in your heart to BUY THIS BOOK!!!! =0p

Great artwork combined with a good story makes this an all time favorite and makes Katy a hero. All of my kids (especially my boys) loved this book. There are always big smiles when I finish reading how "Katy did."

The Author Bill Peet has the gift to spark the imagination of all children. His stories are amazing. There are over 30 kids books by him and I recommend them all!The Caboose Who Got Loose (Sandpiper Books)

This is a children's book with a complete plot, in rhyming prose, like no other! It deserves to be a classic on every American boys list. Featuring a caboose that transforms above regretting her role, and then obtains her ideal. With a full double-page drawing of like say 10 workers rehabilitating a locomotive! How could it get better than that! Warning: my 2 year old Thomas-lover won't let us put him to bed without reading this book, too. 2nd Warning: the same 2-year-old is petrified of the picture of the searchlight shining on the moose on the second to last page. He makes me try to skip that page. Something about the expression of a moose in the headlights that bothers him, I suppose.

This story is about Kate the Caboose. She is in the back of a long freight train, and she hates it. She hates the smoke, the bumps, the noise, and the ride. One day, she pulls into the station. While waiting for the engine to be refitted, a lonely signal tower tells Kate how it longs to be a caboose, so it can see the world. Kate leaves the station with a new attitude about her life. When the train hits a bump, Kate's coupling breaks. Find out what happens to her in this exciting book by Bill Peet.

This is a book that is very close to my heart. As a child, I would always pick this book for my mother to read to me. I still have the book and have since introduced it to my nieces. The artwork is beautiful and the story is timeless. I highly recommend this book to anyone with children. I'll always remember the last line, "Yes indeed, oh indeed, oh indeed, Katie did".

It is a joy reading Cacophony. I've found Elliott Eli Jackson to know the nature of men, women, fathers, mothers and children. He knows the nature of true friends, lovers and acquaintances. The evidence lies in his work, taken from his life. I can tell this man knew many and gaining his wisdom from his experiences is apparent as his word flows effortlessly throughout this book which he calls Cacophony. Cacophony means jarring and discordant, yet the most jarring force of Mr. Jackson's words are far from discord. They are truly sweet euphony, bouncing me from memory to memory in sheer elegance.

His poems paint vivid scenes such as Avante Garde, a poem about a woman who sees beyond all the games men play and Dad's Chair, where the universal fantasy of pretending to be Dad lifted my imagination by jettisoning the gentle, yet playful minds of his brothers and sisters pretending to be Dad. Something truly universal. Many precious and enduring moments seeming to be suspended in time are brilliantly executed from moment to flickering moment, page after page. Mr Jackson's heart and mind are clearly connected and because of this he executes his work as a true artisan of word.

the man writes from the heart with a longing spirit and soulfulness...i'm happy to have bought this book...

I must admit, I did not think modern poetry could be so good. This poet and book could reengerize interest in poetry. I would recommend this book to anyone.

When I read this collection of verse about life, love, and spirit; I thought it had been written for me, about me, and concerning me. It is almost as if this Elliott Eli Jackson and I are one. I believe every home in the world would benefit with Cacophony contained in their librate assemblage of polite literature. A must read as well as a must give to every person you know!

Elliott Jackson is a breath of fresh poetic air.

This compilation of poems to me, was not only new but old at the same time. One may wonder, what does this mean? New, in the fact that I have never heard such heartfelt realism, passion, and insperation broken down in three catagories LIFE, LOVE, SPIRIT. A Cacophony of words so jumbled, and yet make so much since. Old, in the fact that these are catagories mankind has dealt with since the beginning of time. This book will make one ponder on life and the things gained or lost during the journey. Love, how it is discovered, lost, infatuated, or distroyed and kept in a persons soul like a lockbox with one key. That key, SPIRIT.

I highly recommened this book to all Gods creatures, and eagerly wait for Elliott E. Jackson's next performance. encore!!!

Excellent for spotting the finer things in pictures. My 7 year old loves to look at these books over and over again.

Walter Wick books are a favorite of my 5-year old, and this one is a favorite of mine. The photos are absolutely beautiful and full of Christmas spirit. Although kids love the repetition of finding the same things over and over in hidden picture books, adults can get tired of it fast enough. But the photos in this book hold your attention like a coffee-table art book, making it a pleasure to find five Santas in the Gingerbread house for the umpteenth time.

I have the entire series of "Can You See What I See?" and my son at 4 1/2 really enjoys these. I bought his first book when he was about three. It has helped his visual skills so much that he can find some of the objects faster than I can.

We bought this for our three-year old daughter last year and she found it challenging. But at four she loves it. She insists we go through a few pages every night. I love how excited she gets when she finds something. My husband and I sit down and find items with her making for good family time.

This series of of books is terrific! Fantastic art work, and the book can be enjoyed by many ages. A definite "must-buy" for Grandmothers!

This was a great childrens and family book. The prices for a family to share this treasure is outrageous, please reprint the book so others can enjoy the wonderful ..

I have been trying to buy this for my youngest child, lol [she is thirty] and for myself to read to seven grandkids. I bought this for said youngest when she was about ten, and it was her favorite book. Her nephew, my oldest grandchild now 19 ripped it when he was a baby. No fair prince is online for a copy. Hundreds of dollars is way out of line, reads 'gouge' to me. I agree with the writer that suggests we pursue the publishers to reprint, it would be about time. Join the party, how can we get started?

I have been looking for this book everywhere. My mom used to read it to us as kids, and now that I am a mother myself I would love nothing more than to share this wonderful book with my son. If anyone can help me get this book I would love it!!

I grew up reading this book along with others on Christmas Eve every year. My parents won't give up their copy for the same reasons I want one. I have a four year old now and can't wait to share the magic of this book with him. This book contributed to some of the best memories of my life.

Simon and Schuster, do you see these prices??? I am writing this not as a review, but as a sort of petition to the publisher, to get this book back in print. I hope that this works ... new generations of children deserve to love this book as much as ours has! If you agree, please select "Yes".

There are times in life when "stuff" comes from all directions and you are in a fight to stay on top. If a person is looking for something to inspire, encourage and motivate them then I highly recommend this collection of poems. You can tell Samuel writes from his heart and when you read, it seems as if the author was sitting by reminding of hope, to stand strong and was is important in life.
Samuel is an extraordinary writer and I look forward to reading more books from him.

I have never owed a book of poetry but I can see now how sharing these poems with others can stimulate conversation and an appreciation of the world around us. I really like that each poem has been preceded by a special dedication. I would recommend this book for anyone to share with friends or family as a gift or for themselves.

This book has touched me deeply that i see the author talking directly to me, and addressing thing that affects and influence our current generation, i feel so not alone and i have gained alot of encouragement and motivation from this book, Samuel you are talented keep them(books) coming.

Not usually a reader of poetry, I was lifted and inspired by this exceptional collection. Like taking a moment to view an incredible Pacific Ocean sunset or Mt. Rainier filling the horizon, Coin On A Hill is a work of art that gave me a greater appreciation for the richness of our surroundings and the gift of living in America. Reading through this work of passion will enrich your life and inspire you to pursue your dreams. Thank you Samuel!

This collection of poems plays out the relevant things of life. They made me think of things and values that we so often neglect. Thanks for caring enough to share your work with us.

There are three great editions of John Keats's complete poetry: Jack Stillinger's, John Barnard's (Penguin) and the beautiful hardcover edition of Everyman's Library. However, as far as scholarly accuracy goes, Professor Stillinger's edition is the definitive one. Professor Stillinger is a Keats expert who devoted much of his scholarly life in the textual compilation of John Keats's poetry based on printed editions as well as the mass of manuscript material. We can enjoy the fruits of his labor here.

This volume contains all of Keats's poems arranged chronologically, so the reader can trace Keats's dramatic development as a poet in his short life. The introduction offers balanced insights into Keats's style as well as ideas. The notes at the end attest to Professor Stillinger's status as a a fine critic.

There are two editions of Keats's Complete Poems which I
admire very much. This one edited by Jack Stillinger
and published by The Belknap Press of Harvard University
(ISBN: 0674154312) and the Penguin Classics, 3rd
edition, edited by John Barnard (ISBN: 0140422102).
I very much like the fuller notes and 6 Appendices
and the blunt, full, but suggestive chronology in
the Penguin, along with the complete writing and
publishing information fully written out rather
than abbreviated into initials one might have to
look up.

The importance of Jack Stillinger to Keats studies is cited
by both John Barnard (Penguin classics edition of -The
Complete Poems-) and Elizabeth Cook (Oxford World's
Classics edition of -The Major Poems-, ISBN:
0192840630). John Barnard says in his "Introduction":
"Jack Stillinger's -The Poems of John Keats- (Cambridge,
Mass., 1978) and his -The Text of John Keats- (Cambridge,
Mass., 1974) now give the fullest available account of
Keats's text, and are based on a comparision of the
printed texts with the wealth of manuscript material,
now mainly in American libraries."
And this edition compiled and edited by Jack
Stillinger has it glories, too. The first of these
is the excellent "Introduction," which has meaningful
insights in it concerning Keats, but which can also
be related to one's own experiences in life, though
Stillinger does not himself so relate them. A few
of these I like very much are: "Obviously Keats had
an exceptionally keen sensitivity to the minute
particulars of objects, sounds (as well as various
shades of silence), and motions in the world around
him." *** "He nursed his brother Tom in a lengthy
illness that ended in death on December 1st of this
year [1818], and as an added complication he met and
fell in love with Fanny Brawne. More than anything
else, I think, it is this combined experience of
suffering, death, and love all at once, against a
background of serious conversation, reading, and
thinking, that accounts for Keats's sudden rise to
excellence in his poetry."
There is no way, of course, to share Keats's
poetry in a review of this sort. To read it,
experience it, think about it, and realize
the Beauty -- and also the Truth -- in it
is the reward.
-- Robert Kilgore.

Keats not only rivals Shakespeare in the beauty of his verse and the enchanting pictures he conjures but he is a cut above Shakespeare in the value of his art. The two odes 'on a nightingale' and 'on a Grecian urn' surpasses any piece of English literature I have come across so far. In its conception and philosophy ,in its expression of the ephemeral and impermanent nature of human life,its exposition of the permanance of ideal art and in its realization of the principle of the identity of truth and beauty it takes poetic thought to a plane that has never been approached, before or hence in English literature.

One of the most musical of the great poets, whose language has a richness next to Shakespeare's, a most romantic soul whose annus mirabilis 1819 brought forth the five great odes, the tremendous long lines still memorable, Beauty is truth/Truth is Beauty' That is all ye know on earth And all ye need to know/ the pain of beauty or the beauty in pain in the nightingale's song, the lyric of the Grecian urn, the dying at twenty-six ' his name writ in water', much had he travelled in realms of gold, the great letters of negative capability, the ostler's son in a surgeon's hospital , Fanny Brawne, the alien corn of Ruth, all the music which would one day be heard again in the lines of Wallace Stevens, the complexity of beauty dying , hearing more than one voice as the page echoes on, one of the poets' poets surely , upon a peak in Darien, like all the great masters he only gains in rereading.

No personal library can be complete without at least a sampling of Keats, and this is the book that everyone should get. All the poems -- even the fragments -- are here, with line numbers included. The several appendices and letter excerpts make the collection even more valuable. If you are trying to decide which Keats collection to get, you have found the best.