Poetry Books

I was introduced to Robert Service while attending Jr. High in Alaska. I loved his work so much that my parents bought me this book. Picking it up again, after 25 years, his work is still captivating. It transports the reader back 100+ years, to a wild frontier.

And I want to go back - and I will.

I am not much for poetry in general (having been forced to determine feet and meter and memorize types of sonnets, etc...), but Service's poetry is simple, amazingly clear, and beautiful. His descriptions of the Northern Lights and the wonders of the North are worth the price of the book just in of themselves.

Exactly what I was looking for for my husband. I think it has everything Robert Service ever wrote and is fabulous.

Exactly what I was looking for for my husband. I think it has everything Robert Service ever wrote and is fabulous.

I hunted far and wide to find this particular volume of poetry by Robert Service. Robert Service is without any doubt my favorite poet. His poems are classics. But many years past when I was just a youth, I stumbled onto a volume of Robert Service where he wrote short prose introductions to his poems. Hoping one day to become a poet myself, I thought these prose introductions provided the greatest insight to how a poet creates. I looked and looked and looked but could never find that volume. Then one day in a second hand book shop some where I found it. It was this volume. I paid a good price for it. I've recorded all these poems with the prose intros on my karaoke and I play them for myself sometimes at bed time. My wife has her "ears" on her burrow (she's hard of hearing) so she is not disturbed. In my opinion Robert is the epitome of fine poetry. He has it all humor, pathos, romance, intellectual content, melody, beauty, intensity, warmth, toughness, manliness - you name it; he's got it. Buy this volume you will not regret it.

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.

The /mandatory/ companion to Berryman's /Collected Poems/, as Berryman isn't Berryman without the /Dream Songs/.
Always confessional, sometimes maudlin, never mawkish, always jerking language around to try to make it mean what he sees, the /Dream Songs/ are a brouhaha among his various selves, all passionate in their aspirations and their disagreements, an ongoing (1955-71) ruckus that made Berryman as he made them.
Warning: If you simply can't stand a ringside seat at a fight, don't; this ain't television.

HAHA guys

What is this........... eh, not quite sure, but, slipped so easily into the unknown without PREJUDICE, completely into the author's syntax, thoughts and, yes, dreams.

This author waved to the onlookers as he descended to the hard, craggy Mississippi Rocks that he LOVED. Not a particular story many people in the press want to hold above THE LAUREATES and Fakes that permeate our Poetry industry. A truly strange trip through the head of an albatross in flight....

I love ROCKS.

the main point of criticism of this poem is its hyper-personal self-referential content. i have to say, however, that i have never felt so comforted, so saddened nor so delighted by any work of art or literature or film as i have by these songs no matter how little i know about what he really means or is talking about. i don't even want to know the specifics or the origins behind every line.
this is the most jarring and successful work of experimental anything i've ever encountered in my life. berryman had such a command of language; vernacular, colloqialisms, meter, form, internal rhyme, schizo pronoun shifts, multiplicity, this masterpiece has it all. 'the dream songs' take language and poetry to its limits and does so succinctly, with meter and rigid sonnet form berryman devised for the work.
the fact that the beats overshadow people like berryman and john barth and william carlos williams is simply a crime. i honestly feel that this work surpasses 'leaves of grass' and is probably the most amazing achievement in american poetry.
this is not to say that i think berryman is america's finest poet (more than likely our most erudite, but not our finest). on the contrary, i think he was a marginal writer who caught fire like no one ever has. this is what art is; one person's fractured assemblege of all the shattered pieces of everything in an epic confession where he is in fact three people and is killed and raises from the dead and cheats and lies and is mistreated and is wrong, all in heroic fashion. to want to know where it all came from is wrong and selfish and diminishes the work. to be consoled or bored or outraged is what must be done.
i re-read this beast about once a year, last time through 191 was probably my favorite. like all masterpieces, you appreciate something different every time.
buy this book, steal it, whatever you have to do.

At first, I didn't find much to rejoice about in this collection of poems. The expectation Berryman sets up with his title is deceptive. I found little evidence of "dream." What I mean is that I found this writing highly literal, straight-forward and self-conscious, i.e. the antithesis of dreamy. Secondly, "songs" troubled me. One of the thing that distinguishes poetry from prose is poetry's musicality. And having "songs" in the title of a collection hints that there may be lyricism within. However, I found the diction flabby, the tone impotent and therefore lacking any semblance of lyricism. Perhaps what Berryman meant by "songs" is this: Perhaps these poems are loose ballads (without the envoi and without the predicable rhyming scheme). Ballades address an important person (Henry, in this case) and sums up the point of the poems.

It's terrible to sum-up a collection of poems (or is The Dream Songs considered one poem in parts?), but here goes: Basically, in each section we have the protagonist, Henry, in various situations, or in mere contemplation. The forward for this book is interesting in that, along the lines of Pound and Eliot, Berryman has made a concerted effort to inform his readership that this is, indeed, a persona poem, and therefore, not to be confused with a biographical poem. Perhaps what Berryman has produced here is an eclogue. An eclogue is a poem "written in the form of a monologue or dialogue in which the speaker tells us what he feels about a particular theme (and why) and why others ought to feel that same way (from Handbook of Poetic Forms)." When I approach these poems as bucolics (or, eclogues), Berryman's craft and the poems' meanings open up for me. Otherwise, these seem banally idea-driven and terribly discursive in that they're sometimes laden with private references. For example, the opening few lines: "Huffy Henry hid the day,/ unappeasable Henry sulked./ I see his point,-- a trying to put things over."

The best way to enter these poems, then, is to embrace Berryman's eclogues as a means to engaging with the main character, Henry. Because these poems are character-driven, the language is conversational, idiosyncratic, and at times, pedestrian (like how most of us are just plain boring in our impromptu conversations). In this sense, these poems have an immediacy to them; the reader can almost hear Henry's diatribes straight from his mouth. However, Henry is not without pithy insight. In part #28 Henry displays his humor and resign: "If I had to do the whole thing over again/ I wouldn't." At times these sections begin with such intrigue, they reel-in the reader. Part #44 begins: "Tell it to the forest fire, tell it to the moon." And at times, the readers are reminded of the fact that Henry's merely a character in Berryman's head. These last two lines of part #74, "Henry mastered, Henry/ tasting all the secret bits of life." And that's just what we get from these Dream Songs, bits of a Berryman character in all his intricacies, both commonplace and celebratory.

I am not very knowledgable about Berryman and his work. I certainly have not read the poems with the time and intensity of a number of the reviewers on this site. I have an impression of Berryman and his work. It is of something vaguely likeable occaisionally able to provide a line which hits home. It is of a very variable voice in which the disorder and the breakdown somehow make the text too mixed- up.
Perhaps this is unfair. Bellow thought Berryman the best, and among other poets he too was understood as one of the best of his time.
Perhaps then I should let his lines , lines of one sonnet at least speak for themselves:

These lovely motions of the air, the breeze,
tell me I'm not in hell, thojugh round me the dead
lie in their limp postures
dramatizing the dreadful word 'instead'
for lively Henry, fit for debaucheries
and bird- of- paradise vestures

only his heart is elsewhere , down with them
& down with Delmore specially, the new ghost
haunting Henry most:
though fierce the claims of others, coimedela crime
came the Hebrew spectre , on a note of woe
and Join me O.

'Down with them all!'Henry suddenly cried
Their deaths were theirs. I wait on for my own,
I dare say it won't be long,
I have tried to be them, god knows I have tried,
but they are past it all, I have not done,
which brings me to the end of this song.

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!

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.

Being the wife of a combat Marine I really learned alot from Doc's book. I read the book all the way through and this is a book that is alive. Our heroes sacrifice so much for us and if it wasn't for them we would not have our freedom. Doc, thank you for helping me understand more about PTSD and what y'all went through. I don't give this book a 5 star rating , I give it a 10 star rating.

I was to young to actually know the impact that this war had on our men and women. This book by Mr McFall gets right to his heart and his feelings. It is so powerful! I believe that this book should be used in many ways to help communicate the effects that war has on an individual. God bless our men and women who have served our great country!
Thank you Mr McFall and may God continue to bless you and your family!

A combat medic lives war at its worst, and remembers every terrified scream of it.

There are the memories of those who were treated and made it home; of those whose wounds were beyond treatment despite heroic efforts.

Those memories are as fresh today as the emotions were at the time of treatment; memories of soldiers and civilians gushing blood; memories of soldiers and civilians having body parts torn and cascading into all the wrong places.

For E. Everett McFall, there are the memories of jumbled body parts and attempts to put them together to form the remains of what were once men - individual men with loved ones, hopes, talents, and dreams that dripped into the red soil or into the floor of the jungle.

There are no fancy words here. His words are direct, his pain drips off the pages and into the heart of the reader.

McFall writes from the heart. He writes from a soul splintered and haunted by 365 days that have been lived over and over and over again for the last 40 years.

We measure war in terms of dollar costs; in counts of the dead; in counts of the wounded.
But we have yet to learn to measure war in terms of lives ruined by Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. We have yet to learn to measure the losses of those who love those who come home with PTSD.

We have yet to learn the true face of war. E. Ernest McFall provides the reader with a vivid and heart tearing word portrait of the hideous face of war; of the plague of PTSD; of the rending of soul by survivor's guilt and questions of why am I still here when so very many others are not.

Pfc Jay E. Keck contributes his poetry to I Can Still Hear Their Cries. May I ask you to direct your attention to the last lines of his Sand Soldiers and pay heed to his admonition, as there are all kinds, as he points out in another poem, all kinds of Bogeymen contributing to PTSD - even those who should have, and in truth did, know better.


I Can Still Hear Their Cries is a story of the long, long road home. It is a tale that will speak to other Veterans who suffer PTSD. It is a tale needed by those who love those with PTSD to help them understand.

McFall tells you, loud and clear, that drugs and alcohol only bury the pain deeper, rather than excavating it and getting help to go through it to healing.

McFall notes that he is still in the process of finding his way home. It is a long road.

But I Can Still Hear Their Cries may open your eyes to the possibility that there is, in fact, a road home for you too - should you choose to come up from the dark to the Light.

Take the first step - there are many, many around to help you - just reach out - someone is there waiting to walk point for you.

Mr. McFall uses a combination of stories and poems to pull the reader into the pain and turmoil of living with PTSD. This book is a MUST READ for veterans and their families and friends who struggle to understand the scars left from battle.

We have been told the Vietnam veterans' story many times before. We've seen it in the movies, in books, on TV, and on the corners of our streets. Yet, in an intimate way, in E. Everett McFall's book, `I Can Still Hear Their Cries, Even in My Sleep,' the inner struggle of the Vietnam Vet comes home yet again. This time the reflections come from within. Having read `Born on the Fourth of July,' and seen 'Platoon,' I feel that McFall properly takes us to a new dimension, focusing on the inner torment that won't shut off.

Consisting of reflections, resources, and nearly thirty poems, he focuses on the pride, bitterness, and fragility of his service as a US Marine Hospital Corpsman in The Vietnam War from 1966-67. Whether in prose or in poetry, he won't ever let us forget their sacrifices. Noting that some have forgotten the Vets of the War, the Vets of the War have taken it home with them and can't ever forget. In detail, sometimes graphic at others subdued, he shares images of the grim reality in battle that haunt him--and probably will haunt him until death.

The title is a bare-bones description of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (or PTSD). In his introduction McFall concisely states that "It's an instant video play-back in my mind, with cranial surround sound." That playback is given a stark treatment in poems such as "Death Angel" and "Flashback". Whether drawing from elements of traditional poetry or relying on rap-like structure, the subject matter changes with the rhythm. In "Patrol on Ambush" and "The Ooorah Warrior" the repetition reflects the routine of a marine waiting for the next development in "combat hell." At other times the rhythm is more irregular to reflect the chaos and death that surround him. To round out his repertoire, "Heavenly Star" and "Brotherhood" add much needed hope to the experience.

But the main focus is on the indelible memories of trauma and death. "Tic Tic Tic" and "Undying Memories" are each aptly titled for their flashback resonance in waking moments that rush into consciousness. Flanking McFall's work are sample poems by fellow veteran Pfc. Jay E. Keck and anonymous poems (which is entirely appropriate given the unknown soldier element of every war). The guide ends with a short, poignant reflection and a resource guide for the veteran suffering from PTSD, including a handy guideline for filling out forms for VA claims.

Whether approached as a cathartic guide for fellow veterans or a route to vicarious appreciation from uninitiated civilians, 'I Can Still Hear Their Cries,...' is an essential portal to understanding the trauma of selfless veterans of a tragic War. Clearly by McFall's writings, the repercussions are still being fought today. If you were at the front lines of the War or at the front of the picket lines--or even too young to remember--Ernest McFall's little book will have a big impact on how you feel about those who served their country at such a fragile time in our history.

A lovely book. Translations from another culture and time that we can still relate to. A pleasure to read and reread.

Wonderful poems showing the power and of two woman poets of the Heian Jidai. Exposes the "nature" poetry prejudice that derives from the unfortunately all male cutesy pie abbreviations of Westernized haiku. Waka yes, Haiku no.

The Heian period of Japan was artistically fertile time that produced numerous classic works of literature. It was even more remarkable in that most of the major literary figures of the time were women. Among those great women, Ono no Komachi and Izumi Shikibu were two of the best. Their waka poetry (now called 'tanka') is some of the best literature ever written in Japan and the poetesses themselves have become the stuff of legend.

Doing justice in translating ancient Japanese into modern English is no easy task, but Hirshfield and Aratani have created translations that are as beautiful as the originals. Anyone who enjoys poetry, who loves love, or who is interested in other cultures and finding the universal passions of the human heart will enjoy this book.

--M. Kei, editor of Fire Pearls : Short Masterpieces of the Human Heart

Jane Hirshfield and Mariko Aratani have done a marvelous job with the translation of these lovely tanka-- manages to capture both their fragility and robust complexity. I had an acquaintance who was a scholar with a focus on Japanese literature. She explained to me a little bit about the complexity of translating waka. I have nothing but admiration for those who can do it well. Hirshfield actually has an essay at the back of this book called "On Japanese Poetry and the Process of Translation". I recommend it highly, even if you do not normally read this kind of essay.

I am a little bit afraid that the focus on the love poems and the emphasis on Ono no Komachi and Izumi Shikibu as female writers may give the wrong idea about the strength and importance of the poetry. Shikibu is widely considered the greatest poet of her period and Ono no Komachi was one of the Rokkasen-- the six best waka poets of the early Heian period. The reason that I am not giving this volume five stars is because of this packaging and not because of the poetry itself.

These poems are a joy to read aside from any issues of scholarship. They are strong and sad and very affecting. There is actually no stronger recommendation to read this than the poems themselves, so I will close this review with one of the poems by Shikibu:

What is the use
of cherishing life in spring?
Its flowers
only shackle us
to this world.

Unlike other reviewers, I am not an aficionado of Japanese poetry or culture, nor have I ever studied this period in Japanese history. I found this book entirely by chance buried in an obscure corner in my college library. I read a couple of random pages and fell in love. I checked it out repeatedly throughout my academic career, then bought it.

These women so effectively communicate, in few words, universal feelings of love. While the poems are deceptively simple, they manage to be so beautiful that I am amazed every time I pick it up.

Even more impressive than the writing is how easy it is to relate to the emotions behind it. As I have grown older and experienced so much more of life, I am surprised to find my own feelings mirroring one poem after another. What once seemed pretty words are eerily my own thoughts. It's amazing, considering they were written one thousand years ago!

If you're thinking about buying this, I suggest using the preview to read the few sample pages. If you like what you see, just get it. You won't be disappointed.