The Raven And Other Poems by Edgar Allan Poe

The Raven and Other Poems by Edgar Allan Poe
My copy published 1992
Source: bought it for my son

Everyone knows the poem "The Raven" and probably several of Poe's many stories.  I had never read any of Poe's other poems prior to reading this book.  Not surprisingly, there's not a happy one in the bunch. Poe's life was difficult and filled with the lose of loved ones, many of the deaths being memorialized in his poetry. 

There were only a couple of poems that I liked in this collection; I far prefer Poe's stories to his poetry.  The relentless sadness, the strange cadence of some of the poems, and the similarity between so many of the poems all served to make this slim volume one I had to fight to get through.  This one pretty much sums up so many of them and so much more succintly:

"Deep In Earth"
Deep in earth my love is lying
And I must weep alone.

I read this collection as part of the Gilmore Girls Challenge.  I can't tell you how much I wish Rory would have read "The Tell-Tale Heart" instead of "The Raven!"

Sonnets From The Portuguese by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

 Sonnets From The Portuguese by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

My copy of the book is reprinted from the fourth edition of "Poems" by Barrett Browning which was published in 1856.

Source: this one's mine--although when I got it, I can't recall.  Strangely there is no publication in my slim, leather-bound edition.  I know I've had it more than 30 years.

Reading these sonnets, I was struck by several things.  They just don't right 'em like this any more and I'm not sure anyone else ever did.  These sonnets are a collection of very personal poems, not just love sonnets.  The Barret family was once well-to-do but when Elizabeth was 18 her family fell on hard time.  Depending on the source, she began to suffer from a mysterious ailment at 15 or 20 that doctors at the time were never able to accurately diagnosis,  leaving her something of an invalid and a morphine addict. Both of these circumstances were very obvious this collection as was a strong sense of God.

Elizabeth Barret met Robert Browning after he wrote to her because he enjoyed one of her poetry collections.  Six years younger than her and far more worldly, she seemed to have trouble believing that he loved her as much as he professed.  The collection that is now referred to as "Sonnets From The Portuguese" is a very personal journey through the course of their courtship including her questioning of his assertions of love and her doubts about leaving her family for him.  Robert convinced her to publish the collection even though Elizabeth felt they were too personal; they came upon the title as a way to disguise the fact that Elizabeth had written them to Robert.  "My little Portuguese" was his nickname for her, hence the choice to pretend that the collection was a translation of Portuguese poetry.

There are many lovely poems in this collection, although some of them left me scratching my head.  Of course, Barret Browning's  most famous poem is this one:

"How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height

My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight

For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.

 I love thee to the level of everyday's

Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.

I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;

I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.

I love thee with the passion put to use

In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.

I love thee with a love I seemed to lose

With my lost saints, --I love thee with the breath,

Smiles, tears, of all my life!  --and, if God choose,

I shall but love thee better after death."

Where The Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

Where The Sidewalk Ends: poems and drawings of Shel Silverstein
176 pages
Published November 1974 by Harper Collins
Source:My kids got this one for Christmas 1995

The Barnes and Noble site says this one is recommended for ages 9-12; to which I say phooey. My boys were both younger than this when they got this book and they loved it. I'm a couple of years older than 12 now and I found it delightful.

Silverstein uses all types of rhyme and poetry, including one poem that runs down the neck of a giraffe and another that is written on a woman's nose. He never talks down to the reader and using humor even manages to instill a few life lessons. I've read this book many times with my kids but this time suddenly caught the poem advocating vegetarianism, the one bemoaning the idea of bringing a child into the a world filled with pollution and war, and one advising against racism.

No Difference

Small as a peanut,
Big as a giant,
We're all the same size
When we turn off the light.

Rich as a sultan,
Poor as a mite,
We're all worth the same
When we turn off the light.

Red, black or orange,
Yellow or white,
We all look the same
When we turn off the light

So maybe the way
To make everything right
Is for God to just reach out
And turn off the light!

How did I not notice these before? Oh yeah--it was probably because some of the time I was traveling down memory lane. Where The Sidewalk Ends includes the poems "Boa Constrictor" which was recorded by Peter, Paul, and Mary and "The Unicorn" recorded by The Irish Rovers, both songs I loved growing up.

One of my kids favorites:

The Hat

Teddy said it was a hat,
So I put it on.
Now Dad is saying,
"Where the heck's
the toilet plunger gone?

When my oldest got a sink plunger as a joke a few months after they got this book, Mini-me promptly placed it on his head just like Shel Silverstein's drawing!

I picked this one up again as part of the You've Got Mail challenge. I had so much fun with this one, I'm going to have to pull another of the kids' poetry books off the shelf!