Poetry and Other Publications ( #AtoZChallenge )

          Plenty of 'P' entries in this post.   I could have found a lot more I'm sure if I had kept on poking around through my possessions, but this is probably enough for the present.

Pride and Prejudice & Co.

       Though I purchased a copy of the 1966 release of the Norton Critical Edition of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice back when I was in college somewhere in the early 1970's, I never read it until about 50 years later when I ordered the mash-up Pride and Prejudice and Zombies from the Quality Paperback Book Club.  Before reading the newer book, I decided to gain better context by reading the original.  Austen seemed too dry and stilted to me back in my college days, but I didn't get where she was coming from until about a third of my way through the book.  I had gotten so bogged down by the nineteenth century style that I didn't realize the book was meant to be funny.  I had been taking it too seriously.  Once I got into the rhythm of the writing I started to enjoy what I was reading.  With an appreciation of the Austen original under my belt, I was able to enjoy the later parody when I read it.  Both are fun books, but Austen's book is definitely the superior literary work.  The zombie book is an entertaining read though.

Pirate Coast by Richard Zacks

       Another book club purchase, I liked this book a great deal.   This is an intriguing story about the Barbary Coast pirates and the actions taken by the newly formed United States to make them stop attacking their ships.  A very interesting story that I didn't know much about.  I'd give this book a big five stars for those who like historical non-fiction.  Not exactly what I said in my Amazon review but now I've decided on five stars.

Pot Stories for the Soul by Paul Krassner

      Since purchasing this from the Quality Paperback Book Club, I haven't read any of this book.   It's a collection of short anecdotes about you can guess what topic presented in the style of the popular "Chicken Soup for the Soul" series.  I should probably sample a few of the stories.  This looks like a very fast read.

Poetry Collections

The Oxford Book of English Verse edited by Christopher Ricks

        This is one of those big anthologies that look nice on the shelf.  It contains poetry we all likely know or remember vaguely in our past educations.  This book will probably stay in pristine condition for a long time to come.  That is, until someone starts reading it.  I tend not to read poetry that often so that someone will probably not be me.

101 Famous Poems compiled by Roy J Cook

       This collection published in 1958 was given to my second wife and I as a gift in 1991.  From the inscription inside the front cover, knowing who gave it to us, I'm sure it was a book they had probably obtained somewhere around the publication date.  The book is in remarkably good condition considering its age.  I guess the givers of the gift read it as much as I have.  It will likely remain in good condition.  That's not to say the poetry is bad, but I likely have all of these poems in other collections.

Walt Whitman:  Selected Poems

        Somewhere I think I have a copy of Whitman's Leaves of Grass, but since I didn't see that book anywhere in my search I decided to go for this one.   Any decent library of poetry probably should include something by Whitman.  Many of his poems can be found in some of my collections of poetry by various authors, but I think a complete volume of his work is a better representation to have in a collection.

These, My Singing Words by Marvin Eugene Girard

      Marvin Girard, his wife, and daughter were circus performers in fifties and sixties.  Their specialties were rope-spinning and juggling.  In 1976 I visited the family at their home in Owosso Michigan while I was touring with the Ken Griffin Magic Show.  If I remember correctly, they had worked at some point in the past with the Griffins. At the time of the visit, Marvin had recently published this book of poetry about circus life.  That being a point of interest for me and my family, I purchased a copy of the book for myself as well as one for my father.  Mr. Girard signed my copy which I still have on my bookshelf.  This small book of poetry is likely kind of rare.

Yvonne Lewis 

         Many of you likely know of Yvonne and maybe even have some of her poetry books.  She writes with simplicity and clarity so you don't have to delve and dissect to figure out what her poems are saying.  They say what's on Yvonne's mind.   Yvonne Lewis has a special connection with the A to Z Challenge in that she was the very first person to sign up to join me in my first Challenge in 2010.  In 2012 I had the opportunity to spend a day with Yvonne when she came to visit Los Angeles while on a U.S. vacation which I wrote about here.  Yvonne kindly send me copies of her books Written from the Heart and Negative v Positive.  

       If you read Pride and Prejudice, did you think it was funny?   Are there any classics (or other books) that you bought many years ago but haven't read until recently?  Do you read much poetry?