Rating: 3 stars
Cover synopsis: The way we view our nation -- its history, its traditions, even our distinctly American voice -- is largely determined by our literature. The immortal poems and songs included here will remind every reader of the richness and variety of the poetry of America and its people.
I know I'm supposed to like poetry. And I do like some of it. But even though I know the poems in this book were essential to the making of America, I felt like I had to slog through a good portion of them (Walt Whitman, Vachel Lindsay and others) to get to the good stuff.
Poetry is best read aloud, so I sat on the couch mumbling the words to myself. As I did, I fell in love with several works in this book: Edgar Allen Poe (wow, I loved The Bells!), Emily Dickensen and Hugh Antoine D'Arcy (Face on the Barroom Floor), Robert W. Service (Cremation of Sam McGee) and Allen Ginsberg (A Supermarket in California), among others.
