John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–1892)

This guy was a zealot on the right side of history. His abolitionist stance was based on his Biblical and Quaker roots. This book collects his poems from throughout his life including the political and war poetry. The highlight is Snow-bound, a slice of life in early 19th Century New England. Whittier’s rhyming poetry is remarkable, but he has fallen out of favor due to a movement away from hymn-like poems and less interest in the rural folk tales he often retells.

Reading this collection is like collecting shells on a Cape Cod beach. Scattered among the old fashioned poetry with references to people and causes long lost to history, are ballads and legends with tales of an even older New England. These I picked up and examined like the treasures they are. The Wreck of Rivermouth is one, with the line; “The beach-birds dance and the gray gulls wheel.” The Changling was a spooky poem of witchcraft. The Double-headed Snake of Newbury is a horror show more story: “Stories, like dragons, are hard to kill. / If the snake does not, the tale runs still.” Whittier’s memories of his past are the best poetry. Snow Bound and Maud Muller are two of his more well known poems. Maud Muller has the line:“The saddest are these, ‘It might have been.’” And then there is, “Blessings on thee, little man/ Barefoot boy, with cheek of tan!” show less

This collection is a selection of Whittier's poetry. It is divided into five sections: "Prophet of the Republic" (social reform, especially in relation to slavery), "The Warming Haze of Yesterday" (memories), "Snow-Bound" (a long single poem), "Crafting the Past" (long, narrative poems), and "Tokens of an Inward Journey" (religious poems). The editor provides introductions to the work as a whole, each section, and each poem. In many cases, I found the introductions more interesting than the show more poems themselves although I liked some of the poetry very much. I was disappointed in the selection of religious poems; I much preferred those published in Selections from the Religious Poems of John Greenleaf Whittier published by the Tract Association of Friends in 1999. I particularly missed "Dear Lord and Father of Mankind," a hymn which appears in hymnals of various religions, for which Whittier wrote the words.

Unfortunately, this paperback book was very poorly bound; although I bought it new several years ago, it feel apart as I was reading it. show less

This was an interesting series of poems. While they are archaic, some of the language possesses a fervent expression of poetical poise that brings the work up as a whole. There are numerous good lines, but they are mixed with a fixed tonal modality throughout. Overall, worth reading- but barely so.

2.5 stars.