100 Selected Poems

cummings isn't for everyone, I know, but really, he's more accessible than people think. This collection is a wonderful way to try out his poems for people who are new to him and a sheer delight for those of us who love him.

Not every poem here is marvelous, of course. There are some missing I'd have included and some included that I'd have left out, but that's merely personal preference. And frankly, with both "anyone lived in a pretty how town" and "my father walked through dooms of love" included, the other 98 could've been pure shite and this would still be a 5-star book. Fortunately, there are many, many more wonderful poems than just those two.

This was a perfect first read for the year--a reminder that no matter how badly humans show more may mess up the world, we are also capable of great hope and joy. show less

My very last book for the book bingo challenge! I was under major time crunch, and should have known better than to pick poetry for a fast read, but it was "a book with a number in the title," and it fit both the poetry category and the to-read categories of my personal reading resolutions for the year, which have been sadly neglected during the book bingo scramble this summer.

I spent the first half of this book struggling with how to read it. A few already known poems I loved, and a few more sparkled, but too many I failed to connect with. About halfway through I finally realized I needed to stop reading the poems and start listening to them in my brain. Then they finally came alive. The last twelve or so I actually read aloud to show more myself on a bench near Impression 5 when I got to work early the last day of the summer program. I hope no one overheard me as I'm sure I would have sounded crazy, but it was lovely.

I didn't fully unpack these poems in the mode of my ModPo class, and I have some regrets about that, but I enjoyed the experience all the same. show less

Some lovely and playful poetry, with clever wordplay and a deep sense of humanism at the base of it. I confess I enjoyed the earlier poems in this selection the best, as those from his middle to late years were generally less accessible and impactful to me. All in all though, a nice book to sample from while out in a park in the sunshine.

Just this poem, from 1935:

may i feel said he
(i’ll squeal said she
just once said he)
it’s fun said she

(may i touch said he
how much said she
a lot said he)
why not said she

(let’s go said he
not too far said she
what’s too far said he
where are are said she)

may i stay said he
(which way said she
like this said he
if you kiss said she

may i move said he
is it love said she)
if you’re willing said he
(but show more you’re willing said she

but it’s your life said he
but your wife said she
now said he)
ow said she

(tiptop said he
don’t stop said she
oh on said he)
go slow said she

(cccome?said he
ummm said she)
you’re divine!said he
(you are Mine said she) show less

100 Selected poems is a smattering of e.e. Cummings work, early and late (although not everything in there is necessarily his best, I must say, nor does it include some of his more famous poems). As with any of his poetry, it often requires time to sit, read and digest it. The book does not include intros to any of his work, nor does it give you a timeline of what was written when. That said, it is still a wonderful collection for any fan of Cummings, or poetry, for that matter.

What a funny little book this was. Not ha ha funny, but interesting, quirky, odd yet entertaining. ee cummings, who wrote his name in lower case letters, wrote in a unique style all his own. What's unique about his poems is perhaps just that, his odd syntax, random punctuations and made up words. I can just picture the nuns from 8th grade wagging their fingers at him, b/c of his disregard for any kind of rules of writing. He seemed to be in a little world of his own. And many of his poems I didn't quite understand in the usual sense... but they evoked feelings.

One interesting stylistic quirk of his was forming negatives out of words that are never in the negative, such as 'unbecause'... And he inserts capital letters and half show more parentheses here and there....just randomly, it seems...

Common themes in these poems were kisses and spring. Lots of references to spring, and so it was timely to read this now.

My favorite writing of his, still, is his little odd story called The Old Man Who Said 'Why'. I recommend checking ee cummings out. Particularly his children's writings...Just don't show it to any nuns! show less

Cummings had the great talent to express common (even commonplace) emotional events in thoroughly original ways. The poems included are extracted from collections from 1923 (Tulips and Chimneys to 1950 (Xaipe).

Unconventional but lyrical, poignant and--why not say it?--beautiful poetry.
Arguably e.e.cummings constructed not only one of the most controversial
poems in English (i sing of Olaf) but also one of the most beautiful single
lines "nobody,not even the rain,has such small hands."