Status
Available
Series
Genres
Collection
Publication
Boston and New York, Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1892
Description
William Jolliff, Professor of English at George Fox University, has selected 55 of John Greenleaf Whittier's more than 500 poems with the intention of turning Quaker (and other) readers into Whittier fans. His guiding focus for this edition is "readability by contemporaries." A biographical and critical introduction and the identification of themes in introductions to each section are important guides. William Jolliff's brief introductions to the poems themselves give specific historical background and interpretive help when necessary. Includes Snow-Bound, "Ichabod, " "Telling the Bees, " "The Barefoot Boy, " "Skipper Ireson's Ride, " and "In the Old South."
User reviews
LibraryThing member sallylou61
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
Unfortunately, this paperback book was very poorly bound; although I bought it new several years ago, it feel apart as I was reading it.
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"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 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.
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LibraryThing member DanielSTJ
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
2.5 stars.
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so.2.5 stars.
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