Spoon River Anthology

Fiction & Literature, Poetry, American
Cover of the book Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters, iOnlineShopping.com
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Edgar Lee Masters ISBN: 9788832557862
Publisher: iOnlineShopping.com Publication: March 30, 2019
Imprint: Language: English
Author: Edgar Lee Masters
ISBN: 9788832557862
Publisher: iOnlineShopping.com
Publication: March 30, 2019
Imprint:
Language: English

Spoon River Anthology (1915), by Edgar Lee Masters, is a collection of short free verse poems that collectively narrates the epitaphs of the residents of Spoon River, a fictional small town named after the real Spoon River that ran near Masters' home town of Lewistown, Illinois. The aim of the poems is to demystify rural and small town American life. The collection includes 212 separate characters, in all providing 244 accounts of their lives, losses, and manner of death. Many of the poems contain cross-references that create an unabashed tapestry of the community. The poems were originally published in the St. Louis, Missouri literary journal Reedy's Mirror.

The first poem serves as an introduction.

Each following poem is an autobiographical epitaph of a dead citizen, delivered by the dead themselves. Characters include Tom Merritt, Amos Sibley, Carl Hamblin, Fiddler Jones and A.D. Blood. They speak about the sorts of things one might expect: some recite their histories and turning points, others make observations of life from the outside, and petty ones complain of the treatment of their graves, while few tell how they really died. The subject of afterlife receives only the occasional brief mention, and even those seem to be contradictory. Speaking without reason to lie or fear the consequences, they construct a picture of life in their town that is shorn of façades. The interplay of various villagers — e.g. a bright and successful man crediting his parents for all he's accomplished, and an old woman weeping because he is secretly her illegitimate child — forms a gripping, if not pretty, whole.
 

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Spoon River Anthology (1915), by Edgar Lee Masters, is a collection of short free verse poems that collectively narrates the epitaphs of the residents of Spoon River, a fictional small town named after the real Spoon River that ran near Masters' home town of Lewistown, Illinois. The aim of the poems is to demystify rural and small town American life. The collection includes 212 separate characters, in all providing 244 accounts of their lives, losses, and manner of death. Many of the poems contain cross-references that create an unabashed tapestry of the community. The poems were originally published in the St. Louis, Missouri literary journal Reedy's Mirror.

The first poem serves as an introduction.

Each following poem is an autobiographical epitaph of a dead citizen, delivered by the dead themselves. Characters include Tom Merritt, Amos Sibley, Carl Hamblin, Fiddler Jones and A.D. Blood. They speak about the sorts of things one might expect: some recite their histories and turning points, others make observations of life from the outside, and petty ones complain of the treatment of their graves, while few tell how they really died. The subject of afterlife receives only the occasional brief mention, and even those seem to be contradictory. Speaking without reason to lie or fear the consequences, they construct a picture of life in their town that is shorn of façades. The interplay of various villagers — e.g. a bright and successful man crediting his parents for all he's accomplished, and an old woman weeping because he is secretly her illegitimate child — forms a gripping, if not pretty, whole.
 

More books from iOnlineShopping.com

Cover of the book Susan Lenox: Her Fall and Rise by Edgar Lee Masters
Cover of the book Autobiography of Andrew Dickson White — Volume 1 by Edgar Lee Masters
Cover of the book A Heap o' Livin' by Edgar Lee Masters
Cover of the book The 1994 CIA World Factbook by Edgar Lee Masters
Cover of the book Prayers Written At Vailima, and A Lowden Sabbath Morn by Edgar Lee Masters
Cover of the book Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (2nd 100 Pages) by Edgar Lee Masters
Cover of the book Beacon Lights of History, Volume 3 part 2: Renaissance and Reformation by Edgar Lee Masters
Cover of the book Songs of a Savoyard by Edgar Lee Masters
Cover of the book The Two Noble Kinsmen by Edgar Lee Masters
Cover of the book The Riddle of the Rhine: Chemical Strategy in Peace and War by Edgar Lee Masters
Cover of the book Beacon Lights of History, Volume 3 part 1: The Middle Ages by Edgar Lee Masters
Cover of the book Resurrection Seven by Edgar Lee Masters
Cover of the book The Vigil of Brunhild / A Narrative Poem by Edgar Lee Masters
Cover of the book The Lock and Key Library: The Most Interesting Stories of All Nations: North Europe — Russian — Swedish — Danish — Hungarian by Edgar Lee Masters
Cover of the book Voyage of the Paper Canoe / A Geographical Journey of 2500 Miles, from Quebec to the Gulf of Mexico, During the Years 1874-5 by Edgar Lee Masters
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy