New book: Jack London’s Poetry

From Clarice Stasz via the Jack London listserv:

I’m delighted to announce that Dan Wichlan’s The Complete Poetry of Jack London is now into a fully revised 2nd Edition.  Dan has added a poem written for Anna Strunsky, expanded his introduction, made minor corrections.  As many on this discussion know, Jack loved poetry–to read, to speak aloud, to include in his own works.  Many of London’s early writings and submissions were poems, although ultimately he acknowledged he was not a good poet.  He discovered that know how a dactyl was different from a spondee was insufficient.

Those unfamiliar with his book should be advised it is much more than a collection of Jack’s own poetry.  Dan’s scholarship includes the date the poem was written, its original manuscript location, and publication information.  Two sections of special interest provide all the poetry Jack used in his writings, along with their sources.  I was impressed to discover the Red Cloud chant in Little Lady comes from one of the most reliable sources of California Native anthropology.

Two plays written in poetic form are included: The Acorn Planter and The First Poet, attributed to George Sterling.

As a final gift, Wichlan includes Jack’s book inscriptions to Bess, Charmian, Joan and Becky.

The book is published by Little Red Tree in New London, CT.  Casual readers and scholars will all find material of interest here.  I commend the publishers for the astute use of different type sets to separate categories of material.  This arrangement adds to the pleasure of reading.

Clarice Stasz