The American People’s Best Beloved Poems – By Hazel Felleman

This Book of Poetry was printed in 1936. Please be patient while I describe what our country was like at that time. It was in the midst of the last great depression, and therefore at a very bad economic time. However, it was bought and read by many people for the same reasons I have read it many times. Tom Brokaw called it “The Greatest Generation”.

The book was dedicated to Adolph S. Ochs, editor of the New York Times, who died in 1935. Ochs was a lover of poetry who began his career as a paperboy in Tennessee. While we can now “Google” information on almost anything, at the time the radio and newspaper were our main source of information for those who could afford it.

Felleman worked for the Times, in the Questions and Answers section of the Book Reviews section. She had received more requests for information on Poems than any other item to show her which were the public favorites. The Times was the “Google” of those days and requests were sent from all over the country. As Edward Frank Allen states in the introduction, this book was edited by the American people. His introduction is well written and interesting enough to be worth reading.

In that sense, let me quote a few sentences from the introduction. I think that what he said in 1936 is still appropriate for today’s society. Allen stated: “Today poetry is an absolute necessity. The world needs it for its vitalizing force. Poetry has almost everything that music can give: melody, rhythm, feeling, but it has this advantage: it can get close to the heart. It satisfies the hunger for beauty that is part of almost every normal person’s make-up.

The book is quite well organized. Reading poetry is a personal thing and we like different types or even individual poems in different categories. Therefore, the book is divided into 12 sections according to the theme of the poems. From Love and Friendship to Various Topics. Humor, patriotism, poems that tell a story and more. The first poem is by Elizabeth Barrett Browning and the last by Robert Browning. You will find an index listed by Authors, First Lines and Titles. The 670 pages are well laid out so that all content can be easily accessed by all readers. It is a very good book for all people of a wide age range. It has Poems of many famous Poets and others less known. Felleman includes some poems by Unkown Poets, whose poems were much loved but whose authorship was unknown.

You will find, as Hazel Felleman relates, that all the poems are not necessarily your favorites, but they were included because they were the favorites of the American people. Some of my favorites are not in this book, but many are there.

I googled and found that it is still in print and available both new and used at most bookstores. I find prices from 25 cents to 17.00. Quite a bargain for the shelf and your pleasure.

Turn off the television, throw away the newspaper, find your quiet corner and enjoy. I am sure you will enjoy them.