MAGIC LIGHTS & STREETS OF SHINING JET

by Dennis--Ed. Saunders ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 8, 1978

It's hard to understand the impetus behind bringing these 60 short poems together. There are some overexposed gems among them (e.g., Roethke's ""The Bat""), some second-rate verse by big names (Oscar Wilde), a few extracts from longer works (one by Wordsworth), a bit of weather folklore (""Red Sky at Night""), some made-for-children verse (Farjeon, Mary O'Neill, much de la Mare), and too much that is made by children--this last, alas, not the sort of fresh, direct expression that is sought out by Richard Lewis and cultivated by Kenneth Koch, but generally self-conscious poetical exercises that ask ""whither bound"" and put ""garments of moss"" on trees. Arranged in four broad thematic sections (weather, colors, creatures, sea/shore), the selections are printed on colored paper and faced with glossy, calendar-pretty color photos which relate to the text only on the most literal, subject-matter level and which quite overwhelm whatever images the poems might contain.

Pub Date: May 8, 1978

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Greenwillow

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1978

Categories: NONFICTION