- Title: Tennyson’s Poems
- Author: Alfred, Lord Tennyson
- Year Published: Unknown, but it is fairly old (Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.)
- Year Purchased: 1990s
- Source: Columbus Public Library sale
- About: How many times have you had your metaphorical heart broken? One, three, five? How many times, in the quickening of your pain, has someone attempted to dress your ripening wound with the phrase ‘Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all? Although it has been degraded from over-use to the level of cheap platitude, it actually represents two lines from Tennyson’s IN MEMORIAM A.H.H. , which took the poet 17 years to write. A one-time Poet Laureate, his work remains popular. This book is a complete edition, and features a striking blue cover with an embossed Art Noveau design. The poet’s name on the spine is on a deep gold background. It is one of the prettiest volumes in my library.
- Motivation: The opportunity to get poetic kicks on the cheap, in the form of a lovely old volume, made this too good to pass up.
- Times Read: Cover-to-cover: 1/Random poems: countless
- Random Excerpt/Page 17: “Vex not thou the poet’s mind /With thy shallow wit:/Vex not thou the poet’s mind; For thou canst not fathom it.”
- Happiness Scale: 8
Carbon print of Alfred Lord Tennyson, 1869, printed 1875/79 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
A Small Press Life: Books. Art. Writing. Life. Tea.
Not just a blog, a philosophy
A Small Press Life: Books. Art. Writing. Life. Tea. 
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