FRESH STUFF DAILY
Seacoast New Hampshire
& South Coast Maine
Subscribe To Our Newsletter
|
|
| |
|
|
|
1054
cialis canada viagra online canada pharmacy no prescription buy viagra canada viagra for sale online propecia without prescription buy propecia get viagra prescription online viagra without prescription cialisis cialis online cialis 5 mg viagra canada pharmacy canadian levitra viagracanadianpharmacy cialis generic canadian pharmacy no prescription pharmac y support group viagra prescription pharmacy panama pharmacy canadian pharmacy cialis buy canadian drugs online united pharmacy buy cialis sialis cheap canada viagra buy daily cialis viagra for sale online viagra sale vigara online pharmacy to buy phentermine canadian viagra canadian levitra
0
|
Sam Walter Foss was NH Poet Laureate for the Common Man
|
 |
 |
|
Written by J. Dennis Robinson
|
|
Page 1 of 2  Sam Walter Foss penned his first verses at Portsmouth High School here in NH. He went on to gain popular fame for his comic and philosophic writing. His poem "The House by the Side of the Road" was among the best loved in the nation. His fame has faded, but unlike many poets of his era – his works are still readable and relevant.
POEMS by Sam Foss and others
With two American poet laureates in a row coming from New Hampshire -- Donald Hall and now Charles Simic -- maybe something literary is literally alliterating in our water. Great poets blossom here, and none, for my money, was greater than Sam Walter Foss. He is known today, almost exclusively, for a bit of verse entitled "The House by the Side of the Road." The poem urges everyone to stop being cynical and scornful to their neighbors and "be a friend to man." It is sentimental, honest, proactive and optimistic – essential Foss -- but it is far from his best work. I know because I have a degree in English Literature, which is little more than a license to read books. I know, too, because Foss published five volumes of poetry, and I’ve read them all. This guy rocks.
 Foss was more philosopher than poet. His moral compass was dead on. He carried a healthy distrust for authority. He had no patience for lazy, pretentious or quarrelsome people. A humanist of the highest order, Foss believed entirely in the goodness of "the average man" and wrote entirely for a popular audience that he hoped to inspire with his "homespun" verse. It was his dedication to popular topics and clear writing, one literary critic has suggested, that doomed Sam Walter Foss to obscurity. He refused to write with the "imagist obliqueness" employed by "major" poets of his era. In other words, when Foss wrote, you knew what he was saying.
The world, for Foss, was an incredibly fascinating comic opera. The more powerful and rich men became, he continually points out, the sillier men become. If he wrote about a boy "who was dumber than snowbirds in summer," the boy was likely to grow up to be president. Foss was fascinated by careless commuters who consistently showed up at the railroad station "jest in time to miss the train." His hero is often a humble farmer, artisan or shopkeeper who comes up against local power brokers. He doesn’t always win, but he does the best he can.
In "The Logic of the Gun," a farmer posts 200 signs banning hunting on his property, then spots a man carrying a rifle. The farmer points to the sign. "You may have the rights," the hunter says, "but I have got the gun." In another poem, Foss plays the part of a storeowner who tries to join the local church, because he knows that is the best way to attract customers. Unwilling to have him as a member, the church elders stall the merchant by telling him to go off and talk to God. But the merchant returns a few weeks later and tells the shocked elders that he has, indeed, talked to God about joining their church. What did the Lord say? – they ask. The shopkeeper repeats the conversation:
"I’m trying to git in," sez I, "to the church of Elder Ford,
An they won’t let me in at all." "Don’t worry," sez the Lord.
"You’re not the only one," sez He, "they’ve laid upon the shelf.
I’ve tried ten years without success to git in there myself,"
CONTINUE SAM WALTER FOSS
<< Start < Prev 1 2 Next > End >>
|
Please visit these SeacoastNH.com ad partners.
Portsmouth Herald
|
Portsmouth Herald Latest Headlines
|
| Portsmouth Herald News from SeacoastOnline.com |
-
Thief stole charity jar from donut shop, say police
PORTSMOUTH — While a Dunkin' Donuts clerk turned her back to fill an order, Derrick Rice stole a counter-top jar filled with donations for children with cancer, allege police.
-
Portsmouth police log
7:08 a.m. Arrested Shari Webber, 29, of 258 Leslie Dr., for a count of driving after alcohol-related suspension.
-
City resident arrested on child porn charges
PORTSMOUTH — Eight months after a woman accused him of viewing child pornography, a Salmon Avenue man has been arrested on multiple counts of possessing child porn and a single...
-
Boys soccer: STA falls in double overtime
EXETER — For 110 minutes the St. Thomas Aquainas and Coe-Brown High School boys soccer teams battled for a spot in the Class I final, taking a 0-0 game into...
-
High School football: Clippers need to start strong
Like a stubborn man who refuses to take his medication, the Portsmouth High School football team has been living dangerously this season.
-
High School football: Weekend game capsules
WINNACUNNET VS. SPAULDING
-
Montreal edges Bruins in shootout
BOSTON — Patrice Bergeron's goal with 52 seconds left in regulation helped the Bruins avoid a historic third straight shutout, but Michael Cammalleri scored in the shootout to give the...
-
Little Clippers advance
-
High School football: Playoffs begin with York and Portsmouth
If you look at the Mountain Valley High School football team's two most recent games — losses to second-seeded York (33-14) and top-seeded Cape Elizabeth (34-0) ˆ' you might conclude...
-
UNH hockey regroups after Wisconsin losses
After spending much of their time in scrambling to get the puck out of their own zone against Wisconsin last weekend, the University of New Hampshire men's hockey team is...
-
Seacoast mourning Bavicchi, a 'visionary'
PORTSMOUTH — There is a granite slab outside the Shoals Building at Portsmouth Regional Hospital that recognizes the tireless work of three men who guided the health care facility to...
-
Ferris G. Bavicchi
RYE BEACH — Ferris G. Bavicchi, 84, died Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2009, at Portsmouth Regional Hospital.
-
Stephen M. Carroll
PORTSMOUTH — Stephen Michael Carroll, beloved son, brother and uncle, died peacefully Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2009, after a brief illness.
-
William C. Wilson
HAMPTON — William C. Wilson of Hampton Beach and Cape Coral, Fla., husband of Maryann T. (Fitzgerald), died Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2009.
-
Gov. Lynch helps Red Cross honor 'Heroes'
PORTSMOUTH — Heroes may not be as rare as thought.
-
Community asked to welcome home Jordyn Boucher
BRENTWOOD — Jordyn Boucher is coming home after a two-month stay at Children's Hospital in Boston, and her family is asking the Seacoast community to help welcome her.
-
Plea deal follows police call alleging man had firearm
RYE — Arrested after police responded to a 911 call about an intoxicated man with a gun, Sean Tichey was absolved of a Class A misdemeanor Thursday as part of...
-
UNH study: Child porn probes take physical, mental toll on police
PORTSMOUTH — Police officers exposed to child pornography as part of criminal investigations live with "mental health problems," according to a University of New Hampshire study based on interviews with...
-
Woman on trek to feed need in Maine
If you see a lively lady in a bright yellow hard hat walking along the highways and streets of Maine, be sure to stop and say hello — and while...
-
Portsmouth shop to give away cupcakes Saturday
PORTSMOUTH — If there's one thing Debbie Mugherini, owner of the Old Stove Bake Shoppe, wants people to take away from her shop, it's a smile.
|
|
|
|
|
| Saturday, November 07, 2009 |
|
|
|
