It Can Be Done

Project GutenbergProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.0

Word count: 359K words
Chapters: 36

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.It Can Be Done by St. Clair Adams and Joseph MorrisAuthor: ,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Jan 1, 2004

Editor's review

This is an early English poetry collection released by Project Gutenberg, credited to St. Clair Adams and Joseph Morris and classified under American and Canadian literature. Its value lies not in bestseller status or famous names but in its status as a sample of the early form of public-domain ebooks: short in content and plainly arranged, it lets readers see firsthand what texts looked like at the dawn of the ebook. The poems center on action, belief, and self-encouragement; the language is direct, making the book a light introduction to English poetry. It suits fragmented reading time or use as a sample for understanding the bibliographic structure of Project Gutenberg, rather than as an object of in-depth literary study. Because detailed editor background and notes on poem selection are lacking, readers are advised to approach the text with an open mind and treat it as a freely available public-domain document rather than a fully annotated poetry collection.

Who it's for

A good fit for

General readers who want light exposure to English poetry and do not seek deep annotation
Readers interested in Project Gutenberg and the early form of ebooks
Students or self-learners who need short English passages for reading aloud
Beginners studying public-domain texts and the history of digital publishing

Not a good fit for

Poetry researchers expecting an authoritative anthology, detailed annotations, or scholarly introductions
Readers hoping for long narrative works or systematic literary history
Readers who face significant barriers reading English originals and need bilingual editions

Reading tips

Read through the table of contents first, then pick two or three short poems to read aloud and feel the rhythm and word choice.
Mark unfamiliar words as you go and look them all up after finishing a poem, so as not to break the flow.
Read alongside other public-domain poetry collections from Project Gutenberg to appreciate differences in selection.
If using the book to learn English, retell each poem's main idea in your own words after reading it.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this a complete poetry collection or a selection?

According to the available information, it is an English poetry collection credited to St. Clair Adams and Joseph Morris and classified under American and Canadian literature. The sources do not state the selection range or editorial principles; use the table of contents of the actual electronic text as your guide and read it as a public-domain poetry anthology.

Why is Project Gutenberg listed as the author?

Project Gutenberg is the ebook provider, not the author of this book. The information shows the book was released by Project Gutenberg and authored by St. Clair Adams and Joseph Morris. The platform name appears in the author field because early ebook metadata was minimal; rely on the attribution in the text itself when reading.

With no annotations or introduction, how should I read it?

You can first group the poems by theme or length and prioritize reading short ones aloud; mark allusions or unfamiliar words and look them up after finishing a poem. Focus on the feel of the language and the overall meaning rather than solving every word, which suits this plain public-domain text.

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Project Gutenberg is not a single author but a nonprofit digital library founded by Michael Hart in 1971 and one of the world's earliest free ebook platforms. It relies on volunteers to digitize, proofread, and freely distribute public-domain works and is now operated by the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Its collection contains 2,692 works, mainly religious texts, epics, and story collections, including the King James Bible and the Douay-Rheims volumes, the epic Mahabharata, a literal translation of the Arabian Nights, and Danish editions of the Old and New Testaments. Public information is limited, and its nature is closer to a public-interest compiling and dissemination body; these texts are open to the public, easy to consult and circulate, and have had a profound influence on the spread of ebooks and the preservation of public-domain resources.