Song-Surf

Rice, Cale Young, 1872-1943Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.5

Word count: 74K words
Chapters: 8

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.Song-Surf by Cale Young RiceAuthor: Rice, Cale Young, 1872-1943,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Apr 5, 2010

Editor's review

Song-Surf is a poetry collection by the American poet Cale Young Rice (1872–1943), available through Project Gutenberg and classified under American literature. Rice was active in the early twentieth century, and his verse is marked by lyricism and a focus on nature and emotion; this collection offers a window into the character of American poetry in that era. For readers accustomed to modern poetry, the rhythms and imagery may feel distinctly of their time, but that is precisely what gives the book its dual value as literary history and aesthetic experience. As a public-domain ebook, it is easy to obtain and makes good supplementary reading for poetry lovers, as well as an auxiliary text for students of English and American literature studying early twentieth-century American poetry. There is no need to read it straight through; keep it at hand and dip in at leisure to appreciate how poets of the period observed the world and the inner life with delicate attention.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Literature lovers interested in early twentieth-century American poetry
Students of English and American literature seeking supplementary samples of American poetry history
Readers who want short lyric poems for fragmented reading time
Readers seeking low-cost access to English poetry through public-domain ebooks

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting narrative long poems or plot-driven works
Readers unaccustomed to reading English poetry or unfamiliar with its rhythms

Reading tips

Start by skimming the table of contents and picking poems whose titles or opening lines appeal to you; there is no need to read in order.
Consider reading alongside a Chinese translation or annotations, and note recurring images and the lyric tone.
Read two or three poems a day and summarize your impressions in your own words to build an intuitive sense of early twentieth-century poetic style.

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

What kind of work is this book?

It is a poetry collection by the American poet Cale Young Rice, classified under American literature and released by Project Gutenberg as a public-domain ebook. The works are mainly lyric poems and reflect certain typical features of early twentieth-century American poetry.

Can I read it without any background in poetry?

You can try, but it takes some patience. Start with short poems with clear imagery; don't insist on understanding every allusion or background detail. Feel the language and mood first, then go deeper.

Is this book suitable for academic research?

It can serve as supplementary material for studying early twentieth-century American poetry, especially for understanding Rice's poetic style. For in-depth research, however, you should also consult literary histories and more authoritative anthologies.

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About the author

Rice, Cale Young, 1872-1943 Author

Cale Young Rice (1872–1943) was an American poet and playwright. Public information about him is limited, and the details of his life are difficult to set out, but the eleven works by him held in this collection show that he wrote steadily in both poetry and verse drama. Poems such as Sea Poems, Many Gods and Nirvana Days take the sea, faith and Eastern philosophical reflection as their themes, with concise language and a lyrical, meditative quality; plays such as David: A Tragedy, Yolanda of Cyprus, Porzia and The Immortal Lure draw mainly on historical or legendary stories, using verse dialogue to develop their characters' emotions and conflicts of fate. His writing combines romantic imagination with a search for the meaning of life, and his works hold a place in early twentieth-century American letters, remaining of interest to readers studying the poetry and verse drama of that period.