All That Matters

Edgar Albert GuestProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.2

Word count: 63K words
Chapters: 7

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.All That Matters by Edgar A. GuestAuthor: Guest, Edgar A. (Edgar Albert), 1881-1959,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: May 21, 2009

Editor's review

All That Matters is a poetry collection by the American poet Edgar A. Guest (1881–1959), released as a free English ebook by Project Gutenberg. Guest was known for accessible, regularly metrical poetry addressed to ordinary readers, often taking up everyday life, family, hard work, and optimism in plain language well suited to reading aloud. This collection continues in that vein, letting readers sample the appeal of early twentieth-century American popular verse: it does not pursue difficult modernist technique but prizes readability and emotional resonance. As a public-domain ebook, it is easy to search and quote, making it suitable for English learners practicing reading aloud and rhythm, and for readers studying popular literature and newspaper verse. One caveat: such poetry has drawn mixed assessments in literary history, so readers expecting deep modernist craft may find it more plain than complex.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Beginner to intermediate English learners who want to practice reading aloud and meter
Readers interested in early twentieth-century American popular poetry
Casual readers looking for light, short English poems
Students of literary history interested in newspaper verse and popular literature

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer difficult, experimental modernist poetry
Academic readers seeking in-depth literary criticism and annotations
Readers put off by regularly metrical, rather didactic verse

Reading tips

Choose one or two poems each day and read them aloud, paying attention to rhyme and rhythm.
Keep a notebook, copy out lines that move you, and write down your responses.
Read the poems in light of early twentieth-century American newspaper culture to understand their audience.
Compare with other popular poets of the same era to observe differences in 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 are the characteristics of Guest's poetry?

Guest is known for accessible poetry in regular meter and plain language, often dealing with everyday life, family, hard work, and optimism. His work addresses a broad readership and values readability and emotional resonance rather than modernist experimentation.

Is this book suitable for English beginners?

It is fairly suitable for learners with some foundation. The language is plain and the sentences are not long, making it good for reading aloud and building vocabulary; but some expressions are dated, so beginners may read with a dictionary and need not dwell on every word.

Does the electronic edition include notes or an introduction?

The Project Gutenberg edition is mainly the original text and usually does not include detailed notes or a scholarly introduction. For background, consult a history of American literature or related scholarship separately.

Comments

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About the author

Edgar Albert Guest Author · American · 1881–1959

Edgar Albert Guest (1881–1959) was an American poet. Born in Birmingham, England, he moved with his family to Detroit in 1891 and became known as the "People's Poet." He worked for many years at the Detroit Free Press, and his poems drew on everyday themes such as home, motherhood, and hard work. Optimistic, plain-spoken, and easy to recite, his verse won a wide popular readership. His representative works include A Heap o' Livin', The Path to Home, Just Folks, and When Day is Done. Seven of his works are held in this collection. A prolific writer, Guest served as Poet Laureate of Michigan from 1952 until his death in 1959. Public information on his early education and specific writing career remains limited.