Streets, and Other Verses

Goldring, Douglas, 1887-1960Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 2.6

Word count: 69K 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.Streets, and Other Verses by Douglas GoldringAuthor: Goldring, Douglas, 1887-1960,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Mar 17, 2019

Editor's review

Streets, and Other Verses is an English poetry collection by the British writer Douglas Goldring, distributed as a free electronic edition by Project Gutenberg. The poems take city street scenes and everyday observations as their starting points, in plain language and with concrete imagery, carrying the lyrical and realist flavor of early twentieth-century English poetry. Its value lies not in profound metaphysical thought but in recording, with a light touch, the lights and shadows and moods of urban life; it is well suited to casual reading in fragments of time such as a commute or an afternoon. For readers who want to understand the character of English poetry of that period or to practice reading English poetry aloud, it is a decent selection. Note that the author is not a first-rank classic poet, and the poems are modest in scope; those expecting grand epics or deep philosophical expression may find it insufficient. On the whole, it is best treated as light reading, without demanding completeness or depth.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in early twentieth-century English poetry who wish to broaden their reading
English learners who want to practice reading aloud and develop language sense through short poems
Casual readers who enjoy urban subjects and everyday lyrical short poems
Teachers and students who need samples of minor poets of the period for literature courses

Not a good fit for

Readers who seek classic masterworks and read only first-rank poets
Readers expecting long epics or strong intellectual depth
Complete beginners to English poetry who need detailed notes and translations

Reading tips

Read through the collection in its original order once, then pick out the poems that move you most and read them aloud repeatedly.
When reading aloud, pay attention to rhythm and rhyme and appreciate the sound patterns of early twentieth-century English poetry.
Jot down urban imagery and emotional threads, observing how the poet moves from street scenes into personal reflection.
Do not insist on understanding every poem; skip unfamiliar words at first and keep the overall reading flowing.

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 main themes of this poetry collection?

Short poems centered on city streets and everyday scenes, along with other subjects. The poet usually starts from concrete observations and expresses feelings about urban life and personal moods; the style is lyrical and realist, without abstruse metaphysics.

Is the author, Goldring, an important poet?

He is not a first-rank name in the history of English poetry, and his work has limited circulation. This book is better treated as supplementary reading for understanding the poetic character of the period rather than as a classic must-read; readers should adjust their expectations and browse it lightly.

Can I read it if my foundation in English poetry is weak?

You can try; the language is generally plain and the poems are short. Without notes, however, some period vocabulary will still need looking up. It is best to start with the short poems, read them aloud, and consult translations when necessary.

How is the electronic edition best read?

It suits reading in segments on a phone or e-reader, a few poems at a time in spare moments. Use the bookmark function to mark favorite pieces for later rereading and reading-aloud practice.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Goldring, Douglas, 1887-1960 Author

Douglas Goldring (1887–1960) is an English-language author about whose life relatively little information is available in public sources. Only one of his works is held in this collection, the poetry collection Streets, and Other Verses. Judging from its title, his writing engages with the subject of city streets, chiefly in the form of poetry, together with other short verses. Because biographical and critical materials are scarce, his nationality, education, and full literary career cannot be reliably confirmed, and the limited public record does not warrant further speculation. In the work currently available, Goldring draws on everyday urban scenes, writing in a plain style that attends closely to observation and feeling of street life, and showing a realistic, unadorned approach. Such writing offers some reference value for understanding the treatment of urban themes in early twentieth-century English poetry, and provides a concrete if limited point of entry into this author.