The Complete Poetry of Jack London

by Jack London, Daniel J. Wichlan (Editor)

This is a seminal book-fully revised with new poetry and photographs-of exploration and discovery into the literary genesis of Jack London, one of American's most famous authors. It brings together all the poetry of Jack London to support the assertion that he was first and foremost a poet who wrote fiction and nonfiction and not a writer of fiction and nonfiction who also wrote poetry. After more than 30 years of research in all the known depositories and databases of Jack London material, Wichlan publishes his groundbreaking research and analysis. The book contains the poetry embedded in London's writing and correctly identifies previously uncredited authors and defines the poetry probably written by Jack London. Included in this book are two published plays in verse, "The First Poet" and "The Acorn Planter," and book inscriptions Jack London wrote in his first editions given to his first wife, Bessie Maddern, their children and his second wife, Charmian London. Twenty-eight pages from his first log book "No 1-Magazine Sales" are reproduced, which reveal the true extent of London's avid study of classical prosody taken from a previously unknown source. In an extended introduction Dan Wichlan cites many examples and quotes from London's 55 books, numerous letters, and descriptions of his life with poetry from Charmian London's biography of her husband. Dan connects and links London's words and actions from many sources to support the central theme of the book that Jack London was a poet and his lyrical prose style a direct consequence of prosodic studies, poetic aspirations and a lifelong passion for poetry. Therefore, this book is essential reading for those interested in discovering the true Jack London.

Genres: Poetry

268 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

John Griffith Chaney, better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to become an international celebrity and earn a large fortune from writing. He was also an innovator in the genre that would later become known as science fiction.

London was part of the radical literary group "The Crowd" in San Francisco and a passionate advocate of animal rights, workers’ rights and socialism. London wrote several works dealing with these topics, such as his dystopian novel The Iron Heel, his non-fiction exposé The People of the Abyss, War of the Classes, and Before Adam.

His most famous works include The Call of the Wild and White Fang, both set in Alaska and the Yukon during the Klondike Gold Rush, as well as the short stories "To Build a Fire", "An Odyssey of the North", and "Love of Life". He also wrote about the South Pacific in stories such as "The Pearls of Parlay" and "The Heathen".

Reviews

[Nancy Chambers · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read all the poems but lost interest at the plays portion. The poems I’d give 5 stars. I probably will read the rest of book someday but not now