Best Remembered Poems

by Martin Gardner (Editor)

The 126 poems in this superb collection of 19th and 20th century British and American verse range from the impassioned "Renascence" of Edna St. Vincent Millay to Edward Lear's whimsical "The Owl and the Pussycat" and James Whitcomb Riley’s homespun "When the Frost Is on the Punkin." Famous poets such as Wordsworth, Tennyson, Whitman, and Frost are well-represented, as are less well-known poets such as John McCrae ("In Flanders Fields") and Ernest Thayer ("Casey at the Bat"). Includes 10 selections from the Common Core State Standards Initiative: "The Owl and the Pussycat," "Casey at the Bat," "Jabberwocky," "O Captain! My Captain!," "Paul Revere's Ride," "Ozymandias," "The Raven," "Because I Could Not Stop for Death," "Mending Wall," and "Ode on a Grecian Urn."

Genres: Poetry, Classics, Anthologies

240 pages, Paperback

First published December 15, 1992

About the author

Martin Gardner was an American mathematics and science writer specializing in recreational mathematics, but with interests encompassing micromagic, stage magic, literature (especially the writings of Lewis Carroll), philosophy, scientific skepticism, and religion. He wrote the Mathematical Games column in Scientific American from 1956 to 1981, and published over 70 books.

Reviews

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Best Remembered Poems" is a great book. In 8th grade, I had a sponsor who supported me through out my middle school years. She was a wonderful and kind lady named Ms. Hobbs. During 7th grade, I found out that I had a love for poetry. On the last time I saw her, she gave me this book. I could not put it down. I loved all of the meaningful poems that were found in the book. I would have to say that my favorite poems in the book so far are the first two in the book. One is called "Rock Me to Sleep" by Elizabeth Akers Allen. I loved this poem because it reminded me of when my grandma used to "rock me to sleep." No pun intended. Ms. Akers described how she felt when her mother rocked her to sleep when she was young. Her descriptions were so accurate and I felt like I was there, watching her mom slowly rock her to sleep. It taught me that I should not take anything for granted because she realized that she was too old to be sitting in her mothers lap. The other poem is called "Dover Beach" by Matthew Arnold. I really liked this poem because I love the beach. I love the cold breeze in your hair. The freezing cold water of Santa Cruz touching your toes, causing them to turn all shades of purple, green, and blue. I loved the use of personification in his poems. He described the waves as if they were flinging back. This poem also includes some sadness into it because he talks about human sadness. The thought of being alone in places where you would like to share something with someone. I really love this book and I will definitely continue reading it and see if I find more poems that will become my favorite.

[c_reads_books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best Remembered Poems, edited and annotated by Martin Gardner, is an extensive collection of poetry that contains poems from 65 different poets. This collection contains as few as one, and as many as nine poems from each individual poet. From William Blake to Robert Frost to Rudyard Kipling to Edgar Allen Poe to Percy Bysshe Shelley, this collection has a wide range of views, language, and styles expressed through poetry. I really liked reading this collection of poetry. Since there were so many different poets represented in the book, there was a diverse range of poetry, some of which I loved, and some of which I didn’t quite enjoy as much. In particular, a few of my favorite poems were Annabel Lee by Edgar Allen Poe, Trees by Joyce Kilmer, The House by the Side of the Road by Sam Walter Foss, and A Man Said to the Universe by Stephen Crane. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys poetry or wants to get into it more!

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best Remembered Poems, edited and annotated by Martin Gardner, is an extensive collection of poetry that contains poems from 65 different poets. This collection contains as few as one, and as many as nine poems from each individual poet. From William Blake to Robert Frost to Rudyard Kipling to Edgar Allen Poe to Percy Bysshe Shelley, this collection has a wide range of views, language, and styles expressed through poetry. I really liked reading this collection of poetry. Since there were so many different poets represented in the book, there was a diverse range of poetry, some of which I loved, and some of which I didn’t quite enjoy as much. In particular, a few of my favorite poems were Annabel Lee by Edgar Allen Poe, Trees by Joyce Kilmer, The House by the Side of the Road by Sam Walter Foss, and A Man Said to the Universe by Stephen Crane. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys poetry or wants to get into it more!

[Jesse Field · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perhaps the only full volume of poetry I got through in 2018. It was pure joy, really, reading these out loud with Adam. Some are quite bad, or just silly, as with “Rock Me to Sleep,” or “Mary’s Lamb,” while others have unquestionable power to the meter and rhythm, even if they aren’t exactly politically correct, as with “Gunga Din.” Perhaps the most important thing is that these poems offer a way back into the language and music of the art, for those of us who haven’t been traveling in this world for some time. I’ll use this as a jumping-off point for some more poem reading in 2019.

[Robin Helweg-Larsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perfectly competent, and with useful background notes by Martin Gardner, the selection of poems is pedestrian almost by definition: these are the ones that are best remembered by Americans, so there will be very little that is new and exciting--and honestly, a lot of the poems best remembered from the 19th and early 20th century are downright boring.

But if you're looking for a book that has both 'The Charge of the Light Brigade' and 'Casey at the Bat', this is the one for you!

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting perspective from Gardner, as he's a scientist & mathematician. He's mostly interested in such things a how many parodies a poem inspired, or what other poets thought of a certain writer's work. In any case, few of these are actually still remembered today, and fewer of them deserve to be. And though there are many by women, there a few (none?) by writers of color or from non-English speaking countries or cultures.

[Isidora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great books for getting acquainted with some of the most famous poets and their poems. Loved Browning, Withman(fave), Frost(personally only like his short ones), Wordsworth (of course he was there), Hunt's "Jenny Kiss's me", Emily Dickinson, surprised Steven Crane wrote poetry, and loved Burgess too.

[Ann-Sophie Houde · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are a lot of great poems in there and this book is what the start of my love for poems.

[Emily schock · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good anthology history, some poets I enjoy and half I didn’t

[Kem White · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is an anthology of poems that have the distinction of being remembered fondly by folks. Consequently, there are a lot of familiar verses in here. But because many of the poems are staid and hoary, there are quite a few that come across as woefully out-of-date. I disliked all the poems by James Whitcomb Riley especially "The Old Swimmin'-Hole." Samuel Woodworth's "The Old Oaken Bucket" also has not fared the test of time well. William Cullen Bryant's "Thanatopsis" is filled with stuffy language that makes it hard to understand.

But there are some fine poems, too. I loved John Masefield's "Sea Fever." Service's "The Cremation of Sam McGee", though familiar, still is very fun to read. I think when read a certain way, Sandburg's short "Fog" is noteworthy. Holmes's "The Deacon's Masterpiece" also tells a great story.

The best thing about this anthology, however, is Martin Gardner's annotation. The notes are filled with interesting nuggets about the poets and the poems. He really did his homework preparing the notes. It is because of Gardner's fine comments that this book rates 4-stars rather than three. I recommend this book for fans of poetry who might like to refresh their memories with some old standbys or would like a small collection of old favorites.

[Lisa (Harmonybites) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm on the fence about keeping this on my bookshelves in an internet age where almost all of these are in the public domain and easily searched for, so I don't need it on hand to say, be able to reread Masefield's Sea Fever. This is one of four poetry anthologies I own. This contains 123 British and American poems of the 19th and 20th Century. It lacks the international and historical focus of my Book of Woman Poets--it opens with Enheduanna, a Sumerian Priestess who may be the earliest known name in written literature. The Immortal Poems of the English Language offers 447 poems embracing a wide range of the best poets in the language from Chaucer to Dylan Thomas, so is a better survey of poetry in the English language. Premier Book of Major Poets offers a thematic grouping: Nature, Love, Humor, Death, etc. All the above also offer more than the usual suspects--the whole reason for this collection is to gather the best known poems--one reviewer who calls this a museum is right. On the other hand, I do appreciate the annotations by Martin Gardner--something two of the previously mentioned anthologies don't offer. It's nice to have the context.

[Alessandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an excellent introduction to the most popular poems of the last century or two.

Gardner, with good humor, reminds us in his introduction that these are not "best" poems, they are "best *remembered*" poems. Arranged alphabetically by author, they include each poet's best-remembered work or works.

Poems range from the sublime ("Renascence" by Edna St. Vincent Millay) to the silly ("The Owl and the Pussy Cat" by Edward Lear) to hokey doggerel ("The Old Oaken Bucket" by Samuel Woodworth).

What these poems all have in common is they were memorable. These are the poems referenced, recited, and remembered by recent generations.

This book is an interesting cross-section of popular taste of the 19th and 20th century. If it's not always good taste, it's still entertaining.

[Wrenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my all-time favorite books - like top five. I adore it. I wore one copy out and had to buy another. Simply the finest collection of classic poems you will ever find. I adore it entirely.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first anthology of poems that I really got into--thanks to my great uncle. Wonderful and classic poems included!

[Audrey Herrera]

I really liked most of the poems in this book.

[David Weller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining short poems. I'd like to know how our anthologist Mr. Gardner came about measuring out the popularity of them.

It's a good book to read to others.

[Steve Gross · Rating 4 out of 5]

Each poet gets a couple of paragraphs worth of notes, followed by their famous poem(s).