Sweet and Bitter Bark: Selected Poems

by Robert Frost

Genres: Poetry

103 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Flinty, moody, plainspoken and deep, Robert Frost was one of America's most popular 20th-century poets. Frost was farming in Derry, New Hampshire when, at the age of 38, he sold the farm, uprooted his family and moved to England, where he devoted himself to his poetry. His first two books of verse, A Boy's Will (1913) and North of Boston (1914), were immediate successes. In 1915 he returned to the United States and continued to write while living in New Hampshire and then Vermont. His pastoral images of apple trees and stone fences -- along with his solitary, man-of-few-words poetic voice -- helped define the modern image of rural New England. Frost's poems include "Mending Wall" ("Good fences make good neighbors"), "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" ("Whose woods these are I think I know"), and perhaps his most famous work, "The Road Not Taken" ("Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-- / I took the one less traveled by"). Frost was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for poetry four times: in 1924, 1931, 1937 and 1943. He also served as "Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress" from 1958-59; that position was renamed as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry (or simply Poet Laureate) in 1986.

Frost recited his poem "The Gift Outright" at the 1961 inauguration of John F. Kennedy... Frost attended both Dartmouth College and Harvard, but did not graduate from either school... Frost preferred traditional rhyme and meter in poetry; his famous dismissal of free verse was, "I'd just as soon play tennis with the net down."

Reviews

[Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've actually just rediscovered this book on one of my bookcases! It's been a very long time since I read it last. It was like visiting with an old friend. I love Robert Frost's poetry and this volume of it is illustrated with famous works of art (also my favorites)! It's comes in a protective box, so even though it is now 32 years old, the book still looks like brand new. Fans of Frost's poetry will enjoy this volume. Make a fine and lovely gift for oneself, too!

[Radical Rena · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't usually enjoy poetry.
It's not my cup of tea, so I don't read poetry unless it is recommended to me.
Robert Frost has always been that exception.
What he writes, I see. Even without the images.
This is a lovely collection of poems by Frost.
The accompanying photos of paintings are not necessary, but a beautiful addition.

[Rob Jacobs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great poetry. Much of the book is filled with paintings when they could have added more poems.

[Hope · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a lovely book of Frost's poems alongside paintings from the time frame & locations he lived by different artists. Stunning.

[Theresa Connors · Rating 5 out of 5]

This beautiful edition features well-known artists' paintings to enhance Frost's imagery. One I will surely take off my shelf to read again.

[Scott DuJardin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful book - a selection of Frost's poems paired with details from impressionist paintings.

[Ingrid Haunold · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the poetry of Robert Frost, and I love this book.

Much care was put into editing and illustrating this book, as well as the slipcase cover - it's a joy to hold it, read the poems, and look at the photographs, paintings, and drawings chosen to interpret and highlight the moods and emotions of Frost's poems.

I bought this book many years ago as a present for my mother, who passed away in 2021. After her death, I inherited her library, and this book connects me to her and a joyful time in my life in the 1990s, when I lived, studied, and worked in Los Angeles. Reading this book evokes all kinds of memories, all good, and I guess that's partly the reason why I cherish it so much.

[Erin]

This collection of Robert Frost's poems could be used in a poetry unit. Students would complete an unit on examining tone, voice, figurative language and style of Frost's poems and critique each one. Students would then write their own poetry. This collection also has various paintings paired by the editor to each of Frost's poems. This would be a great opportunity after the study to visit the Art Museum and see the Picturing Poetry exhibit and then have students create or find art that they believe belongs with the poetry that they have written.

[Mark Fallon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful aspect of living in New England is the ability to look out my window and see the natural beauty Frost describes in his poems.

This edition includes prints by French and American impressionist and modernist painters that were contemporaries of Frost. A wonderful addition to his imagery.

A helpful reminder to add more poetry to my reading routine.

[Doug Wells · Rating 4 out of 5]

After a spell of doubt, Frost helps me regain an appreciation for older white men writing poetry. He's brilliant and I need look no further than the Road Not Taken to remember that - one of my favorite and most inspirational poems of my lifetime. As well, this edition is sprinkled with beautiful paintings, many impressionist, which I love.