What do you think?
Rate this book
Where Robot Mice and Robot Men Run Round in Robot Towns
Ray Bradbury writes of childhood, Melville, and God as well as space launchings and other-world things in this second collection of his poems
77 pages, Hardcover
First published October 12, 1977
3 people are currently reading
147 people want to read
About the author
Ray Bradbury
2,544 books24.7k followersRay Douglas Bradbury was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of genres, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and realistic fiction.
Bradbury is best known for his novel Fahrenheit 451 (1953) and his short-story collections The Martian Chronicles (1950), The Illustrated Man (1951), and The October Country (1955). Other notable works include the coming of age novel Dandelion Wine (1957), the dark fantasy Something Wicked This Way Comes (1962) and the fictionalized memoir Green Shadows, White Whale (1992). He also wrote and consulted on screenplays and television scripts, including Moby Dick and It Came from Outer Space. Many of his works were adapted into television and film productions as well as comic books. Bradbury also wrote poetry which has been published in several collections, such as They Have Not Seen the Stars (2001).
The New York Times called Bradbury "An author whose fanciful imagination, poetic prose, and mature understanding of human character have won him an international reputation" and "the writer most responsible for bringing modern science fiction into the literary mainstream".
Bradbury is best known for his novel Fahrenheit 451 (1953) and his short-story collections The Martian Chronicles (1950), The Illustrated Man (1951), and The October Country (1955). Other notable works include the coming of age novel Dandelion Wine (1957), the dark fantasy Something Wicked This Way Comes (1962) and the fictionalized memoir Green Shadows, White Whale (1992). He also wrote and consulted on screenplays and television scripts, including Moby Dick and It Came from Outer Space. Many of his works were adapted into television and film productions as well as comic books. Bradbury also wrote poetry which has been published in several collections, such as They Have Not Seen the Stars (2001).
The New York Times called Bradbury "An author whose fanciful imagination, poetic prose, and mature understanding of human character have won him an international reputation" and "the writer most responsible for bringing modern science fiction into the literary mainstream".
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
September 13, 2018
Bradbury was inarguably one of the greatest American prose writers, but I was rather left flat by this volume of poetry. Some of the rhymed verses were forced and seemed diffuse if not at times obtuse. I enjoyed reading the words and agreed with much of the sentiment, but a day or two later just had a vague memory, as if I'd stuffed on too much junk food.
May 18, 2019
For several reasons mine may not be a properly qualified review. I am a Ray Bradbury fan from decades ago but only rarely do I venture into poetry. Biases in either direction. I enjoyed Bradbury’s Where Robot Mice and Robot Men Run Around in Robot Town. Having recently returned to RB and having just as recently discovered that he was also a poet; my notion is that he excels at creating mood over character or plot. For me poetry and mood are a natural fit. This collection is subtitled New Poems, Both Light and Dark. Or poems that convey moods. For the parents these are family friendly poems. I feel confident that poetry maladroit that I am, I understood these.
Among the themes in these poems are inspiration he has drawn from what were for him recent events. One of the last poems, for example, Long Thoughts on Best Sellers by Worst People, he speaks of the strange fact of people like Larry Flint and Sirhan Sirhan and their ability to reappear in written media as the inspiration for more bad literature. The short poem abounds with cultural references that may have no meaning for a contemporary reader. Perhaps because shallow inspirations produce shallow ripped from the headline’s type, quickly forgotten novels.
Two poems honor the inspiration of and from America’s Space program. Likening it to the inspiration to be drawn from great literature.
Scanning through the tables of contents I see at least 8 titles that refer to death or dying. Including references to his own and the loss of family members. Twice he visits the notion that not only is your death final for you; from your point of view it is just as final for everyone else. An odd thought and one that stays with me. A later poem speaks in praise of the man who is now the “Ghost of our Least Favorite Uncle”.
These can be somber reflections, but not only. What works best for me is that I like when Ray Bradbury sets the mood and I like that his poems are accessible to a normally poetry challenged reader, like me.
Among the themes in these poems are inspiration he has drawn from what were for him recent events. One of the last poems, for example, Long Thoughts on Best Sellers by Worst People, he speaks of the strange fact of people like Larry Flint and Sirhan Sirhan and their ability to reappear in written media as the inspiration for more bad literature. The short poem abounds with cultural references that may have no meaning for a contemporary reader. Perhaps because shallow inspirations produce shallow ripped from the headline’s type, quickly forgotten novels.
Two poems honor the inspiration of and from America’s Space program. Likening it to the inspiration to be drawn from great literature.
Scanning through the tables of contents I see at least 8 titles that refer to death or dying. Including references to his own and the loss of family members. Twice he visits the notion that not only is your death final for you; from your point of view it is just as final for everyone else. An odd thought and one that stays with me. A later poem speaks in praise of the man who is now the “Ghost of our Least Favorite Uncle”.
These can be somber reflections, but not only. What works best for me is that I like when Ray Bradbury sets the mood and I like that his poems are accessible to a normally poetry challenged reader, like me.
May 1, 2025
Este segundo poemario de Bradbury me gusta más, de entrada el título es increíble y el poema que le otorga el título es muy buen prólogo. Acá, Bradbury explora aún más imágenes y muestra poemas que rozan la ciencia ficción y el horror, para hablar sobre la muerte, lo doloroso de crecer y lo asombroso e inverosímil que habita en el alma humana.
April 19, 2013
i don't think it's fair to call this poetry. it's just a lot of random words, some of which rhyme.
June 26, 2013
Really, I need a theory of poetics. There were some of these I liked, but not exactly as poetry, more as memoir or confessional literature -- the one about crying in the shower, for example, it was a lovely arc of thought, the elderly man alone in his home finding relief and peace crying in the shower, and scolding himself (and other men) for thinking that crying was only for women, and wishing he had known years ago the relief that tears can bring. But you see, the problem is: that summary is not as good as the poem itself, but it is a little too close for comfort. That Bradbury makes it a poem does make it better -- I mean, the poem is better than my summary because it is doing some of the things which only poetry can do. But not enough. I like poetry which absolutely needs to be poetry more than poetry which does not quite have to be.
And that is why I need a theory of poetics. Because I cannot explain just what it is I mean.
"The Young Galileo Speaks" was I think the best in the book. And it did make me curious to read Bradbury's prose.
And that is why I need a theory of poetics. Because I cannot explain just what it is I mean.
"The Young Galileo Speaks" was I think the best in the book. And it did make me curious to read Bradbury's prose.
August 13, 2014
Yeah, so, I love Bradbury to death, I really do...but the man should have stuck with prose.
July 28, 2019
DISCLAIMER: Mr. Bradbury was my mentor and, via an occasional correspondence, my friend. All of my reviews of his work might be considered tainted by that; if you feel so, then I will -- as he would say -- pack up my dinosaurs and leave the room.
To read Ray Bradbury's prose is to witness his lifelong bardic romance with words. To read his poetry is to explore an opposite yet equally romantic side of his literary coin. Bradbury was always a passionate devotee of Charles Dickens, a man "notorious" for being long-winded. (Paid a penny per word, back when a penny actually bought something, I don't blame him!) Bradbury himself is not long-winded, and it was from him that I learned the grace of making words perform "double duty" (as a poet friend of mine once put it). In his poetry, he partakes of another challenge -- that of rhyme and meter, as well as conciseness of thought and expression. The result is, if I may push a metaphor far behind its breaking point, a distillation of dandelion wine into a fine liqueur.
In this book, you will discover (as the subtitle promises) "poems both light and dark." The ideas behind these poems are timeless, save for one brilliant and timely polemic at the end. The book, published in 1977, finishes with "Long Thoughts on Best-Sellers by Worst People" -- a mourning of the riches made by the criminals of the Watergate debacle of the years prior, along with others who profited greatly from their own scandals and tragedies, or those of others. Bradbury skewers, by name, these denizens of the popular press. The poem ends with the mournful dirge:
These words, over 40 years later, ring all too true in a world where the motto of the news is, "If it bleeds, it leads." My mentor passed some seven years ago, and in a horrible way, I thank Wolf he's not here to see what has happened.
Fear not, Constant Reader, for there is joy and humor here as well. "I Am the Residue of All My Daughters' Lives" tells of the father who finds himself the patient inheritor of, and therapist to, the men cast aside by his daughters. (I have taken on that role for friends who have left lovers behind, who ask me to lunch to beg answers which I don't have, but who also have no fathers of their own to turn to.) "Why Didn't Someone Tell Me About Crying in the Shower?" is a poem for all men who fear their own tears. Even "The Ghost of Our Least Favorite Uncle" has a strange humor regarding how we deal with the death of someone who we are socially forced to call "family" when, in truth, even after he is gone, we are haunted by those aspects of him that we could never truly accept. I won't spoil how the ghost is exorcised, but I will say that it is a method most effective and truly poetic, in all senses.
If you'd prefer more story-like poems, I might recommend When Elephants Last In The Dooryard Bloomed, wherein resides a personal favorite poem called "Groon," which I first discovered on an old Saturday morning children's show (yes, I'm old enough to remember those) called The Curiosity Shop. For this volume, I very much recommend bringing a mind open to wonder, to surprise, to considerations of life in so many ways. It is a collection of great heart and greater spirit. Sip responsibly.
To read Ray Bradbury's prose is to witness his lifelong bardic romance with words. To read his poetry is to explore an opposite yet equally romantic side of his literary coin. Bradbury was always a passionate devotee of Charles Dickens, a man "notorious" for being long-winded. (Paid a penny per word, back when a penny actually bought something, I don't blame him!) Bradbury himself is not long-winded, and it was from him that I learned the grace of making words perform "double duty" (as a poet friend of mine once put it). In his poetry, he partakes of another challenge -- that of rhyme and meter, as well as conciseness of thought and expression. The result is, if I may push a metaphor far behind its breaking point, a distillation of dandelion wine into a fine liqueur.
In this book, you will discover (as the subtitle promises) "poems both light and dark." The ideas behind these poems are timeless, save for one brilliant and timely polemic at the end. The book, published in 1977, finishes with "Long Thoughts on Best-Sellers by Worst People" -- a mourning of the riches made by the criminals of the Watergate debacle of the years prior, along with others who profited greatly from their own scandals and tragedies, or those of others. Bradbury skewers, by name, these denizens of the popular press. The poem ends with the mournful dirge:
So I'll retire me to Bedlam, for my goodness is my shame,
Or I'll hire some evil Berlitz, teach myself a smarter game,
Run with dogs and hogs and butchers, make Caligula my name;
Vote for Nixon, Mao, Castro, Idi Amin, James Earl Ray.
Buy a bedsheet, cut some eyeholes, join the Book Club KKK.
Kill Olympic sports for breakfast, burn an airport, see the sights!
Then send cables, ask for bidders, sell the film and TV rights.
Patty Hearst is ripe for sequels, flood the market, what the hell.
Since the bad that I once vanquished, still around, are doing well.
These words, over 40 years later, ring all too true in a world where the motto of the news is, "If it bleeds, it leads." My mentor passed some seven years ago, and in a horrible way, I thank Wolf he's not here to see what has happened.
Fear not, Constant Reader, for there is joy and humor here as well. "I Am the Residue of All My Daughters' Lives" tells of the father who finds himself the patient inheritor of, and therapist to, the men cast aside by his daughters. (I have taken on that role for friends who have left lovers behind, who ask me to lunch to beg answers which I don't have, but who also have no fathers of their own to turn to.) "Why Didn't Someone Tell Me About Crying in the Shower?" is a poem for all men who fear their own tears. Even "The Ghost of Our Least Favorite Uncle" has a strange humor regarding how we deal with the death of someone who we are socially forced to call "family" when, in truth, even after he is gone, we are haunted by those aspects of him that we could never truly accept. I won't spoil how the ghost is exorcised, but I will say that it is a method most effective and truly poetic, in all senses.
If you'd prefer more story-like poems, I might recommend When Elephants Last In The Dooryard Bloomed, wherein resides a personal favorite poem called "Groon," which I first discovered on an old Saturday morning children's show (yes, I'm old enough to remember those) called The Curiosity Shop. For this volume, I very much recommend bringing a mind open to wonder, to surprise, to considerations of life in so many ways. It is a collection of great heart and greater spirit. Sip responsibly.
January 9, 2018
You might assume, like I did, that a poetry collection called "Where Robot Mice & Robot Men Run Round in Robot Towns" would be satirical or even funny but this collection was really none of those things. I'm not entirely sure what this poetry collection was about overall, if it's about anything but I can't say I really enjoyed it. Although it had it's rare moments, these moments were overshadowed by long poems, over saturation of references to literary works, and an overall lack of understanding 'What's the point?'
Here are a few notes I had while reading:
1. It rhymes. It's been a little while since I've read rhyming poetry, since in college I mainly read, and preferred, modern and postmodern poetry that usually threw rhyming schemes out the window. All of the poems have a similar rhyming scheme. It makes the poems go by fast, there isn't any control on Bradbury's part to make you pause or to slow down. This can be a bit of a downside, at least for me, because I didn't understand all of the words because I was speeding through.
2. Bradbury really likes Shakespeare and Melville. He likes to mix them together with mythology and history and Christianity - making some of these poems harder to understand then they should be. I understand some of these references - I took a Shakespeare class in college, read up on mythology during high school, and I come from a religious background, as well as took a few Christian courses - and I still didn't understand or connect what Bradbury was trying to say the majority of the time. I would say that the meaning doesn't matter in poetry but with this collection, and it being Bradbury, I feel like he had something to say.
3. In the beginning of the collection, the poem's titles are the same as the two first lines of the poem. I don't care for this, I wish he had titles that had given more insight into the poems themselves or added on to the poem to make them stronger. I was glad when the poems stopped having the same title and first lines.
4. If I had to pick a favorite from this collection I would say that "We Have Our Arts / So We Won't Die Of Truth." I really just like how the poem proclaims the importance of art and creating art and how the arts leave behind something that death can't touch. I think it's one of the stronger pieces in this collection.
5. Other strong poems in this collection included: "Young Galileo Speaks," it has strong imagery with a spark of rebellion I appreciated that I see Galileo having; "Somewhere A Band Is Playing" was intriguing with it's imagery and haunting lines - I particularly liked Bradbury's use of the idea of how time is not a straight line; "Their Names in Dust, Their Dates in Sand" really brought home the sadness of a graveyard. He really captures the feeling of loss in a graveyard when you walk along to see children's graves with no name, just the sad knowledge that their life ended before it could even begin. I appreciated this one and it was a breath of fresh air after reading some of the more tedious pieces before it.
6. The weakest of this poetry collection, in my opinion at least, are the longest poems. It feels like too much and just goes by almost without meaning. Even though pieces like "That Son of Richard III" has an interesting note as backstory and is intriguing with all of it's reference's to Shakespeare's works, it's too much to take in without meaning. It also, whether Bradbury meant this or not is not known, feels like a lot him showing off.
Here are a few notes I had while reading:
1. It rhymes. It's been a little while since I've read rhyming poetry, since in college I mainly read, and preferred, modern and postmodern poetry that usually threw rhyming schemes out the window. All of the poems have a similar rhyming scheme. It makes the poems go by fast, there isn't any control on Bradbury's part to make you pause or to slow down. This can be a bit of a downside, at least for me, because I didn't understand all of the words because I was speeding through.
2. Bradbury really likes Shakespeare and Melville. He likes to mix them together with mythology and history and Christianity - making some of these poems harder to understand then they should be. I understand some of these references - I took a Shakespeare class in college, read up on mythology during high school, and I come from a religious background, as well as took a few Christian courses - and I still didn't understand or connect what Bradbury was trying to say the majority of the time. I would say that the meaning doesn't matter in poetry but with this collection, and it being Bradbury, I feel like he had something to say.
3. In the beginning of the collection, the poem's titles are the same as the two first lines of the poem. I don't care for this, I wish he had titles that had given more insight into the poems themselves or added on to the poem to make them stronger. I was glad when the poems stopped having the same title and first lines.
4. If I had to pick a favorite from this collection I would say that "We Have Our Arts / So We Won't Die Of Truth." I really just like how the poem proclaims the importance of art and creating art and how the arts leave behind something that death can't touch. I think it's one of the stronger pieces in this collection.
5. Other strong poems in this collection included: "Young Galileo Speaks," it has strong imagery with a spark of rebellion I appreciated that I see Galileo having; "Somewhere A Band Is Playing" was intriguing with it's imagery and haunting lines - I particularly liked Bradbury's use of the idea of how time is not a straight line; "Their Names in Dust, Their Dates in Sand" really brought home the sadness of a graveyard. He really captures the feeling of loss in a graveyard when you walk along to see children's graves with no name, just the sad knowledge that their life ended before it could even begin. I appreciated this one and it was a breath of fresh air after reading some of the more tedious pieces before it.
6. The weakest of this poetry collection, in my opinion at least, are the longest poems. It feels like too much and just goes by almost without meaning. Even though pieces like "That Son of Richard III" has an interesting note as backstory and is intriguing with all of it's reference's to Shakespeare's works, it's too much to take in without meaning. It also, whether Bradbury meant this or not is not known, feels like a lot him showing off.
Read
July 31, 2022I enjoyed this collection of poems, but Ray Bradbury is my absolute favorite, so rose-tinted glasses and all that. I don’t think I’d recommend this book to anyone, unless they’re a Bradbury fan. They’re mostly long and confusing and too clever. There are a few brilliant spots, but that’s the exception. Still, I’m going to read the other two collections.
May 30, 2022
Written in 1975 some of these poems hit hard in today's world. I wonder what Bradbury would have to say if he were still here to see it.
An enjoyable read, there was just enough light sprinkled in to make sure the dark didn't over take the poems.
An enjoyable read, there was just enough light sprinkled in to make sure the dark didn't over take the poems.
January 27, 2022
Enjoyed reading this in between writing breaks and usually right before I get some shut eye.
June 26, 2024
My favourite poem: I have a brother, mostly dead
July 2, 2025
Some really thoughtful poems about technology and death and humanity and meaning, and some more basic poems. A lot of them have a very basic rhyme scheme which maybe made me underestimate some of it.
August 26, 2021
Ray Bradbury can do nothing wrong in my eyes, literally,literally. I appreciate poetry and he didn't disappoint with this tome. It is a little bit like stream of consciousness, very kinetic and evocative. Funny and greatly enjoyable.
December 31, 2011
This is Bradbury's second book of poetry and it is slighter than his first, in several ways.
First, it is a slim volume. The edition I read clocks in with only 77 pages, which is about half the length of his first volume, "Where Elephants Last in the Dooryard Bloomed." Length is no assurance of quality, but if you're going to create a smaller book the second time out, you should have some assurance that the quality of the pieces you're collecting is really top-rate. This collection does not feel like that; it almost feels like something that was rushed to market to cash in on the author's popularity at the time of its publication (1977).
Second, the poems in this collection are simply not as engaging as those in "When Elephants . . ." I saw one other reviewer say that Bradbury's poetry is not as good as his prose; I agree.
Moreover, even with some of the poems in this volume that are pretty good (e.g. "Byzantium I Come Not From," "We March Back to Olympus," "That Son of Richard III") Bradbury seems to be re-treading themes and ideas that he has done before. He covers the adoration of science which lifts mankind to god-like status, hagiography of past great writers, childhood nostalgia and even obsession with Death . . . all topics which he has treated more deftly in other works. In fact, at least one of the poems in this collection ("A Poem with a Note: All England Empty, the People Flown") is simply another version of one of his short stories. There's no problem with recurring themes in an author's work - its just that these don't seem to bring anything new to the table.
Overall, this collection was a little disappointing.
First, it is a slim volume. The edition I read clocks in with only 77 pages, which is about half the length of his first volume, "Where Elephants Last in the Dooryard Bloomed." Length is no assurance of quality, but if you're going to create a smaller book the second time out, you should have some assurance that the quality of the pieces you're collecting is really top-rate. This collection does not feel like that; it almost feels like something that was rushed to market to cash in on the author's popularity at the time of its publication (1977).
Second, the poems in this collection are simply not as engaging as those in "When Elephants . . ." I saw one other reviewer say that Bradbury's poetry is not as good as his prose; I agree.
Moreover, even with some of the poems in this volume that are pretty good (e.g. "Byzantium I Come Not From," "We March Back to Olympus," "That Son of Richard III") Bradbury seems to be re-treading themes and ideas that he has done before. He covers the adoration of science which lifts mankind to god-like status, hagiography of past great writers, childhood nostalgia and even obsession with Death . . . all topics which he has treated more deftly in other works. In fact, at least one of the poems in this collection ("A Poem with a Note: All England Empty, the People Flown") is simply another version of one of his short stories. There's no problem with recurring themes in an author's work - its just that these don't seem to bring anything new to the table.
Overall, this collection was a little disappointing.
April 20, 2015
Hackneyed, uninspiring, egotistical, often clearly envious of other others. I'm not sure I'd even call this "poetry".
Having said that, there were a few random poems that I got something out of, if only for the idea. The poem about a man reflecting on the childhood games he played with his friends while looking at the landscape in which their young imaginations soared is one anyone reflecting on their lost childhoods can appreciate in spirit. But it turned a little angry toward the end when he noted that there were no children outdoors because they were all watching TV (and he even got in a dig on Walter Cronkite -- funny, from our perspective, as most people now look back fondly on the days when there was a newscaster they could trust). What would he think of children, now, with their iPhones, video games, home computers and TVs?
Another poem was about a drunken uncle that the family was happy to bury but then he came back to haunt them till the author, a young boy, shouted at the ghost to go away. Funny, yet definitely one of those poems that came off as egotistical.
There were some similar themes to his prose work. Lots of mentions of dandelions, dandelion wine, science, the future. Honestly, he should have just stuck with prose and hidden this away. It's amazing that anyone was willing to publish it, even given Bradbury's name power.
Having said that, there were a few random poems that I got something out of, if only for the idea. The poem about a man reflecting on the childhood games he played with his friends while looking at the landscape in which their young imaginations soared is one anyone reflecting on their lost childhoods can appreciate in spirit. But it turned a little angry toward the end when he noted that there were no children outdoors because they were all watching TV (and he even got in a dig on Walter Cronkite -- funny, from our perspective, as most people now look back fondly on the days when there was a newscaster they could trust). What would he think of children, now, with their iPhones, video games, home computers and TVs?
Another poem was about a drunken uncle that the family was happy to bury but then he came back to haunt them till the author, a young boy, shouted at the ghost to go away. Funny, yet definitely one of those poems that came off as egotistical.
There were some similar themes to his prose work. Lots of mentions of dandelions, dandelion wine, science, the future. Honestly, he should have just stuck with prose and hidden this away. It's amazing that anyone was willing to publish it, even given Bradbury's name power.
October 30, 2014
This has it's moments. The 'Why didn't somebody tell me about crying in the shower?' poem is quite good, so is 'Somewhere a band is playing' which he later turned into a novelette. My favorite was 'Ghost at the window, Hive on the hearth'. The man was fearless when playing with words, and sometimes he makes combinations that were just _so right_ you wonder why they were never put together before. It's not GREAT poetry, but it is a lot of fun. (another good one to look for, 'I have a brother, mostly dead.')
December 27, 2008
Again, Bradbury's poetry is not as fine as his prose in my opinion.
July 30, 2010
Nice, nice, very nice.
December 28, 2013
an extraordinary blending of magical realism and science fiction in poetry
December 29, 2016
I love Ray Bradbury more than anyone I know, but he is a terrible poet.
May 8, 2019
Did not finish. A little bored and didn’t care for the poems I did read.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews