Collected Poems Of William Alexander Percy

Nothing would have given Will Percy greater delight—he died in January 1942—than this Collected Poems, for although he was lawyer, soldier, cosmopolitan, plantation-owner, and patriot, it was as a poet that he chose to think himself. And indeed this is a volume to be treasured by those whose memories go fondly back to days of quieter, more contemplative living. For Percy was not in any sense a modernist; his love of tradition is as evident in these poems as it was in his prose. Here again is the same gentle quality of nostalgia which has made Lanterns on the Levee one of the most charming and authentic pictures of the old South at its best. Percy’s first book of poems, Sappho in Levkas, was issued in 1905 and was followed by three others: In April Once (1920), Enzio’s Kingdom (1924), and Selected Poems (1930). In all of his poetry, Percy’s phrasing is lyric and dramatic; his verse forms subtly musical and finely regular—truly the work of a man who dreamed of the past and feared—all too prophetically—a dark and ominous future.

This collection of poems by William Alexander Percy includes works inspired by his travels to Greece and Europe, as well as more personal reflections on love and loss. Percy's writing is known for its lyrical quality and exploration of themes such as beauty, nature, and mortality. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This delightful book contains a collection of some of Arthur O'shaughnessy's best poetry, diligently collated by William Alexander Percy and originally published in 1923. An anthology that will greatly appeal to fans and collectors of O'shaughnessy's seminal work, this book makes for a worthy addition to any personal library and is not to be missed by discerning poetry-lovers. Arthur William Edgar O'Shaughnessy (1844 – 1881) was a British poet who published his influential work in four books: An Epic of Women (1870), Lays of France (1872), Music and Moonlight (1874), and Songs of A Worker (1873). Many old books such as this are increasingly costly and hard to come by, and we hope that by republishing this book here we are increasing its accessibility for all those who are interested. This antique text has been elected for modern republication due to its immense literary value, and we are proud to republish it now complete with a new prefatory biography of the author.

In this evocative biography, Benjamin E. Wise presents the singular life of William Alexander Percy (1885-1942), a queer plantation owner, poet, and memoirist from Mississippi. Though Percy is best known as a conservative apologist of the southern racial order, in this telling Wise creates a complex and surprising portrait of a cultural relativist, sexual liberationist, and white supremacist. We follow Percy as he travels from Mississippi around the globe and, always, back again to the Delta. Wise's exploration brings depth and new meaning to Percy's already compelling life story--his prominent family's troubled history, his elite education and subsequent soldiering in World War I, his civic leadership during the Mississippi River flood of 1927, his mentoring of writers Walker Percy and Shelby Foote, and the writing and publication of his classic autobiography, Lanterns on the Levee. This biography sets Percy's life and search for meaning in the context of his history in the Deep South and his experiences in the gay male world of the early twentieth century. In Wise's hands, these seemingly disparate worlds become one.

Nothing would have given Will Percy greater delight--he died in January 1942--than this "Collected Poems," for although he was lawyer, soldier, cosmopolitan, plantation-owner, and patriot, it was as a poet that he chose to think himself. And indeed this is a volume to be treasured by those whose memories go fondly back to days of quieter, more contemplative living. For Percy was not in any sense a modernist; his love of tradition is as evident in these poems as it was in his prose. Here again is the same gentle quality of nostalgia which has made "Lanterns on the Levee" one of the most charming and authentic pictures of the old South at its best. Percy's first book of poems, "Sappho in Levkas," was issued in 1905 and was followed by three others: "In April Once" (1920), "Enzio's Kingdom" (1924), and "Selected Poems" (1930). In all of his poetry, Percy's phrasing is lyric and dramatic; his verse forms subtly musical and finely regular--truly the work of a man who dreamed of the past and feared--all too prophetically--a dark and ominous future.

Although the novels of Walker Percy represent some of the most prominent work in 20th-century Southern fiction, the Percy family itself has a history that is arguably as compelling as anything he could have created. Behind Percy's prose lurks a legacy of wealth, literary accomplishment, political leadership, depression, and suicide that spans two centuries. In this compelling biography, Wyatt-Brown skilfully combines intensive research and telling insights to produce the unforgettable story of this gifted family. 48 halftones.