Poetic Biography of an American Baby Boomer - Author - Daniel B Royer - Book Review

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I will write this review, with the same type of view, of the book by Daniel B. Royer, one of life's poetic voyeurs. As he traverses the earth, from the day of his birth, he talks of the incidents, including losing his innocence. The stories of his life, witted sharp as a knife, are intriguing and enjoyable, as he becomes very lovable. A man with a dimension, of sensitivity and passion, he brings his readers along, to his life's verbose song. One of wisdom and pain, at times quite insane, but along the way readers learn sooner, he's quite the baby boomer.

This is the unique style of Daniel B. Royer's prose in his poetic auto-biographical collection of verses encompassing his book entitled Poetic Biography of an American Baby Boomer: Conover Drive. His style at times was very reminiscent of the famous Dr. Seuss, without of course the green eggs and ham and silly made-up words of the Doctor's imaginary world. Daniel B. Royer's world is not imaginary at all, but descriptively recalled to the minutia of detail, then put to the beat and pentameter of creative poetry with his signature style. A very pleasant and relaxing pace of interesting antidotes chronologically orchestrated to play out in a time line of his life's encounters, his book brings the reader to have an inner smile while reading due to his humor laced throughout his sentences.

Rather a terse book, he recounts about 70 incidents comprising self-actualizing impact to his character development. Each verse is a page or less in duration. I found this book to be very enjoyable, light and humorous. Daniel B. Royer is a wordsmith extraordinaire, and his work is a product of the Mid-Western American culture in which he was raised during the time of the post war era of the Baby Boomer generation.

The cover of his book shows a personal photograph of a modest house with melting snow outside, however with the appearance of being the home to a family of normal values due to the groomed hedges and layered window coverings. It is most likely the home in which Daniel was raised, in the small town of Bay Village, Ohio. As the Poetic Biography of an American Baby Boomer is a collection of individual verses, it can be picked up, read, put down, and started again without losing any impact, therefore a great book for temporary time opportunities. This book would be a welcome table top adornment to a waiting room, or as a gift. I would hope Mr. Royer continues his articulation of his life in subsequent collections of verses.

Reviewed by: Gary R. Sorkin

Gary R. Sorkin is the Senior Editor for Pacific Book Review. Please visit Pacific Book Review at:
http://www.pacificbookreview.com/

The Best Loved Poems of The American People - By Hazel Felleman

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This Book of Poetry was printed in 1936. Bear with me as I describe what our country was like at that time. It was in the middle of the last great depression, and so a very bad economic time. However it was purchased and read by many folks for the same reasons that I have read it many times. Tom Brokaw called it "The Greatest Generation".

The book was dedicated to Adolph S. Ochs publisher of the New York Times, who died in 1935. Ochs was a lover of poetry who began his career as a newsboy in Tennessee. While we now can "Google" information about most anything, at that time the radio and newspaper were our main source of information for those that could afford them.

Felleman worked for the Times, in the Question and Answer section of the Book Review area. She had received more requests for information about Poems, than any other items that showed her which ones were the public's favorites. The Times was the "Google" for those times and requests were mailed in from all over the nation. As Edward Frank Allen states in the introduction this book was edited by the American People. His introduction is well enough written and interesting that it will merit you reading it.

In that wise let me quote a few sentences from the introduction. I think what he says in 1936 is still fitting for today's society. Allen stated: "Today poetry is an absolute necessity. The world needs it for it's vitalizing strength. Poetry has nearly everything that music can give-melody, rhythm, sentiment-but it has this advantage: it can come closer to the heart. It satisfies a hunger for beauty that is a part of nearly every normal person's make-up.

The book is organized quite well. Reading Poetry is a personal thing and we like different types or even individual poems in different categories. Therefore the book is divided into 12 sections based on the subject of the poems. From Love and Friendship to Various Themes. Humor, patriotism, poems that tell a story and more. The first poem is by Elizabeth Barrett Browning and the last by Robert Browning. You will find an index listed by Authors, First Lines, and Titles. The 670 pages are well set up for easy access to all content by all readers. It is a very good book for all people of a wide range of age.. It has Poems by many famous Poets and others less known. Felleman includes some poems by Unkown Poets, whose poems were well liked but the authorship was not known.

You will find, as Hazel Felleman relates, all the poems are not necessarily her favorites but they were included because they were the favorites of the American People. A few of my favorites are not in this book but many are there.

I "Googled" and found that it is still in print and is available both new and used at most Book Stores. I find prices from 25 cents to 17.00. Quite a bargain for the bookshelf and your pleasure.

Turn off the TV, toss the Newspaper, find your quiet nook and enjoy. I am sure you will enjoy it.

This is from a Lover of Poetry. Thank you for allowing me to share with you a good book.

Alex Kamas was retired after over 30 years as a Real Estate Broker Married to Carol for 55 years they have four grown Children and eleven Grandchildren. He lives with his wife Carol in Parker, Colorado.