Always a Reckoning and Other Poems

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful gift for a senior citizen (especially)
Review: Gave this book to my mother (86, early Altzheimers) for Valentine's Day. Always a difficult person for gift giving, she has thoroughly enjoyed picking up this sweet little book on a pretty regular basis, even if just to read a line or two. The book is printed in large, dark (easy to read) type and in the folksy, charming way of our ex-President. It's "down home" usage of words seems to strike a familiar chord for my mother and her 95 year old sister. First time I've seen them really show interest in a book in a long time. A wonderful gift for an elderly person and a precious treasure to those of us who haven't yet attained the age, but appreciate and honor the author.

Rating:
Summary: Heartfelt Poems from America's Presidential Nobel Laureate
Review: I read Jimmy Carter's book of poetry, ALWAYS A RECKONING, with the simple expectation that the poems would be heartfelt and tell stories from his life in plain, down-to-Earth prose. I was stunned to find myself moved to tears with the very first poem, "Rachel," which was dedicated to the memory of the neighbor woman who cared for Jimmy after his folks were gone. In a few short pages, Jimmy had succeeded in describing what was so special about those days with Rachel, and how important she truly was in his young life.

Other poems in ALWAYS A RECKONING are laugh-out-loud funny, such as, "Progress Does Not Always Come Easy," which describes the trials and tribulations Jimmy Carter underwent when he successfully passed his first legislation (ensuring that deceased citizens lose their voting rights), which turned out to be quite unpopular in every precinct with a cemetery!

ALWAYS A RECKONING is a rare gem of a book that gives readers a sense of the inner beauty of Jimmy Carter's heart and soul.

Rating:
Summary: Great Poems
Review: Our world has more bad poetry than it has cigarettes. Poetry is either so recondite that it is no fun, or else it is so personal to the author that it is irrelevant to the reader. Carter's poems, though, attain profundity through simple exposition that is not overly personal.

Carter, of course, is not a professional poet or anything like that. But I enjoyed his poems more than most of the mainstream poets I have read. This all confirms my theory that great artists are simply great people who do art.