Robert Frost (1) (1874–1963)

I said I had the tree. It wasn't true.
The opposite was true. The tree had me.
-- from "Wild Grapes"

Robert Frost seems a "safe" and perhaps even boring choice for someone wanting to know more about poetry, but his reputation as a master poet is deserved. His voice is distinct and American, his ability to render conversation both true to speaking patterns and also poetic, his skill at this is astounding, and he describes human interactions with nature to highlight not only the natural but also the social world.

"The Axe-Helve" -- a good example of Frost's approach to writing of nature, and of social interaction, and bringing those together. Here the intersection is in the craft of woodcraft/carpentry, with a homesteader and a lumberjack revealing shared culture across different social backgrounds. It's not just Frost's interest in both nature and social interaction, he presents examples which are both at once: the social interaction over a natural feature, whether appreciation of land or familiarity with farming, growing things, keeping a homestead. "Do you know, what we talked about was knowledge?"

Frost is worth re-reading, whatever his reputation.

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This selection perhaps unremarkable, not a reprint and no comment or introduction to indicate who made the selections nor by what criterion -- merely a page noting the "Original Sources".… (plus d'informations)