That strange creative genius, Ambrose Bierce, published approximately 800 pieces of verse in a lifetime of writing. Much of it is satire involving many who were celebrities on the West Coast. A modicum remains of real poetry -- compact, powerful, and -- quite unexpectedly -- tender with a tenderness not usually associated with The Devil's Lexicographer.This collection retains that hard core of real poetry, together with a sampling from the better pieces of his satirical verse, which bring notice to Bierce's fine qualities as a poet and to his influence on other West Coast poets.