Although this book was on top of the stacks, I did not just buy it–I bought it in September 2024 at the Friends of the Springfield-Greene County Library book sale. It’s not quite a self-published book, or at least not how we do it now; it says it was printed by Standard Printing. So maybe this is a self-published of the variety where you order 1,000 copies of your own book to be printed. It’s definitely a little less onerous to self-publish your work now, but that lack of friction has made it so that anyone can, and just because you’ve published a book, that doesn’t mean anyone is going to see it. Especially if you’re a bit of a misanthrope. Perhaps if I had 920-some copies of John Donnelly’s Gold sitting in my closet I would be more inclined to move them. Actually, I do have several copies of John Donnelly’s Gold and Coffee House Memories lying around. I guess I will have to trot them up to ABC Books for their shelves since they looked like they were about out last time I was up there.
So: Becker was a regionally successful poet in Topeka, Kansas, in the first part of the 20th century. She wrote and published (in papers and magazines, not just self-published books) poetry and plays and contributed to several operettas. And, you know: The poetry is pretty good. It’s not purely grandmother poetry, not re[etitively focusing on Christian themes. She touches on relationships, lost relationships, nature, and, yes, eternity with reference to Christ and God. But the breadth of the topic matter was refreshing. The poems themselves had varied styles, from free/blank verse to tightly iambic and rhymed poems. It was actually a joy to read, and when I’m up in Kansas again, I’ll remember to look for more of her work in used book stores.
Probably not as likely here, though. This particular book was a gift to the “Little Hults” and has the local address of what one presumes is or one of the Little Hults. And as it was a gift to children in 1955, it has pencil scratchings and whatnot in the first pages.
Amazing in this 21st century to think that people gave children the gift of poetry in the middle of the last century, but that was probably the beginning of the decline in American education. Not because of the poetry, of course, but the decline led to not giving the kids poetry and Captain Underpants books instead. At any rate, I probably have similar books from the 1970s given to me. And one final desecration note: The poem on page 35 or 36 must have been the best of the book because it was torn from the book.
So: A cut above grandmother poetry and the stuff you find in Ideals magazine (not to mention most modern poetry magazines). If you find one of her books in the wild, snag it; they look to be listed at $30 and up on Ebay with first editions going for hundreds of dollars. And they’re full of pleasant poetry.
