Books

Written carefully on the inside cover is this short poem:

"A book's a magic sort of thing,

That makes you sailor, chief, or king'

When I am old and own a shelf,

I think I'll have a book myself."

This short poem was cited as being originally penned by M. C. Davies. I did some research and found the poem is titled, "A Book," by Mary Carolyn Davies, in "A Little Freckled Person." I found a copy of the poem on page 1282 in The Publishers Weekly, Volume 96 by R. R. Bowker Company, Publishers' Board of Trade (US). This book can be found in Google Books.

Also written on this cover, a short saying:

"A casual or a hasty man

Will find all this too vague.

In the capacity of their reader,

Books find their destiny."

- From an Old Chronicle.

Partially underneath newspaper clippings, I pieced together this quote, entitled "Interpretation" by Luis Munoz Marin:

"These are singing things:

The stars,

The sea,

Lovers.....

These are silent things:

The night,

The sands,

Love....."

I found the original on page 67 of The Smart Set: A Magazine of Cleverness, Volume 61, by George Jean Nathan, Henry Louis Mencken, also found in Google Books.

The Psalm of Life

This is what started it all. I opened her well-loved copy of The Book of American Poetry, selected by Edwin Markham. This book was published in 1934 by Wm. H. Wise & Co. in New York.

As I read some of her musings, quotes, and clippings in the inside cover pages, I came across her mention "A Psalm of Life" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. I remembered being awed by his stunning mastery of the English language in my studies at school, and turned to page 68, as she indicated. Here is the poem that she so loved, which continues to inspire me to live each day to its fullest.

The Psalm of Life by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Tell me not, in mournful numbers,

Life is but an empty dream!--

For the soul is dead that slumbers,

And things are not what they seem.

Life is real! Life is earnest!

And the grave is not its goal;

Dust thou art, to dust returneth,

Was not spoken of the soul.

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,

Is our destined end or way;

But to act, that each tomorrow

Find us farther than today.

Art is long, and Time is fleeting,

And our hearts, though stout and brave,

Still, like muffled drums, are beating

Funeral marches to the grave.

In the world's broad field of battle,

In the bivouac of Life,

Be not like dumb, driven cattle!

Be a hero in the strife!

Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant!

Let the dead Past bury its dead!

Act, --act in the living Present!

Hear within, and God o'erhead!

Lives of great men all remind us

We can make our lives sublime,

And, departing, leave behind us

Footprints on the sands of time;

Footprints, that perhaps another,

Sailing o'er life's solemn main,

A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,

Seeing, shall take heart again.

Let us, then, be up and doing,

With a heart for any fate;

Still achieving, still pursuing,

Learn to labor, and to wait.

The Wall Project

Hi. My name is Kara Anderson. I am a great-granddaughter of an amazing woman named Marie Wall. When I was young she shared her love of prose and poetry with me, and when she passed, she left some of her most cherished books to me.

This blog is dedicated to Marie Wall and the legacy she left behind.

I hope to fill this blog with some of her favorite poems and quotes, the ones she voraciously gathered in newspaper clippings and scribblings in the covers and margins of her favorite books. Now out of college and onto an exciting adventure of my own, I find myself perusing her comments and favorite poems more frequently. I gain strength, perspective, and inspiration from her words and those of her favorite authors. It is my hope to record them here, that others may benefit from them as well. I also wish to include a memoirs section, where I include my memories of her and any of those submitted by those who knew her.

When it seems there is a sufficient collection of poetry, prose, and memoirs, I hope to create a book that may be sent to each descendant family, that may be cherished just as she cherished her favorite literature that she had such a voracious appetite for.

I hope to in some small way pay tribute to one of the amazing women in my family who has inspired me to never think a goal was beyond my grasp, to dive into a career where women are scarce, to passionately pursue an education and continue learning, and to enjoy working hard to make my dreams a possibility.

I hope you enjoy, and feel free to contribute if you have memoirs, quotes, favorite poems of hers.