Robert Frost: his 10 favorite books of all time
In addition to being a master writer, celebrated American poet Robert Frost was also a master reader.
In addition to being a master writer, celebrated American poet Robert Frost was also a master reader.
This year includes the 50th anniversary of Robert Frost鈥檚 death, and April鈥檚 observance of National Poetry Month is a good time to remember the 20th century鈥檚 most celebrated American poet.
Frost (1874-1963) is perhaps best known for poems such as 鈥淪topping by Woods on a Snowy Evening鈥� and 鈥淭he Death of the Hired Man,鈥� compositions inspired by the New England countryside that nevertheless attained universal appeal.
Not surprisingly, this master writer was also a master reader, and when the Massachusetts Library Association asked Frost to name his favorite books, he wrote an interesting top 10 list in 1934.
鈥溾�楾he Odyssey鈥� chooses itself, the first in time and rank of all romances,鈥� Frost told readers in introducing his first pick. 鈥溾�楻obinson Crusoe鈥� is never quite out of my mind,鈥� he added in offering his second choice. 鈥淚 never tire of being shown how the limited can make snug in the limitless.鈥�
鈥淲alden,鈥� Henry David Thoreau鈥檚 classic, came in at No. 3. 鈥淐rusoe was cast away; Thoreau was self-cast away,鈥� Frost observed. 鈥淏oth found themselves sufficient. No prose writer has ever been more fortunate in subject than these two.鈥�
The tales of Edgar Allan Poe ranked fourth on Frost鈥檚 lists. 鈥淗ere is every kind of entertainment the short story can afford,鈥� Frost wrote.
For his fifth and sixth choices, Frost picked 鈥淭he Oxford Book of Verse鈥� and editor Louis Untermeyer鈥檚 鈥淢odern American and British Poetry.鈥� James Fenimore Cooper鈥檚 鈥淭he Last of the Mohicans鈥� earned a No. 7 spot because, wrote Frost, the novel 鈥渟upplies us once and for all with our way of thinking of the American Indian.鈥�
Frost recommended his eighth choice, Anthony Hope鈥檚 鈥淭he Prisoner of Zenda,鈥� as 鈥渟urely one of the very best of our modern best-sellers.鈥�
鈥淭he Jungle Book,鈥� Rudyard Kipling鈥檚 famous adventure story, was No. 9. 鈥淚 shall read it again as often as I can find a new child to listen to me,鈥� Frost explained.
Ralph Waldo Emerson鈥檚 鈥淓ssays and Poems鈥� rounded out the list at No. 10. Frost found in Emerson 鈥渢he rapture of idealism either way you have it, in prose or in verse and in brief.鈥�
Frost鈥檚 Top 10 list appears in 鈥淔rost: Collected Poems, Prose & Plays,鈥� a 1995 Library of America edition that鈥檚 a handy introduction to his work.
Meanwhile, as spring deepens its hold on the calendar, it鈥檚 not too early to start thinking of a summer reading list. Half a century after his passing, Frost鈥檚 recommendations seem a good place to start.