MUSE POETRY REVIEWS: PEGASUS BUCHANAN’S CHESTNUT STREET UPDATE

CHESTNUT STREET
1956

AUTHOR:

PEGASUS BUCHANAN

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

SHE GREW UP IN EAST LANSING MICHIGAN AND SHE SIGNED HER NAME AS PEGGY PERRY. SHE ATTENDED MICHIGAN STATE COLLEGE AND WORKED IN THE ART DEPARTMENT AS A MODEL. SHE MIXED HER POETRY INTO HER PHOTOGRAPHIC MODELING. SHE STATED THAT CHESTNUT STREET IS EVERYWHERE, "EVERY CITY HAS A CHESTNUT STREET." AN INTERESTING THING TO NOTE IS WAS ALWAYS WITH HER, AT AGE SEVEN SHE WROTE THE:

"TALE OF A RABIT"

Little bunnys dont, i think,

Like to have there noses pink.

That is why youle allways finde them

Wareing pouder puffs behinde them.

THE WORLD AT THAT TIME PRE 1956 BEFORE THE PUBLISHING OF THIS BOOK DID NOT ACKNOWLEDGE HER EFFORT AS A POETRY WRITER. SHE MOVED FORWARD NO MATTER WHAT AND HER FAMILY SUPPORTED HER. SHE WOULD SOON BE RECOGNIZED AS A GRADE SCHOOL'S POET LAUREATE AND ALSO THIS LED TO HER POETRY BEGIN PUBLISHED IN NEWSPAPERS AND PERIODICALS, AND THEN SHE MOVED UP THE CHAIN IN BIGGER MAGAZINES THAT BROUGHT NATIONWIDE ATTENTION TO HER GENIUS WAYS.

PRAISE:

"This is an exceedingly human collection of poems, understanding of the pleasures and pains of people. Chestnut Street is neither Easy Street nor Skid Row, it is Our Street, the home address of most of us. The poems capture the common emotions in such relationships as that of husband to wife, mother to child, boy to dog, through the cycle of seasons making up a year. Avoiding the twin errors of obscurity and sentimentality, the poet is pleasantly unpretentious, and capable of introducing a touch of humor when it is needed. The point of view is that of a woman, but a woman who, being also a poet, can give expression to the little satisfactions that add up to the good life." --Richard Armour (1906;1988) was an American poet and author who wrote over sixty five books.

"Pegasus Buchanan evidences in her work unusual humanity participation, compassion for the weak, and a realistic empathy for the strong." -- Jack Woodford (1894–1971) was a successful pulp novelist and non-fiction author of the 1930s and 1940s.

MY REVIEW AND THOUGHTS:

THIS IS A WONDERFUL QUICK READ. THIS BOOK HAS WHAT GREAT VIVID IMAGE POETRY IS ABOUT. THIS HAS SIMPLE POETRY AND I MEAN THAT IN A GOOD WAY. THIS BOOK CAN BE FOR EVERYBODY. IT'S A BOOK THAT GRABS THE READER BECAUSE YOU CAN UNDERSTAND IT WITHOUT HAVING TO ROCK YOUR BRAIN ON WHAT SHE WAS SAYING. THIS BOOK WAS FIRST PUBLISHED IN 1956 AND I HAVE TO SAY I WAS VERY AMAZED WITH IT.

IT FELT GREAT, IT WAS POETRY I COULD RELATE TO AND KNOW AS A PERSONAL BASIS. ALL THE POEMS HAVE THE THEME CHESTNUT STREET INVOLVED WITH THEM AND ITS INTERESTING TO SEE HOW MANY POEMS SHE GOT OUT OF IT ON THAT SAME SUBJECT. THE POETRY FLOWS IN SIMPLE TONES WITH MASSIVE STORY TELLING IN WORDS THAT BECOME IMAGES. EVEN THOUGH I HAVE NEVER BEEN THERE BEFORE, I FELT APART OF CHESTNUT STREET THAT'S HOW WELL PACED AND WRITTEN THE POETRY IS.

A LOT OF PEOPLE MIGHT NOT GET THIS BOOK BUT I FEEL THE BOOK CAPTURES THE BEAUTY OF WATCHING YOUR SURROUNDINGS AND MAKING THEM INTO GREAT POETRY READS. IT RUNS 96 PAGES AND I READ IT UNDER TWO HOURS TIME THAT'S HOW QUICK IT FLOWED. I EVEN WENT BACK AND READ CERTAIN POEMS TWICE TO GET THE WHOLE EFFECT OF WHAT THE POEM WAS ABOUT. BUCHANAN HAS A UNIQUE STYLE OF WRITING THAT EXPRESSES WHAT SHE WANTS TO SAY.
MY CHOICE OF BEST POEM IN THE BOOK, I REALLY LOVED MOST OF THEM BUT THE ONE THAT I FELL IN LOVE WITH IS CALLED:

AUGUST NIGHT

The night descends at last on Chestnut Street,

But there is no reprisal from the heat,

And steaming houses crouch, devoid of light,

As Betty Landon's phonograph drones on

Above the muffled talk from porch and lawn.

The scent of fresh-cut grass cavorts with sweat,

And now and then a match, a cigarette,

Discloses a position here and there.

Old Mrs. Radcliff's front-porch rocking chair

Creaks slowly back and forth, it's rhythm wrong

To blend with Betty Landon's droning song

That wails forlorn with drunken, savage beat--

Akin to darkness, a akin to heat.

A flash of lightning zig-zags through the sky

And hurls it's thunder earthward. Now a cry

Of victory is echoed down the street

As all rejoice and scramble to their feet.

Deliriously gay, and not quite sane,

They touch and taste the miracle of rain.

The lights flash on in houses. Windows slam.

The rain streaks down as through some skyway dam

Had burst above the trees of Chestnut Street,

Releasing heaven's saltless sea, to beat

With unrelenting fury, endlessly.

But wait ... the sky grows hushed ... and suddenly

The stars are back again. the night lies fair,

And crystal streamlets glimmer everywhere,

Cascading gaily over curb and hill ...

And betty Landon's phonograph is still.

SADLY THIS BOOK HAS NOT BEEN RELEASED IN RECENT BOOK FORM. YOU CAN FIND IT AT USED BOOK STORES AND ALSO THERE ARE SOME LISTINGS ON AMAZON.COM FOR IT, USED THROUGH BUYERS. I THINK THIS IS A GREAT READ AND A BOOK THAT SHOULD BE READ MORE AND LOVED LIKE I DID. IT'S A CLASSIC POETRY WRITTEN BOOK THAT YOU REALLY DON'T SEE ANYMORE AND I REALLY WISH FOR IT TO COME OUT IN A NEW BOOK FORM.

MY RATING:
4 OUT OF 5