Always a Reckoning & Other Poems [Audiobook, Unabridged] [Audio Cassette]

Jimmy Carter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 28, 1995

1 cassette / 1 hour
Read by President Jimmy Carter

In this moving, wide-ranging, and intensely personal collection of poems -- his first -- President Jimmy Carter opens to us his very private and reflective world. Always a Reckoning is sparked with tenderness, and glowing with an intense and passionate caring that is born of an awareness both political and sensual.

The final days of a cherished hunting companion. The death of a father and the memories of his son. An old and proud black woman teaching a young boy the art of fishing and the art of life. A heartwarming tribute to his wife, Rosalynn, whose smile "still makes the birds forget to sing/and me to hear them." A newly-fledged politician trying to change the ways of a small and stubborn town.

It is in images such as these that we see President Carter's belief that it is poetry that teaches the writer "art is best derived from artless things." And it is the knowledge and awareness acquired long ago that there is "always a reckoning," that everything in life must be in balance -- in art, in politics, in friendship -- which permeates the audio. Always a Reckoning is a collection that will touch, amuse, surprise, and delight its listeners.

Jimmy Carter was the thirty-ninth president of the United States. He is the author of eight books, including Turning Point: A Candidate, a State, and a Nation Come of Age.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

If Jimmy Stewart can publish a book of poems, so can former President Carter. These reflections on Carter's childhood, family, and political life are illustrated by his granddaughter.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Jimmy Carter's publisher is braver than Jimmy Stewart's. When the actor's verses came out some years back, review copies were not sent in any form. Times, though nervous enough not to send advance galleys, did submit the finished book of the ex-president's verse. A handsome little thing it is, presenting 44 humble yet competent enough poems, each illustrated with a drawing by Carter's granddaughter. Disposed in four groups thematically entitled "People," "Places," "Politics," and "Private Lives," the 44 are about half lightly nostalgic, often keenly evocative, autobiographical narratives and half blunt and simple reflections of his famously charitable political and social convictions. Although Carter is not in the same league in terms of literary skill or philosophical depth, his concerns, his subjects, and his attitudes recall those of Kentucky's great farmer-poet, Wendell Berry. If Carter's book of poems represents vanity publishing on the grand scale--and it does--his poetic persona doesn't sound or seem at all vain. Ray Olson --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Random House Audio; Unabridged edition (March 28, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679445668
• ISBN-13: 978-0679445661
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,493,103 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jimmy Carter was born in Plains, Georgia, and served as thirty-ninth President of the United States. He and his wife, Rosalynn, founded The Carter Center, a nonprofit organization that prevents and resolves conflicts, enhances freedom and democracy, and improves health around the world. He is the author of numerous books, including Palestine Peace Not Apartheid, An Hour Before Daylight and Our Endangered Values. He received a "Best Spoken Word" Grammy Award for his recording of Our Endangered Values. All of President Carter's proceeds from this series will go to the Maranatha Baptist Church of Plains, Georgia.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A glimpse inside the mind of an extraordinary man., March 13, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Always a Reckoning and Other Poems (Hardcover)

Good poetry reveals something about the poet. For a moment, the reader can share the poet's feelings or experiences. Great poetry does the same thing, but unforgettably.

I admired Jimmy Carter when he was our thirty-ninth president. I was impressed by his simple, quiet intelligence and integrity, matched by his wife's internal elegance. Rosalynn, with a scarf tied `round her neck, was every bit as gracious as other first ladies wearing diamonds.

I grieved when the Carters vacated the White House. I continue to admire them, especially when I catch coverage of them hammering side by side at their annual stint with Habitat for Humanity. Many politicians help the unfortunate with taxpayers' money; some contribute their own cash or their names; few offer their time and their hands.

The autobiographical poems in Always a Reckoning are as unpretentious as their author. Carter employs a variety of forms to immortalize people and events that influenced him. Each poem is charmingly illustrated by the Carters' sixteen-year-old granddaughter.

Always a Reckoning is a worthwhile read not because it is great poetry, but because it is merely good: it provides a glimpse inside the mind of an extraordinary man.

reviewed by Andrea R. Huelsenbeck

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars POETRY FROM A MAN WHO SHOULD WIN THE NEXT NOBEL PRIZE, August 12, 2001

By 

Kent Braithwaite (Palm Desert, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Always a Reckoning and Other Poems (Hardcover)

I'm a mystery author with my first novel in its initial release and a government teacher in one of the most impoverished high schools in this country. I am also a great admirer of Jimmy Carter, and I firmly believe that he deserves the next Nobel Prize (okay not for literature--the Big One--THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE.) ALWAYS A RECKONING is a book that I keep on my desk in my classroom. These poems are heartfelt and they reveal much about this humble man and his life in the South as the South began to change. I will often read selected works from this book when we cover the electoral process and civil rights. These poems are honest and well-written. And, on a personal level, whenever any mystey reader questions the reality of my private eye series lead (a former politician who writes poetry), I point them to this book by this GENTLEMAN who once occupied the Oval Office.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Poems, July 31, 2003

By 

D. Kent "Mimesis" (Minneapolis, MN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Always a Reckoning and Other Poems (Hardcover)

Our world has more bad poetry than it has cigarettes. Poetry is either so recondite that it is no fun, or else it is so personal to the author that it is irrelevant to the reader. Carter's poems, though, attain profundity through simple exposition that is not overly personal.

Carter, of course, is not a professional poet or anything like that. But I enjoyed his poems more than most of the mainstream poets I have read. This all confirms my theory that great artists are simply great people who do art.