Always a Reckoning and Other Poems (Hardcover)

by Jimmy Carter (Author)

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.

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

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Crown; 1 edition (November 22, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812924347
• ISBN-13: 978-0812924343
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #792,385 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 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)

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.

7 of 7 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

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.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Makes Me Wish Carter Lived on My Street, February 19, 2007

By	LBR Lucas (San Diego, California USA) - See all my reviews

If one follows Samuel Taylor Coleridge's definition that prose is words in their best order and poetry is the best words in their best order, then Jimmy Carter acquits himself nicely as a poet. This volume would make for pleasant reading even if its author weren't a former president.
Like other reviewers, I find my favorite piece is Carter's tribute to Rachel Clark. Another poem that touched me is about "Sport."
Carter's poems are conversational, like visits I have with my neighbors about various topics, and thought-provoking, as those conversations often are. You go along with your day and realize you've just learned something remarkable--and you're glad to know it. I like Carter better for having read his poems.
The Booklist review calls this "vanity publishing on a grand scale." That may be true, but most vanity publications don't stay in print for long. It's no accident that this has been selling since 1994.