Arguably America’s most popular poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was a celebrity in his day (1807–1882), and his books consistently sold tens of thousands of copies—far more than any American poet before or since. He has been credited, through such epic poems as “Paul Revere’s Ride,” “Evangeline,” and “Song of Hiawatha,” with helping to create the mythic vision of America that still exists today; and many lines and phrases from his poetry—such as, “Ships that pass in the night and speak to each other in passing,” “footsteps in the sands of time,” and “Into each life some rain must fall”—have become part of the cultural canon. Introduced by Maine poet laureate Wesley McNair, this is the first collection of its kind to bring us the wisdom and wry wit of America’s poet.
