Hopelessness Springs Eternal for Maud Muller
"For of all sad words of tongue or pen,
The saddest are these: 'It might have been!"
Poet Robert Dunn Tackles Immortality
Portsmouth's "Penny Poet" cashes out
Political Poems for the Common Man
Sam Walter Foss distrusted politicians and rich folks, trusted common folks
The Simple Art of Uncle Oscar
Celia Thaxter's baby brother was an artist and poet too
Celia Thaxter’s Poem about a Norwegian Murder Victim
What can we learn from Celia Thaxter’s Norwegian poems?
The Ballad of Jack Ringbolt
A rediscovered masterwork of horror, maritime history, and religious passion by the tortured pen of James Kennard, Jr.
The Men in “The Tent on the Beach” by Whittier
A beach, a poem, and three writers in a tent in 1867
Yankee Humor: The Lucky Horseshoe
Portsmouth boy makes good in the literary world and penned this little poem
A Biographical Sketch of Thomas Bailey Aldrich
Both his bad Boy novel and his lively study of Portsmouth history are readable today.
The Candidates at the Fair
Sam Walter Foss tackles local politicans again
The Ballad of the Squalus
From seacoast singer-songwriter John Perrault