This is a picture taken from the inside of one of the volumes.
Edgar A. Guest with his dog, Bismarck, in 1938
About Edgar A Guest
~*~
Easy reading, full of everyday life, patriotism, being a person of character, love of family and home, God and faith. Up-lifting and encouraging, written in simple rhyme ~ old fashioned values and humble living make these poems endearing.
When you’re up against a trouble,
Meet it squarely, face to face,
Lift your chin, and set your shoulders,
Plant your feet and take a brace,
When it’s vain to try to dodge it,
Do the best that you can do.
You may fail, but you may conquer–
See it through!
–Excerpt from “See It Through”
So many sweet examples… here is just one:
When You Know A Fellow
Edgar A. Guest
When you get to know a fellow, know his joys and know his cares,
When you’ve come to understand him and the burdens that he bears,
When you’ve learned the fight he’s making and the troubles in his way,
Then you find that he is different than you thought him yesterday.
You find his faults are trivial and there’s not so much to blame
In the brother that you jeered at when you only knew his name.
You are quick to see the blemish in the distant neighbor’s style,
You can point to all his errors and may sneer at him the while,
And your prejudices fatten and your hates more violent grow
As you talk about the failures of the man you do not know,
But when drawn a little closer, and your hands and shoulders touch,
You find the traits you hated really don’t amount to much.
When you get to know a fellow, know his every mood and whim,
You begin to find the texture of the splendid side of him;
You begin to understand him, and you cease to scoff and sneer,
For with understanding always prejudices disappear.
You begin to find his virtues and his faults you cease to tell,
For you seldom hate a fellow when you know him very well.
When next you start in sneering and your phrases turn to blame,
Know more of him you censure than his business and his name;
For it’s likely that acquaintance would your prejudice dispel
And you’d really come to like him if you knew him very well.
When you get to know a fellow and you understand his ways,
Then his faults won’t really matter, for you’ll find a lot to praise.
From the book "A Heap o' Livin'" ©1916You might also like…
I Look Not BackStart Over
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Do you have the poem ” A Scout Leader’s Wife” in any of your books? I’m trying to locate the poem to see when it was written by Edgar A. Guest. Thanks!
I’ve hunted, now to search through some librarians.
Hello Michelle,
I checked through my collection of books by Edgar Guest for the poem, A Scout Leader’s Wife but did not find any with that title. I did find a poem titled, The Scoutmaster in two of my books, copyrighted 1923.
I also did a quick peruse on the net but didn’t come up with anything there. Hope you are soon able to find what you are looking for 🙂
Kindly, Lorraine
Thanks for the great post.
I just learned about Edgar Guest this last year. I can’t believe I had never heard of him before. (Perhaps I did when younger and then forgot; though I can’t believe I would forget such incredible poetry.)
I want to buy some books of his but can’t find the contents of the books available.
I specifically am looking for poems “Picture Books” and one of his about mothers—though it’s name escapes me just now.
I guess I may have to check out library books and then buy.
Hello, I am happy you came by the Edgar Guest post and found it helpful. I was able to get most of my books through eBay. I just did a quick search and saw some about “Mother.” You can ask the seller questions about the content before bidding. Hope this is helpful for you.
Thank you for stopping by!
Kindly, Lorraine
I always loved his poem When you get to know a fellow.
I kept looking and trying to find it.
Thank you for posting it.
He sounds like someone I would really like to have as a neighbor.
I like his philosophy.
Hello Lori,
Happy to hear you were finally able to find the poem. It has been a while since I read Edgar Guest’s work and your comment reminded me of it. Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your comment.
Kindly, Lorraine
What a great post! His poems seem like they could have been written today! There's something about those photos of him that makes him so likeable! It must be his eyes!!!
I grew up and Detroit and remember reading from (and enjoying) the Poems of Patriotism in high school.
What a wonderful collection of books you have!
Thanks for sharing those treasured gems.
Beautiful… thank you for sharing~ I had never heard of his work. Lovely!
Hope your week is wonderful~
What an interesting post! Thanks so much for sharing. YOu do have beautiful girls!! My twin daughters are 23 such a pleasure. We do have twins in common. Guess what something else? I live in Birmingham England! Strange. I have to admit I haven't even heard of him, but I will definitely be checking his work out now.Thank you…..Hugs and Love Suex
Please stop by again whenever you can!
Hugs and Love Sue (Mrs Twins).x !
Wonderful~ Thank you for sharing~ dear Mrs.H!
I will have to put these on my 'to-read' list!!!
Aren't old books scrumptious?! The
bindings are amazing!!!! 🙂
Love & Blessings~ Miss Jen
I've never heard of this poet, seems like a very American kind of guy. Thanks for sharing.
I love his "It Couldn't Be Done" poem.
Do you know that one?
Oh I enjoy his poems. That is a wonderful collection of books that you have thanks for sharing ~Blessings Heather ;D
Beautiful!!! I love this sharing you've posted this week. I love poetry. And I LOVE! books.
My show n tell this week is glass, glass antiques. A couple of them. Come by if you can. Have a glorious weekend. Click Here
Hi!
I remember back in college working on a piece about Mr. Guest. Being from Michigan, he was always a fav of ours!
One of my favorite poems is:
It don't make a difference how rich ye get t' be'
How much yer chairs and tables cost, how great the luxury;
It ain't home t' ye, though it be the palace of a king,
Until somehow yer soul is sort o' wrapped round everything.
Within the walls there's got t' be some babies born an' then…
Right there ye've got t' bring em up t' women good, an' men;
Home ain't a place that gold can buy or get up in a minute;
Afore it's home there's got t' be a heap o' living in it."
This is just a little bit of the poem called
"Home," A Heap o' Livin' (1916)
Thanks for reminding me of this great writer! It's been awhile since I have read him.