The Collected Verse of Robert Service

by Robert W. Service

Robert Service (1874-1958) dreamed of a life of adventure and freedom to live and write as he wanted, surrounded by nature and the beauty of the world. Born in Lancashire, England, he developed an urge early on to travel abroad, and set his sights on the rough and tumble "wild west" of Canada. Part journalist and part storyteller, he ventured up and down the west coast of the United States and wrote romantic stories of cowboys, gold prospectors and characters of the lush, wild backwoods. This collection of verse contains Service's famous story collections "Songs of a Sourdough", published in 1907 to wide success, "Ballads of a Cheechako", "Rhymes of a Rolling Stone", "Rhymes of a Red Cross Man", and "Ballads of a Bohemian". Service favored simple, rhythmic ballads that allowed the reader to get lost in the colorful descriptions and exciting tales of his imagination, which were inspired by his real world experiences.

Genres: Poetry, Classics

338 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 22, 2011

About the author

This author is the the British-Canadian writer of Yukon poetry. For the British historian of modern Russia, see Robert Service.

Robert William Service was born into a Scottish family while they were living in Preston, England. He was schooled in Scotland, attending Hillhead High School in Glasgow. He moved to Canada at the age of 21 when he gave up his job working in a Glasgow bank, and traveled to Vancouver Island, British Columbia with his Buffalo Bill outfit and dreams of becoming a cowboy.

He drifted around western North America, taking and quitting a series of jobs. Hired by the Canadian Bank of Commerce, he worked in a number of its branches before being posted to the branch in Whitehorse (not Dawson) in the Yukon Territory in 1904, six years after the Klondike Gold Rush. Inspired by the vast beauty of the Yukon wilderness, Service began writing poetry about the things he saw.

Conversations with locals led him to write about things he hadn't seen, many of which hadn't actually happened, as well. He did not set foot in Dawson City until 1908, arriving in the Klondike ten years after the Gold Rush, but his renown as a writer was already established.

For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_W._Service.

Reviews

[Brian Page · Rating 3 out of 5]

The surprise, at least for someone moderately familiar with Robert W. Service, in this collection of his five volumes of verse, is the last, Ballads of a Bohemian. That collection is unlike much of his other poems and most are introduced with prose telling of his life in Paris beginning in 1914. It also spans his entry in the First World War as an ambulance driver. I was surprised to discover that this last volume in the collection contains many war poems that are not included in Rhymes of a Red Cross Man (my favorite amongst his books). If all you know of Service is "The Cremation of Sam McGee," and perhaps "The Men That Don't Fit In," and if those brought you to this volume, then you will be rewarded for the effort.

[Christine]

Can't knock Service's poems - there are some classics - I just need to return to this tome at another time, when I'm more receptive to his brand of poetry.

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robert Service is an amazing balladeer and this collection of his verse showcases his writing well.

[Casey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good poems of a bit dated. And you know, racist.

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hardback First edition.

I LOVE this book - the poems range from serious and heartbreaking to raucously funny. The WWI poetry is somewhat 'simple' yet that is what makes it all the more poignant. The humorous poems are a real treasure and the whole collection is lovely. Yes, there are some 'duds' but the gems outweigh them.

[Gene H hennighg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Especially necessary. The Cremation of Sam McGee is an American classic.