Chimneysmoke

by Christopher Morley

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Genres: Poetry

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1921

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

American writer Christopher Darlington Morley founded the Saturday Review, from 1924 to 1940 edited it, and prolifically, most notably authored popular novels.

Christopher Morley, a journalist, essayist, and poet, also produced on stage for a few years and gave college lectures.

Reviews

[Mir · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't think I've ever heard of someone writing so many poems about how much he likes his house.

[ManO · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an absolute jewel of a collection of poetry. It's wonderful. If you liked The Haunted Bookshop and Parnassus on Wheels, you will certainly like this collection. I loved the bits about Morley's homelife, enjoying a peaceful domesticity (with a pipe and pets and kids and a roaring fireplace). How wonderful! I love these rhymes. I hate to hear the bad reviews. this book got. I usually wouldn't write anything, but the fact is, those other readers just didn't get it (and that's ok). These poems are not T.S. Eliot (thank God). They're more like a gentle Dorothy Parker, full of warm, wry wit. They made me feel like almost cozy. Sometimes it's nice to be reminded that life is not a vale of tears, that there are good things in this world and clever people to remind us of these things. Morley's poems are worth reading and re-reading.

[Mateosyew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christopher Morley’s “Chimneysmoke” came to me on the recommendation of a fellow pipe-smoker. On the spine of the book, the title indicates ‘Lyrics for Households of Two or More,’ and I think that sums up the intended audience for this book of poetry. It was not intended to be revolutionary or erudite. I get the impression that it was meant as book for the mantle of your fireplace, to be enjoyed at leisure as a way of sharing a love of “home” – wherever that might be.

I found that Morley’s poems had a certain domestic charm and captured many of the joys common to the 'middle station of life.' His poems were about family, sincere love, friendship, small pleasures and even unease over the brevity of life. Here are some of my favorite selections: The Reflection, To A Discarded Mirror, Two O’Clock, To A Grandmother and Rapid Transit.

I didn’t find the book to be particularly skilled or profound, but I felt a sort of kinship with the author. I enjoy the things he enjoyed and I appreciate the way he viewed the world. To quote the author,

“I questioned life with him, his pulses my pulses; Doubted his doubts, too, and grieved for his anguishes. Salted long kinship and knew him from boyhood–“

He seemed to know something about living and I respect his ability to translate life into a lyric. With that said, I encourage you to read this book of poetry if you love the small things in life. You will not be disappointed.

[Kathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The more I read of Christopher Morley's poetry, the gladder I am that he stuck mainly to essays and novels. This collection is cobbled together almost entirely from short doggerel poems first published in newspapers. While the author was a master of difficult rhyme schemes, his poetic creations seem amateurish: the work of an eager high-school student with a thesaurus. The two exceptions here are free-verse pieces inspired by his first reading of Stephen Vincent Benét. To get a true impression of Christopher Morley's talent, read his bibliophile novels Parnassus on Wheels and The Haunted Bookshop. Leave Chimneysmoke in its rightful place on the shelf.

[laurel · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were some good poems, like the Madonna of the Curb and the poem to Don Marquis. Mostly pretty boring.