Poems (Agatha Christie)

''Poems'' is the second of two collections of poetry by crime writer Agatha Christie, the first being ''The Road of Dreams'' in January 1925. It was published in October 1973 at the same time as the novel ''Postern of Fate'', the final work she ever wrote.

The book is divided into two volumes with the first part, which occupies over half of the book, being titled ''Volume I'' and is stated on the copyright page to be a reprint of the contents of ''The Road of Dreams'' (incorrectly dated to 1924) however there are several differences between the two publications. They are:

* ''Pierrot Grown Old'', which in 1925 appears as the last poem in the overall book, appears in 1973 between the verses ''The Last Song of Columbine'' and ''Epilogue: Spoken by Punchinello'' within the overall sequence titled ''A Masque from Italy''.
* ''Islot of Brittany'', which appears between the verses ''The Bells of Brittany'' and ''Dark Sheila'' in the sequence titled ''Ballads'' in 1973 does not appear in the 1925 volume.
* ''Beatrice Passes'', which in 1925 appears between the verses ''The Road of Dreams'' and ''Heritage'' in the ''Dreams and Fantasies'' sequence appears in the 1973 version in ''Volume II''.
* ''A Palm Tree in Egypt'' in the sequence ''Other Poems'' in 1925 is retitled ''A Palm Tree in the Desert'' in 1973.
* ''In a Dispensary'', one of the most quoted poems Christie wrote, which in 1925 appears between the verses ''Easter, 1918'' and ''To a Beautiful Old Lady'' in the sequence ''Other Poems'' does not appear in the 1973 volume.

The remainder of the 1973 publication, titled ''Volume II'' was, like its predecessor, divided into four sections:

* ''Things''
* ''Places''
* ''Love Poems and Others''
* ''Verses of Nowadays''

One of the poems in the sequence ''Love Poems and Others'' is entitled ''To M.E.L.M. in Absence''. The dedicatee of this poem is Christie's second husband Max Mallowan or Max Edgar Lucien Mallowan to give him his full name. It is not known when the poem was written however the only prolonged absence the married coupled ever suffered was in the Second World War when Max was sent to Egypt with the British Council in February 1942 and after several years and different postings in North Africa, did not return home until May 1945.Morgan. (Page 252). Both Christie's autobiography and her official biography are silent on the subject of whether or not this poem dates from this period.

''Remembrance'', another poem in the same sequence, is a poem about the loss of a loved one and was reprinted in a small sixteen-page volume of the same name in 1988 by the Souvenir Press with illustrations by Richard Allen ()
The following year, the Souvenir Press published another of the poems from the collection, ''My Flower Garden'', again in a small sixteen-page volume with illustrations by Richard Allen ()

Publication history

* 1973, William Collins and Sons (London), October 1973, Hardcover, 124 pp
* 1973, Dodd, Mead and Company (New York), Hardcover, 124 pp
* 1996, Bantam Books, Hardcover, 182 pp,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poems
1973 poetry books
Poetry by Agatha Christie
English poetry collections
William Collins, Sons books