101 Books, Number 94

Favorite Books from Throughout My Life

94: An Arsonist’s Guide to Writers’ Homes in New England, 2007, by Brock Clarke (1968–).

I read this wild and funny tale

And knew at once my students would

Consume the thing (as students should!).

No way a book like this could fail!

Indeed, they loved it (as I’d known!)—

And Clarke then visited our class—

The time just flew (so it will pass

When you sit near a talent’s throne).

The story told of writers’ homes

An arsonist set up in flame—

Like Frost’s and others of some fame—

Like sacking one of Ancient Rome’s!

There is some satire here, as well—

Of the decline in academe

(Oh, check our world of Tweet and meme)—

But Clarke had such a tale to tell

That I could barely wait until

I read his other novels, too—

And still I read him, oh I do!

The words are wondrous, never fill

His readers to satiety

But make them wish for more and more—

A pleasure always—never chore.

At least this has been true for me.