101 Books, Number 59

Favorite Books from Throughout My Life

59: Jack London: An American Life, 2013 , by Earle Labor (1928–)

I owe so very much to him*—

He gave life to my London life.

And so I’ll go out on a limb—

I’ll pound the drum and play the fife

In celebration of his scholarship—

His friendship, generosity.

He caught me when I’d nearly slip—

My eyes he opened so I’d see.

A 1990 seminar

With Earle and others paved the way

For me to travel, near and far—

The Yukon, San Francisco Bay—

Oh, all those places London saw

And wrote his many books about.

The frozen North, the cold so raw—

Oh, there cannot be any doubt—

Yes, Earle had launched me on a quest

To learn and read and travel on.

So as an influence? Just the best.

I owe him, deeply. He was dawn.

*I wrote and published several books about London—Earle-inspired: a YA biography of Jack London (1998), annotated editions of The Call of the Wild (1995, 1997)