I am constantly urged by readers and impersonators to furnish them with
verses for recitation. In response to this ever-increasing demand I have
selected, for this volume, the poems which seem suitable for such a
purpose.
In making my collection I have been obliged to use, not those which are
among my best efforts in a literary or artistic sense, but those which
contain the best dramatic possibilities for professionals. Several of
the poems are among my earliest efforts, others were written expressly
for this book. In “Meg’s Curse,” which has never before been in print,
and in several others, I ignored all rules of art for the purpose of
giving the public reader a better chance to exercise his elocutionary
powers.