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1Philosophy of Style

By Herbert Spencer

“The Philosophy of Style,” explored a growing trend of formalist approaches to writing. Highly focused on the proper placement and ordering of the parts of an English sentence, [Spencer] created a guide for effective composition. Spencer’s aim was to free prose writing from as much "friction and inertia" as possible, so that the reader would not be slowed by strenuous deliberations concerning the proper context and meaning of a sentence. [Wikipedia]

Social Statics, or The Conditions essential to Happiness specified, and the First of them Developed is an 1851 book by the British polymath Herbert Spencer. In it, he uses the term "fitness" in applying his ideas of Lamarckian evolution to society, saying for example that "It is clear that any being whose constitution is to be moulded into fitness for new conditions of existence must be placed under those conditions. Or, putting the proposition specifically — it is clear that man can become adapted to the social state, only by being retained in the social state. This granted, it follows that as man has been, and is still, deficient in those feelings which, by dictating just conduct, prevent the perpetual antagonism of individuals and their consequent disunion, some artificial agency is required by which their union may be maintained. Only by the process of adaptation itself can be produced that character which makes social equilibrium spontaneous." Despite its commonly being attributed to this book, it was not until his Principles of Biology of 1864 that Spencer coined the phrase "survival of the fittest", which he would later apply to economics and biology. This was a key tenet of so-called Social Darwinism. Economist Murray Rothbard called Social Statics "the greatest single work of libertarian political philosophy ever written. (Wikipedia)

LibriVox volunteers bring you 16 recordings of Beth Gêlert, or the Grave of the Greyhound by William Robert Spencer. This was the Fortnightly Poetry project for July 8, 2012.<br><br>William Robert Spencer, English poet and wit, was the younger son of Lord Charles Spencer and his wife Mary Beauclerk. Spencer's wit made him a popular member of society. He belonged to the Whig set of Charles James Fox and Richard Brinsley Sheridan and was frequently a guest of the prince of Wales. He did not desire a public life, being content as a writer of "occasional" verse and vers de société.<br>His writings were greatly appreciated by his contemporaries, being warmly praised by such figures as Sir Walter Scott, John Wilson, and Lord Byron. ( Summary from Wikipedia )

4Cakes & Ale, A Dissertation on Banquets Interspersed with Various Recipes, More or Less Original, and anecdotes, mainly veracious

By Edward Spencer

A long time ago, an estimable lady fell at the feet of an habitual publisher, and prayed unto him:—<br><br>“Give, oh! give me the subject of a book for which the world has a need, and I will write it for you.”<br><br>“Are you an author, madam?” asked the publisher, motioning his visitor to a seat.<br><br>“No, sir,” was the proud reply, “I am a poet.”<br><br>“Ah!” said the great man. “I am afraid there is no immediate worldly need of a poet. If you could only write a good cookery book, now! ... What I want,” said the publisher, “is a series of essays on food, a few anecdotes of stirring adventure—you have a fine flow of imagination, I understand—and a few useful, but uncommon recipes. But plenty of plums in the book, my dear sir, plenty of plums.”<br><br>“But, suppose my own supply of plums should not hold out, what am I to do?”<br><br>“What do you do—what does the cook do, when the plums for her pudding run short? Get some more; the Museum, my dear sir, the great storehouse of national literature, is free to all whose character is above the normal standard. When your memory and imagination fail, try the British Museum. You know what is a mightier factor than both sword and pen? Precisely so. And remember that in replenishing your store from the works of those who have gone before, you are only following in their footsteps. I only bar Sydney Smith and Charles Lamb. Let me have the script by Christmas—d’you smoke?—mind the step—good morning.”<br><br>In this way, gentle reader, were the trenches dug, the saps laid for the attack of the great work. (from the Preface)

5Book of American Negro Poetry

By Otto Leland Bohanan, William Stanley Braithwaite, Benjamin Griffith Brawley, James Edwin Campbell, Waverly Turner Carmichael, James David Corrothers, Joseph S. Cotter, Jr., Ray G. Dandridge, Daniel Webster Davis, R. Nathaniel Dett, W. E. B. Du Bois, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Alice Dunbar Nelson, Jessie R. Fauset, Leslie Pinckney Hill, John Wesley Holloway, Roscoe C. Jamison, Charles Bertram Johnson, Georgia Douglas Johnson, James Weldon Johnson, Fenton Johnson, Edward Smyth Jones, Joshua Henry Jones, Jr., George Reginald Margetson, George Marion McClellan, Claude McKay, William H. A. Moore, Alex Rogers, Theodore Henry Shackelford, Anne Spencer and Lucian B. Watkins

The Book of American Negro Poetry is one of the earliest and most essential anthologies of African-American verse ever brought to print. Edited by writer and diplomat James Weldon Johnson, this collection was published with the hope of bringing to the public a greater awareness of the art and literature created by Black writers. This is the first edition of this long-republished anthology and collects seminal works by Paul Dunbar, W.E.B. Du Bois, Claude McKay, Leslie Hill, James Corrothers, and many more. - Summary by ChuckW

A collection of adult stories and poems - sad, humorous, and adventurous - about Man's Best Friend. <b>NOTE:</b> Most of these selections contain violence that will be objectionable to some listeners. - Summary by TriciaG