By The Exeter River by Donald Hall

In doing some research on the James Dickey-Jack Kerouac connection, I read in one of Dickey's letters how much he liked a poem by Donald Hall titled, "By The Exeter River." About that poem Dickey wrote to Hall, "It is one of the best ballad-like poems I have read in a long time."

That made me want to read "By The Exeter River," but the only legitimate source I could find on-line was in Google Books, which I don't think gives me the ability to provide you with a direct link to that particular poem. I fear the copyright police if I transcribe the poem here, but believe me, it's worth reading!

You can get to it by Googling "donald hall by the exeter river." One of the first hits - if not the first - should be a Google Books Result called Old and New Poems. Click on that link and the poem should appear. Or click here - no promises that the link will work.

Donald Hall. I see owning a book of his poetry in my future. If you want to read a few of his other poems, click here.