Have you heard the phrase The Wreck of the Hesperus? How about Ivan Skivinsky Skivar?

The first, The Wreck of the Hesperus is from a poem by Longfellow. Longfellow was a New Englander born in 1807 and died in 1882. He was a Mayflower descendent. (I am too. So are a zillion other Americans.)

The poem describes a sea captain that took his young daughter to sea. They died in the wreck during a hurricane. Read about Longfellow and his poem at: http://eclecticesoterica.com/longfellow.html. You should read The Song of Hiawatha and The Village Blacksmith too.

Americans love Longfellow because his poems are easy to understand and many like his simple Solomon-Seesaw cadence.

The second, Ivan Skivinsky Skivar, is from the song Abdul Abulbul Ameer. It was written by the Englishman Percy French (1854-1920). Read the lyrics to this humorous song at: http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/poem/3243.html.

Percy was an engineer but considered himself to be an artist. He never received one dime for his songs and they were often published without even a name credit.

If you like Abdul Abulbul Ameer, you will also enjoy Robert Service, the Canadian poet that wrote about the Yukon. My favourite is The Cremation of Sam McGee. Read it at: http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/poem/1841.html.