Spirit Level and Other Poems

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To lowliness (the porpoise) or grandeur (the Latin poets) Christopher Morley deals out satire or tenderness or both. Nothing escapes his scruitiny but whatever the mood and subject, the offering is sure to be laced with light and zestful wit. And Morley has a particular variety of charm which evokes sheer affection in the reader. Follow him from the honky-tonk “dancers With belladonna eyes” to poor Lord Byron who “Fearful of the name of Fatso Ate small meals in his palazzo.” It’s the sort of affection which lingers long after the book has been closed.