Brooks, Walter R.

United States, (1886-1958)

Ode to the Pig: His Tail

  1. My tail is not impressive
  2. But it’s elegant and neat.
  3. In length it’s not excessive —
  4. I can’t curl it round my feet —
  5. But it’s awfully expressive,
  6. And its weight is not excessive,
  7. And I don’t think it’s conceit,
  8. Or foolishly possessive
  9. If I state with some agressive-
  10. ness that it’s the final master touch
  11. That makes a pig complete.

© estate of Walter R. Brooks
The Collected Poems of Freddy the Pig. New York, Knopf, 1953.

About the Poet

Walter R. Brooks (1886-1958), US editor, reviewer and publicist. From 1932 to 1940 he wrote “Talk of the Town” pieces for the The New Yorker, also worked as a Contributing Editor to Fiction Parade magazine and Scribner’s Commentator. He also created the Freddie the Pig series of children’s books. [DES-6/03]

1 thought on “Brooks, Walter R.”

  1. Hello, I’m the current president of the Friends of Freddy, Inc., a 501c3 literary organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the works of Walter R. Brooks, especially the Freddy the Pig books.

    Due to the Covid situation, the FOF are currently planning a “Freddy Goes to Cyberboro” online convention in lieu of this fall’s usual live gathering. We’d like to use the original art and portions of the text in our digital presentations and on shirts and caps to be sold online.

    QUESTION: Do you know who(m) we need to contact to obtain permission to use the material? I’ve tried the firm representing Brooks’s estate, as well as Overlook Press and Abrams, the current print publishers. Nobody has responded.

    I’d appreciate any info you can provide. Thanks for your attention.

    John Chastain

    “No matter how low he has sunk, no pig would ever steal a ham.”
    — Freddy the Pig

    Reply

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