author
Alan L. Strang
1908–1919
A remarkably gifted child poet, this young writer left behind verses shaped by patriotism, nature, and a sensitivity beyond his years. His poems were written before he turned ten, giving the collection a moving sense of promise and brevity.
1 Audiobook
Our Boys, and Other Poems
by Alan L. Strang
About the author
Born in Spokane, Washington, on August 18, 1908, he moved with his family to Redwood City, California, in 1913. The short biographical notes attached to Our Boys, and Other Poems describe him as gentle, frail, and unusually advanced for his age.
He wrote all of the poems in his surviving collection before he turned ten. The work reflects the outlook of a child living during the World War I era, with poems about home, nature, feeling, and patriotic duty.
He died on January 29, 1919, before reaching his eleventh birthday. Because his life was so brief, Our Boys, and Other Poems stands not only as a poetry collection, but also as a rare record of an unusually young voice from the early twentieth century.