Today’s nice internet news: a 92-year-old’s first self-published poetry book is now a best-seller.
While I have been known to violently roll my eyes at the news of a child getting a book deal because of their parents’ relentless Twitter promotion (preschoolers should not have side hustles!), I’m not immune to all forms of internet heartwarmery. Case in point: the thoroughly charming story of Gordon McCullough, a 92-year-old Scottish grandfather whose self-published collection, 101 Poems, became an Amazon best-seller after his granddaughter, Jessica Keachie posted about it.
my 96 year old grandpa has just had his own book published with all his poems from his life. it’s available on amazon if anyone is interested:) a review would make him so happy pic.twitter.com/0CzGi7KpOg
— Jess (@jessica_keachie) April 19, 2021
The day after Keachie’s original Tweet, the book was the number one best-selling poetry anthology on Amazon UK. It’s currently number 14 on the overall UK poetry chart, and number nine in the US, which definitely means it’s sold more copies that everyone from my graduating poetry MFA class combined.
According to its Amazon description, 101 Poems is
A fine collection… covering a wide range of topics such as love, romance, relationships, religion, prayers, the meaning of life, death and our relationship with God.Some have been written in a manner that will provoke your innermost emotions, while others dig into the amusing side of life. All have been composed under the auspices of the Muse.
McCullough’s son told The Guardian that his father had been writing and submitting poems for years with no success at the latter, and self-published the collection with the help of his family.
On Twitter, Keachie passed on her grandfather’s thanks but said she wouldn’t be updating the story further out of respect for his privacy. Nothing but respect for our 92-year-old fame-ambivalent poet king!
[h/t The Guardian]
