Death-poet Pickering sat at his desk, Wrapped in appropriate gloom; His posture was pensive and picturesque, Like a raven charming a tomb. -- "The Obituarian" Best known for his tales of bleak reality and dark imagination, Ambrose Bierce also gave expression to his sardonic, epigrammatic wit in verse form. Black Beetles in Amber collects his finest forays into versification. Some are barbed and venomous, while others are simply entertaining sallies upon the entertaining foibles of his day -- as in "The Oleomargarine Man," "On the Wedding of an Aeronaut," or "Judge Rutledge . . . Sultan of Stupids!" This entertaining collection first appeared in 1892, during the time Bierce was writing his famous "Prattler" column for the San Francisco Examiner.