Useful and Instructive Poetry

Useful and Instructive Poetry was a manuscript compilation created by Lewis Carroll (born Charles Dodgson) in his youth. It was one of several such "Rectory Magazines" he produced, beginning around 1845. These were handwritten collections to which his family was encouraged to contribute, though Charles wrote most of the content himself. While Useful and Instructive Poetry was not published until 1954, it represents an early example of Carroll's inventive and humorous writing style, which would later be showcased in his famous works like Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.1