Customer Reviews

H. D.: Collected Poems, 1912-1944 (New Directions Paperbook)

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For lovers of modernist literature, this tome is a must. Including her first published book and covering the period until (and through) her astounding achievement in her war Trilogy, the Collected Poems allows a reader to fully get to know H.D. in all her many moods. Also including poetry from the period in which she was undergoing psychoanalysis with Freud, the poems give a full picture of H.D.'s talent and life. H.D. is a poet to be read with all the other, better known modernists: T.S. Eliot, D.H. Lawrence, et. al. Her beautiful work ranges from her early imagist work to her more visionary, mythic poem cycles contained in the final part of her Collected Poems, in Trilogy. Breathtaking.

This book, bringing together all of H.D.'s poetry from her Imagist beginnings to her wartime "Trilogy," is a must have. For those who (like me) are novices with respect to modernist poetry, this presents a fantastic introduction. H.D.'s images have a richness and depth that I have not found elsewhere. Subject (poet as person) and object (metaphorical image) are so closely interwoven that one is instantly captivated by her presentations. This is particularly true of her use of Greek mythology - she resurrects ancient symbols in her own voice. Many of her images are simply breathtaking in their energy, depth, and beauty. This books is an essential read.

The only way to improve upon this volume would be to include "Helen in Egypt" in the next edition. Then it would be truly complete, and truly perfect, fit to sail unto the unfix-ed Stars!