Customer Reviews

Selected Poems: Expanded Edition: Including selections from Day by Day

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a good book. The revised edition (which this is) contains a wide and well-chosen selection of Lowell's poetry. He notes in the foreword that he tried to choose possible sequences rather than just greatest hits out of context. This effort is visible and the book flows together like almost one book instead of a career's overview.

What was interesting for me as I read it was that I was reading a used copy which was liberally marked up with underlines and notes of various kinds. Normally, this drives me crazy and as it was in pencil I began by first erasing five pages worth of notes and then reading on myself. Gradually, however, about one third through the book I noticed that whoever it was that had owned the book before shared a lot of tastes with me. I started enjoying his/her remarks and notitions and it felt like I was having a little conversation about the book.

The former owner underlined without comment the line where Lowell comments he "lies to friends and tells the truth in print". He circled the "Long Summer" sequence titles and placed an awed exclamation point after Lowell's poem for Ford Madox Ford. We both, apparently love "Margaret Fuller Drowned" as it rated one of only three poems marked with a star in the whole book.

It was a wonderful book, and while this shouldn't be construed as license to mark up books (I still find it a barbaric habit), it was also a good conversation.

I made the mistake of getting this edition just as the new COLLECTED POEMS OF ROBERT LOWELL (edited by Frank Bidart) was coming out. The new book has all the notes, introductory biographical info (Lowell writes about his life as if you already know about it) and additional Lowell that THE SELECTED POEMS lacks.

However, if you want to go cheap (or don't need notes) this is not a bad 'Selected Poems'. It's fairly comprehensive, yet not too long -- and it gives you a good sense of the poet. It's been all people had for years (other than buying each of his many books). I think with the new COLLECTED, however, it has probably run its course.

OK, the foreword almost made me throw away the book right there. Its first sentence reads `Robert Lowell was a transgressive artist.'

This sounds like a parody of a 1980ies English lit major thesis - mercifully you can skip the foreword as it doesn't add anything at all. It's short though so skipping is easily done.

The selection itself is generous and one gets a good idea of Lowell's breadth of writing styles. As another reviewer has noted this edition is probably all you need.

I know that the new Collected Poems has recently arrived, and it is a massive tome. But you don't really need it. Most of what Lowell wrote after "For the Union Dead" isn't that great. And in the Selected you get a great selection from what is effectively Lowell's first book, Lord Weary's Castle--which is a pretty strong book. There is also a generous selection from Life Studies and For the Union Dead (though I've bought the book that contains both complete collections). Lowell was a pretty important poet, but really, the Collected just goes overboard. This is all you really need.