The only comprehensive gathering of Frost's published poetry, this affordable volume offers the entire contents of his eleven books of verse, from A Boy's Will (1913) to In the Clearing (1962). Frost scholar Lathem, who was also a close friend of the four-time Pulitzer Prize-winner, scrupulously annotated the 350-plus poems in this collection, which has been the standard edition of Frost's work since it first appeared in 1969.
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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Robert Frost's poetry was always simple and direct, yet strangely deep. This is the only comprehensive volume of Frost's published verse, including the contents of all eleven of his individual books of poetry -- from A Boy's Will (1913) to In the Clearing (1962).
Review
"Frost was the first American who could be honestly reckoned a master-poet by world standards."--Robert Graves
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44 of 46 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
While other poets must abide our endless questioning regarding contemporary poetry, Robert Frost stands head and shoulders above the rest--free and serene and magnificent, truly the George Washington of modern American verse. Frost was honored with the Pulitzer Prize on four occasions: in 1924 for "New Hampshire;" in 1931, for "Collected Poems;" in 1937 for "A Further Range;" and in 1943 for "A Witness Tree."
Critics love Frost. The American people love Frost. The world at large loves Frost. You will love Frost, too, if you read this book. Begin with one of his most famous--and his most beautiful, "Mending Wall,"
Something there is that doesn't love a wall,/ That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it,/ And makes gaps even two can pass abreast...
Never to be forgotten, of course, is that talk with the taciturn neighbor, owner of the pines beyond Frost's apple orchard, who stubbornly says, in typical New England fashion, "Good fences make good neighbors," until one day, Frost suddenly sees him,
Bringing a stone grasped firmly by the top/ In each hand, like an old-stone savage armed./ He moves in darkness as it seems to me,/ Not of woods only and the shade of trees./ He will not go behind his father's saying,/ And he lives having thought of it so well/ He says again, "Good fences make good neighbors."
"Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening," ends with words anyone of any age can relate to,
But I have promises to keep,/ And miles to go before I sleep./ And miles to go before I sleep.
"The Death of the Hired Man," with its poignancies as deep, no doubt, as the death of any salesman could ever be, inspired these beautiful lines,
Home is the place where, when you have to go there,/ They have to take you in./ I should have called it/ Something you somehow haven't to deserve.
The poems of Robert Frost possess a beauty so serene that we feel no need, no urge, to denigrate the work of other poets in order to expand Frost's praise. Despite the amazing diversity of talent that comes to mind when the names of MacLeish, Leonie Adams, Auden, Peter Viereck, Wallace Stephens, Robert Lowell, E.B. White, Karl Shapiro, Langston Hughes, William Carlos Williams, Arna Bontemps, Marianne Moore, e e cummings, Allen Tate and T.S. Eliot are mentioned, Frost does, indeed, tower above them all.
Frost has been eloquently compared to every rock and rill, every tree and shrub in his New England hills, and to almost every major figure in the New England past, including George Washingtion. He has won homage so completely and deservedly that it is as easy to think of him as a member of the Concord Group as it is to imagine Thoreau writing the opening paragraphs in the New Yorker's Talk of the Town.
Frost, though, could be cheerfully topical, as when writing "U.S. 1946 King's X,"
Having invented a new Holocaust/ And been the first with it to win a war,/ How they make haste to cry with fingers crossed/ King X's--no fair to use it anymore!
Frost saw much of the world after his birth in San Francisco in 1875, and he looks over the prospects of the entire universe in, "It Bids Pretty Fair,"
The play seems out for an almost infinite run./ Don't mind a little thing like the actors fighting./ The only thing I worry about is the sun./ We'll be all right if nothing goes wrong with the lighting.
Robert Frost is truly an American original and a world genius. There will never be another.
26 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I just recently purchased this collection of poems by Robert Frost and I must say it's incredible. This is the complete collection of his poems and for the price it can't be beat. How can you put a price on the joy and the wonderful feeling of reading Frost anyway? It's impossible.
Contained are the poems in a chronological order from Frost's first book of poetry "A Boy's Will" to his last, "In the Clearing". A total of eleven books and more than three hundred and fifty poems.
Also at the end of the book are sixty pages of bibliographical and textual notes as well as an index of first lines and titles. A quick way to find exactly the poem you're looking for.
Pick this collection up and be moved, it's that simple really. Enjoy
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Robert Frost was and is America's greatest poet. Excepting, perhaps, W. B. Yeats, he may be the greatest poet to write English in the twentieth century. (To me, it's a toss-up.) To read this volume systematically or desultorily is to become convinced of that. But Frost is, above all, accessible, so the casual reader may not appreciate the difficulty of what he does. Like much of the greatest art his looks easy, even inevitable.
All of Frost's poems are here, plus his two dramatic Masques. When this book first appeared (in 1969) it caused a furor: the editor, it was angrily asserted, presumed too much. He dared to clarify - inserting a hyphen here, excising a comma there. That furor has since died down, as people realize that he did not do away with the sacred texts (any emendation was noted), but simply performed his job as editor. He regularized spelling and the use of single and double quotes (though not Capitalization, which can legitimately be thought of as integral to the poet's expression (think of e.e. cummings!)), and corrected other obvious errors. The notes give the published variants for each poem, so if you wish you may make your own call on some of these finicky issues.
The paperback and hardcover editions are identical, except for the covers, of course. I would, however, buy the hardcover. After all, you will be reading this book for the rest of your life. It is a beautifully-built volume, of an easy size and heft for use, with understated appealing typefaces and an exemplary design. Put out by Frost's long-time publisher, this is one of the few essential books of American literature.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
wonderful
i had never read much of robert frost's poetry and was i ever missing out. i got the book as a gift.
Published 12 months ago by josephine's garden remedies
An American Classic
Robert Frost is my favorite poet and seems to be a favorite of most people I know. His poems are easy to read, engaging, and so easy to relate to. Read more
Published on January 26, 2010 by Warm in the NW
A Well Of Joy
To be honest, I've never been much into poetry, but I've carried this book with me wherever I go. Whatever may be happening in life, this book is a place to rest and restore... Read more
Published on May 28, 2009 by Taylor H.
Frost is never boring
A real tribute to the poet. I couldn't ask for more in this complete and unabridged title.
Published on March 23, 2007 by Karen M. Peterson
This is the edition you want
There are more Robert Frost collections out than there are Robert Frost poems, but this is the only one you need to have. Read more
Published on January 10, 2003 by Scott Woods
Gift
I bought this as a gift. It is well edited and complete.
Published on October 25, 2002 by cathony
An All-Time Favorite Of Mine
This book and The Complete Poems Of Emily Dickinson were my introduction to poetry and I felt such a strong connection to both of them that it led to a life long love of this form... Read more
Published on September 19, 2002 by N. Sausser
It's all here
Lathem's collection is THE collection of Robert Frost's poetry. Nearly every Frost piece ever published is in this volume, and all organized chronologically. Read more
Published on August 5, 2002 by Glenn McDorman
Long time companion
This book has been my companion for many years. It's wonderful to open randomly and re-find a poem read awhile ago, but also wonderful to read a section at a time or find a bit of... Read more
Published on January 5, 2002 by Mary Beth Goodman
The Great One.
Call him old-fashioned, call him austere, call him populist, call him the Norman Rockwell of poetry. I say Frost remains the great American nature poet. Read more
Published on December 25, 2001
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