Customer Reviews

Wallace Stevens

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I first read this book when it became available in the US in the 1970's. I found it a concise, no-nonsense approach to Stevens. In many ways, better than Bloom because it was jargon free but just as assured in its understanding and its discussion of the poet. It was one of the first books that intelligently related his prose and letters to a deeper explanation of the poems. Over the years when I returned to reading Stevens I looked for this book to unknot my inability grasp a line or poem--and while not a close reading in the style of Vendler--I always found clarification in the book. I finally found a used copy of my own several years ago. All of which is by way of saying that I am very pleased that the book is back in print and I cannot urge readers of Stevens enough to acquire and read this book. Many books on Stevens since this was written have appeared. Some probe deeply into one or another aspect of Stevens and some authors may even have looked as comprehensively at Stevens. But none, I think, are as well written as a result of Beckett's desire to clarify along with a comprehension that sends you back to the poems with your passion intact and your intellect burnished.