Dear Editor: A History of Poetry in Letters (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780393050929)

"The history of poetry and Poetry in America are almost interchangeable, certainly inseparable," A. R. Ammons wrote. Dear Editor, in gathering over 600 surprisingly candid letters to and from the editors of Poetry, traces the development of poetry in America: Ezra Pound's opinion of T. S. Eliot ("It is such a comfort to meet a man and not have to tell him to wash his face, wipe his feet") and of Robert Frost ("dull as ditch water...[but] set to be 'literchure' someday"); Edna St. Vincent Millay's pleas for an advance ("I am become very, very thin, and have taken to smoking Virginia tobacco"); Wallace Stevens on himself ("I have a pretty well-developed mean streak"). Here are the inside stories, the rivalries between aspiring authors, the inspirations behind classics, the practicalities (and politicking) of publishing. In fascinating anecdotes and literary gossip, scores of poets offer insights into the creative process and their reactions to historic events.

Author: Joseph Parisi
ISBN-10: 0393050920
ISBN-13: 9780393050929
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Language: English
Published: 10/17/2002
Pages: 512
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.73lbs
Size: 9.50h x 6.40w x 1.54d

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 09/23/2002 pg. 68
Booklist 10/15/2002 pg. 378
New York Times 12/01/2002 pg. 17
Library Journal 12/01/2002 pg. 126