Product Description

Selected Poems includes over 200 poems, culled from each of Robert Lowell's books of verse--Lord Weary's Castle, The Mills of the Kavanaughs, Life Studies, For the Union Dead, Near the Ocean, History, For Lizzie and Harriet, and The Dolphin. This edition, which first appeared in 1977, was revised by the author: there are additions, deletions, and a change in sequence in the Dolphin section; the five poems in the title sequence from Near the Ocean are now uncut; and a new poem is added to the "Nineteen Thirties."

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1190193 in Books
• Published on: 1977-10-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. With Collected Poems (2003) and last year's Letters, this selection—a much-expanded version by Bidart of Lowell's own late-life culling—brings the Herculean effort of restoring Lowell's oeuvre to print and prominence near completion. Next to the colossal Collected Poems, this is a formidable book in its own right, offering a distilled view of the arc of Lowell's whole career and of each of his individual books. From the early formal triumphs of Lord Weary's Castle and The Mills of the Kavanaughs to the seminal Life Studies (which is presented here in its entirety and includes what may be Lowell's most overarching characterization of his work: "I myself am hell"); from the tense and arguably unscrupulous sonnets of History and For Lizzie and Harriet to the dark resolve of The Dolphin and Day by Day: all of Lowell's varied modes are generously represented, along with Bidart's notes from Collected Poems. This book finally makes the breadth of Lowell's great achievement accessible in a single, portable volume. (Nov.)
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Review
"If more people read poetry, if it were more exportable and translatable, surely [Lowell's] poems would go far towards changing, or at least unsettling, minds made up against us. Somehow or other, by fair means or fowl, and in the middle of our worst century so far, we have produced a magnificent poet."--Elizabeth Bishop

"The poems collected here reveal the grandeur and magnitude of Lowell's accomplishment."--James Atlas, The New Republic

"Selected Poems provides the best possible entry into the imaginative universe of Robert Lowell. Those who have not followed [his] career volume by volume now have a chance to come to terms with one of our major poets."--Marjorie Perloff, The Washington Post Book World
-- Review

Review

Customer Reviews

Shared reading experience
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.

Get the new 'Collected Poems' instead
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.

this is 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.