Robert Lowell: Essays on the Poetry

The twelve essays in this volume, by many of the most distinguished scholars in the field, offer a chronological review of Lowell's career as a poet. The book includes pieces on major works such as Lord Weary's Castle, Life Studies, For the Union Dead, "Skunk Hour", Notebook, the sonnets of 1969-73 as well as four essays devoted to Lowell's last complete and often neglected work, Day by Day. Essential reading for those interested in the writer who dominated post World War II poetry, the book will appeal to students of American literature and to more general readers as well. The divergent and controversial voices in these essays testify to radical disparities among Lowell's "endless experiments" and to the complexity and endurance of his work.