Selected Poetry

"Perfection is a rare accomplishment, particularly in American poetry, and the perfection of much of Hollander's work makes it essential reading for anyone who genuinely cares for the craft of poetry. But in our fallen world we seem fated to value power of perfection, and John Hollander's poetry has shown a visionary power just often enough to secure him a place as one of the major figures of our moment."Vernon Shetley, __The New Republic__ This varied and far-ranging volume contains a substantial selection from the work of one of our most distinguished poets. From his first book, A Crackling of Thorns, chosen by W.H. Auden as the 1958 volume in the Yale Series of Younger Poets, to his most recent, Harp Lake (1988), Selected Poetry provides an overview of the brilliant career in poetry celebrated by John Hollander's appointment as a MacArthur Fellow. It includes work from eleven volumes, almost all out of print, and is published simultaneously with a new collection, Tesserae and Other Poems. Harold Bloom has said of Hollander's last book, "It confirms his authentic eminence, comparable in my judgment to that of Merrill, Ashbery, Ammons and only a few others in his own generation of American poets." Selected Poetry replaces an earlier volume, Spectral Emanations, New and Selected Poems, published in 1978 and now out of print "Perfection is a rare accomplishment, particularly in American poetry, and the perfection of much of Hollander's work makes it essential reading for anyone who genuinely cares for the craft of poetry. But in our fallen world we seem fated to value power of perfection, and John Hollander's poetry has shown a visionary power just often enough to secure him a place as one of the major figures of our moment." Vernon Shetley, The New Republic