BOOK OF LYRICS

by Witter Bynner ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A

Perhaps best known for his interest in- and translation of- Chinese poems, Witter Bynner here gathers together a volume of lyrics of his own. They are pleasant, facile reading, but few reach any real poetic stature. The best are marked by a kind of mature insight and detachment. Witter Bynner, once a wit and iconoclast, is now a seer. Many of these poems have the overtones of the Chinese lyric, of Emily Dickinson's verse, and even Housman's. In fact it is rather surprising that at the end of his life, a man so genuinely interested in poetry should not have developed a more individual style. Byuner remains a short step beyond the gifted dilettante. His name evokes memories of the '20's when it was linked with such accomplished writers as Edna St. Vincent Millay, John Gould Fletcher and Arthur Davison Ficke. This volume will appeal chiefly for its nostalgic values.

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Knopf

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1955

Categories: NONFICTION