EDWIN ARLINGTON ROBINSON

Second in the American Men of Letters series, this too merges the man and his work in a biography which carefully traces the development of his genius. In loving scrutiny, Robinson's youth to maturity, his talent for friendship, his austere professional ethics, the chance for him to abandon a livelihood from prose writing to concentrate on his poetry, the qualities that were a result of his birth, environment and experience, the early reception of his efforts, and his growth into modern classicism -- these are explored to their fullest, accompanied by quotations and excerpts from the poems. The man, for all the friendship of the writer, is never fulsomely praised, but rather fairly valued, with his peak in 1916 contrasted with his later writings. A worthy companion to the previous volume and making an auspicious start for this new series.