TO MIX WITH TIME AND OTHER POEMS

by May Swenson ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A

This large volume, by a prolific writer of both prose and poetry, contains poems that range from typographical tricks (poems printed in shapes, or in miniscule type, or in double, opposing lines, or in forms which leave the bare meaningful words on the margin, to make a poem of their own) -- to poems that overwhelm the reader with detail and personality -- to some in conventional forms. A few of these poems are sparse and telling, but most convey chiefly a highly aware intelligence, impatient with ordinary forms, and restlessly experimenting. The reader of conventional poetry may miss the succinctness of verse which suggests, and demands much, from the reader's imagination. Here, everything is given, overwhelmingly, and in bewildering variety, and firmly stamped with a personality. Brilliant in range, in flexibility, in experimentation, these poems are somewhat daunting, seen en masse. In their very abundance, the detached precision is often smothered; one sees the words, rather than the sense of the world behind them. For a limited audience.

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Scribner

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1962

Categories: NONFICTION