Collected Poems

Frank Bidart and David Gewanter have compiled the definitive edition of Robert Lowell's work, from his first, impossible-to-find collection,Land of Unlikeness; to the early triumph ofLord Weary's Castle, winner of the 1946 Pulitzer Prize; to the brilliant willfulness of his versions of poems by Sappho, Baudelaire, Rilke, Montale, and other masters inImitations; to the late spontaneity ofThe Dolphin, winner of another Pulitzer Prize; to his last, most searching book,Day by Day. This volume also includes poems and translations never previously collected, and a selection of drafts that demonstrate the poet's constant drive to reimagine his work.Collected Poemsat last offers readers the opportunity to take in, in its entirety, one of the great careers in twentieth-century poetry.

Robert Lowell (1917–77) was the renowned and controversial author of many books of poetry, including Day by Day (FSG, 1977), For the Union Dead (FSG, 1964), and Life Studies (FSG, 1959).

“Long awaited and much anticipated, [Collected Poems] is a show-stopping assertion of Lowell's ambition, industry and art.� —Carmine Starnino, The Boston Globe
 
“[The new collection of Robert Lowell's poems] will doubtless stand as The Work . . . Long awaited, richly documented, and, yes, definitive.� —Peter Davidson, The Atlantic Monthly
 
“This wonderfully definitive, long-awaited new edition gives us the full scope of a courageous, tormented, shocking, and brilliant American poet.� —The Washington Post