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Binding: Hardcover
EAN: 9780811202565
ISBN: 0811202569
Label: W W Norton & Co Ltd
Manufacturer: W W Norton & Co Ltd
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 1
Publication Date: 1970-02-01
Publisher: W W Norton & Co Ltd
Studio: W W Norton & Co Ltd

Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Good collection of earlier work.
Review: Hayden Carruth, For You (New Directions, 1970)

For You compiles five long poems from previous in Carruth's career (including "North Winter," reviewed here a few weeks previous), spanning 1958 to 1967. To call some of them long poems is something of a stretch, especially "Contra Mortem," an episodic piece consisting of a number of smaller pieces. Long poems are exceptionally difficult to pull off, and aside from a few potholes along the way, the work in For You holds together surprisingly well (and stands the test of time thirty-five years after publication, for the most part).

Writing more superlatives about Carruth would be overkill. This is good stuff, though it slips a bit now and again (the opening piece, "Asylum," is early work and looks the part, and my criticisms of "North Winter" have already been aired). The Carruth neophyte may be better served starting with Brothers, I Loved You All or Collected Shorter, but the established fan will find much to like here. *** ½

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