cover image The Complete Poems

The Complete Poems

Edwin Denby. Random House (NY), $7.95 (194pp) ISBN 978-0-394-54404-5

Denby, who died in 1983, is an obscure but highly accomplished and original poet. Known primarily as a dance critic, he did not attempt to find a readership for his poems and left his work undated and in disarray. This volume contains all the pieces in Collected Poems (1975), some untitled verse previously unpublished in book form, as well as essays about the poet by Frank O'Hara and Lincoln Kirstein. Denby is a master of the Shakespearean sonnet, to which he brings a modern sensibility; he writes elegantly of art and life, personal feelings and physical beauty. He leads us through the streets and subways of New York City, writing in quirky, abrupt rhythms and with the sharpness of observation of one too much alone. This rich and diverse volume also includes poems in colloquial language about American life and love. With this collection one hopes that Denby's work will reach the wide audience it deserves. Photos not seen by PW. (March)