With Collected Poems
(2003) and last year's Letters
, this selection—a much-expanded version by Bidart of Lowell's own late-life culling—brings the Herculean effort of restoring Lowell's oeuvre to print and prominence near completion. Next to the colossal Collected Poems
, this is a formidable book in its own right, offering a distilled view of the arc of Lowell's whole career and of each of his individual books. From the early formal triumphs of Lord Weary's Castle
and The Mills of the Kavanaughs
to the seminal Life Studies
(which is presented here in its entirety and includes what may be Lowell's most overarching characterization of his work: "I myself am hell"); from the tense and arguably unscrupulous sonnets of History
and For Lizzie and Harriet
to the dark resolve of The Dolphin
and Day by Day
: all of Lowell's varied modes are generously represented, along with Bidart's notes from Collected Poems
. This book finally makes the breadth of Lowell's great achievement accessible in a single, portable volume. (Nov.)
