Other Flowers: Uncollected Poems

The publication of these poems by the seminal New York School poet is a cause for celebration; none of them was included in any of Schuyler's published collections, and there is much to savor, as well as valuable insight into the poet's process of composition. From early poems in which Schuyler sensitively describes his youth in the Midwest and East Aurora, N.Y., to highly charged observations of the streetscapes, seasons, and social life of New York City, both longtime readers of Schuyler and those new to his work will find an abundance of surprising, moving material. Most of the poems are less than a page long, but nearly all are packed with visual and emotional punch, exploding with color and sensation: “Downriver, by the delicately webbed gasometers/ and the antennae, frailly tensile,/ lumber kindles into golden flames/ curling like shavings from a plane.” The editors have included useful notes, which give dates of composition where possible, and brief descriptions of the many poets, painters, and neighborhoods that Schuyler wrote his poems to and about. Occasionally rough and half-realized, yet always alive, this book constitutes an exciting poetic discovery. (Apr.)