The Secret Room (New Directions Paperbook; 838) - Softcover

Laughlin, J

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0811213447 ISBN 13: 9780811213448

Publisher: New Directions, 1997

Synopsis

James Laughlin, poet and publisher, is known in Italy as Il Catullo americano, the American Catullus. Like the Latin poet whom Laughlin has long called his master, the subject at the heart of his work remains "love/...& the lack of love, /which is what makes evil, " but seen now from the wry, often poignant perspective of old age. In his newest collection, The Secret Room, he has gathered nearly 150 poems that address his mature theme in a variety of ways. The philosophical lyrics of "Looking Inward" and th satirical jabs and invectives of "Epigrams and Comic Verses" employ short-line forms, including Laughlin's signature "typewriter metric, " originally devised with the advice of William Carlos Williams. "Byways" continues his autobiographical work-in-progress, in a three-stress line borrowed from Kenneth Rexroth. And with "39 Pentastichs, " Laughlin introduces a five-line stanza in a natural voice cadence suited to casual observations.

About this title

About the Author:

James Laughlin (1914-1997) founded New Directions in 1936 while still a student at Harvard. He wrote and compiled more than a dozen books of poetry as well as stories and essays; seven volumes of his correspondence with his authors are available from W.W. Norton.

Synopsis:

Poems examine the hidden memories, thoughts, and emotions in each individual.

About this edition

• Publisher: New Directions
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0811213447
• ISBN 13: 9780811213448
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 184