The Art of Robert Frost - Softcover

Kendall, Tim

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0300198272 ISBN 13: 9780300198270

Publisher: Yale University Press, 2013

Synopsis

A wonderfully accessible guide to the transcendent poetry of one of America's favorite poets

Widely revered during his lifetime, Robert Frost continues to enchant readers today, nearly a century after the publication of his first volume of poems, A Boy's Will. This book presents a splendid selection of sixty-five poems from across Frost's writing career, beginning in the 1890s and ending with "Directive" from the 1940s. Tim Kendall offers a detailed account of each poem, enabling readers to follow the journey which Frost himself recognized in all great poetry: "It begins in delight and ends in wisdom."

In addition to close readings of the poems, The Art of Robert Frost traces the development of Frost's writing career and relevant aspects of his life. The book also assesses the particular nature of the poet's style, how it changes over time, and how it relates to the works of contemporary poets and movements, including Modernism.

The first book on Frost to combine selected poems with a critical study, this appealing volume will be welcome on the shelves of scholars, students, and all other readers who love fine poetry.

About this title

About the Author:

Tim Kendall is professor of English literature and Head of English, University of Exeter. He lives in Devon, UK.

Review:

"Clean and lucid--a delight to read - Kendall's readings are astute and well-tempered.  The book is not merely as a fine introduction to Frost, but also an anthology, informed by careful textual scholarship. Frost has found an ideal audience in Timothy Kendall."—Mark Richardson, Doshisha University (Mark Richardson 2012-01-03)

“In Professor Kendall's generous selection from Frost's published collections, the voice of the critic is perfectly tuned to that of the poet. Kendall's 'readings' are lucid, persuasive, and blessedly jargon-free. One hopes that others will adopt his brilliant and innovative model when introducing other poets’ Selected Poems."—Jon Stallworthy, Oxford University

(Jon Stallworthy 2012-01-03)

"Tim Kendall's critical study of the poetry of Robert Frost gives the sustained close analysis that this great body of work has always deserved. Kendall quotes generously and he explains the structure and texture of individual poems with a subtlety that is equal to the imaginative demands of his subject."—David Bromwich, Yale University (David Bromwich 2012-02-03)

“Tim Kendall brings a fresh look to Frost's poems in this combination of anthology and critical study.”—Shelf Awareness (Shelf Awareness)

“[A] joyous new book...an insightful glimpse into 65 of Frost’s most notable poems as well as homage to another era.”—Deseret News

(Deseret News)

“Kendall’s book is an unusual hybrid, part anthology, part critical study: 65 poems with two or three pages of understated, illuminating commentary about each. It’s a good way to revisit Frost—and, per Frost, revisiting him is precisely what we should do.”—Kathryn Schulz, New York Magazine’s Vulture.com

(Vulture.com)

“Kendall is a masterful critic and teacher. Any fan or student of Robert Frost or of poetry in general should pick this up immediately.”—Library Journal (Library Journal)

“One hopes [this book] will become a model for scholars. Essential.”—Choice

(Choice)

"[An} immensely pleasurable anthology... Tim Kendall’s commentary is exemplary: locally attentive and widely informed, it should prove both helpful to the newcomer and a good companion to those many readers for whom these striking poems are already a part of their inner landscape."—Seamus Perry, Times Literary Supplement (Seamus Perry Times Literary Supplement 2013-01-04)

 Runner-Up in the Poetry Category at the 2012 New England Book Festival. (Poetry Category Runner-Up New England Book Festival 2013-01-22)

About this edition

• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0300198272
• ISBN 13: 9780300198270
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 408