Poems in Process

The material for this study of poetic composition and revision is vast and various. Of first importance are the worksheets or early drafts of poems, cherished by libraries. The most exciting of these from the major poets of the past have been frequently examined by scholars, either for special studies or for definitive texts of the poet's work, and these schol arly findings are drawn on freely. Many manuscripts have been scruti nized anew, some reported on for the first time. There are also the letters and diaries of poets and their relatives and friends, which often reveal the exact circumstances of a poem's composition as well as the habitua.