Recitative: Prose

Recitative is an extraordinary gathering of prose pieces, written over a period of forty years, by one of this country's most distinguished poets. There are essays and interviews, stories and reviews. Some of this material appears here for the first time; most of it has long been out of print or unavailable. Brought together, it is a valuable addition to Merrill's work, offering a unique commentary on his own poems, as well as a range of insights about other writers- all highlighted by a critical intelligence of unusual subtlety, wit, and eloquence.

"There are after all," writes Mr. Merrill, "things to be said for prose." Only a poet of his gits could have said so much in these prose pieces--at once a study of and a tribute to the creative temperament.

From this collection of interviews, essays, travel notes, stories, appreciations and addresses we learn something of Merrill's early years and the influences on himDante, of course, and Stevens, Yeats, Cavafy and Bishop, to name a few. But more important is the oblique light Merrill's prose style casts on the closed, intimate structure of his lyrics. He is like a musician who has switched instruments, from clavier, say, to piano. If the temperament and many of the mannerisms are the same, the technique allows us to feel more at home with the writer since chat is the province of prose, not poetry. While many prose collections by poets seem flat-footed and somehow beside the point, this book is particularly effective, despite a ragbag exterior, as a key to the author's poetry. It is not quite correct to say merely that Merrill writes prose like a poet. Rather he bends the medium in mysterious ways to serve more than one purpose.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Though Merrill sees prose as "a mildly nightmarish medium, to which there is no end ," Recitative reminds us that this poet can nevertheless write appealing prose on a wide range of subjects. The selections, spanning 40 years, are collected under four topics. "Writing" includes autobiographical essays and interviews conducted by David Kalstone, Donald Sheehan, and Ashley Brown, among others. "Writers" includes Merrill's views of Dante, informed by the experience of producing his own epicthe Sandover trilogyand Elizabeth Bishop, whose humanity he admires. "Occasions" includes several unusual smaller piecesfor instance, an essay on Corot. The volume ends with three short stories not readily available. Recommended for larger general collections and for the specialist.Walter Waring, Emeritus Prof. of English, Kalamazoo Coll., Mich.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.