Twenty-three new poems, from the first of which the volume draws its title, make up the first two sections of this new collection. The poems range from Conrad Aiken's latest work to an example of his earliest - 'The Tinsel Circuit,' a cycle of poems about vaudeville performers and performances, written but not published in 1916 and re-created by the author in 1961.
In the poems of the last several years, the lyric alternates with the dramatic dialogue, combining to form a new kind of poetic statement, certain aspects of which culminate in the title poem, where the reader will find a mature, rich, and complex analysis of the function and experience of the poet.
Georgia-born poet and novelist Conrad Potter Aiken (1889-1973) wrote poetry, short stories, novels and an autobiography. He won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1930, and served as Poetry Consultant for the Library of Congress from 1950 to 1952.
