Selected Poems [Paperback]

Poet, short story writer, critic and novelist, Conrad Aiken (1889-1973) has been called the most metaphysical, the most learned, and the most modern of poets. With writing that reflects an intense interest in psychological, philosophical, and scientific issues, Aiken remains a unique influence upon modern writers and critics today. In his lifetime, Aiken received many awards including the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1930 and the National Book Award for Poetry in 1954. He served as the Consultant in Poetry at the Library of Congress from 1950-1952.

Selected Poemscontains Aiken's own choice of the best and most representative of his poems, spanning more than forty years of his work. Harold Bloom has contributed a new Foreword to reintroduce Aiken to a new generation of readers. The inclusion of several pivotal poems from previous editions broadens the scope of the work to represent Aiken's legacy.

If you read and enjoy Conrad Aiken, then you have been in search of authentic poetry, and you have found it. --from the Foreword by Harold Bloom

This new, shapely edition of the poetry of Conrad Aiken is an invitation for us to listen to him again and perhaps this time to hear beneath the romantic nuances of his music a distinct and emphatically modern voice. --Billy Collins, Poet Laureate

Conrad Aikenis an American poet, short story writer, critic and novelist.Harold Bloomis the author of several books, includingThe Anxiety of Influence,A Map of Misreading, and most recently,Genius. He is Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale University and Berg Professor of English at NYU.