Robert Mezey is an exquisite poet -- I'd argue the best of the last fifty years. His detail and emotion are so accessible -- his poems touch to the heart immediately. Mezey was a teacher of my father when he attended Fresno State, and thus I was introduced to him through an aged, beautifully bound book called THE LOVEMAKER my father had bought when it first came out -- I count myself lucky I ever saw the book in his collection, otherwise I'm almost positive I would not have heard of him, his books are always in quite a limited print. It took a while getting use to him, but then I read more of his poems in NAKED POETRY, a wonderful anthology, and found those even better. Eventually I found EVENING WIND in a university library, read a four line poem, and was amazed at the effect it had on me and had to go on-line and order a copy of my own immediately. The author has said himself that this is his best work, and I'd be inclined to agree -- though A BOOK OF DYING comes close. Look to this poet for beautiful imagery and soul searching verse. Mezey would probably be called a "confessional poet." And, if you like Philip Levine, there's a good chance you will like Mr. Robert Mezey. Read Mezey, anything of his you can get your hands on -- you won't be disapointed. --Logan Ryan Smith

If you are looking for a collection of Hardy's poetry, look no farther than this collection. The Penguin editors have done an incredible job of organizing the dense, complex body of Hardy's work into a very readable collection. This is more than just a simple "Hardy's greatest hits." Yes, there are the standard favorites here, but there is also an impressive collection of the writer's more obscure work. Reading the entire contents of this book is the best way to see the breadth of Hardy's existential and metaphysical angst.

There is no doubt of Mezey's expertise in poetry. He has edited the definitive editions of both Thomas Hardy's and E.A. Robinson's work. And the man knows more about poetry than most people. But I found his own work to be uneven. The Collected Poems contains some good poetry, and as a whole it is an enjoyable read. But there were sections of the book that didn't seem up to par with the rest. I especially found the clerihews, couplets, and 'prose and cons' to be weak, and they invaded (a little) some of the other sections. Light verse is a joy to read, and a valuable form of poetry, but it seemed to me that Mezey didn't take them serious enough (no pun intended) to make them come off successful. But the first half of the collection I found to be really good. Mezey's Collected Poems is, overall, a good collection, and one worth reading.

Robert Mezey has been a consistent lyric voice in American poetry. His Collected poems bear this out. The lovely "Evening Wind, " the "Slow Sonnet," and many others in the volume demonstrate the consummate feeling that infuse his poems. Mezey combines intense and careful perceptions with a great sense of pace and form. His poems unfold before one. A lovely book!

Robert Mezey has been a consistent voice in contemporary American lyric poetry. His "Collected Poems" bear this out; he develops seamlessly, apparently effortlessly. His lovely "Evening Wind" (also reprinted on the book jacket), and "Slow Sonnet" show the master poet. The poems unfold before us. Mezey has a consummate sense of imagery, timing, meaning; contained by the pace and form of a poem. A lovely book!

Upon reading Robinson's poem Mr. Flood's Party, we found yet another pathetic character relying on unconventional mechanisims to ease the pain. Like Richard Corey, Mr. Eben Flood is hollow inside, an outsider to the world around him. In Robinson's poem, we find him atop a hill while drowning himself in the mixtures of alcohol. There's a sense of dark humor in Eben saying, "Drink to the bird." "He raised up to the light the jug that he had gone so far to fill," This displays the mere fact that the man is in solitude and desperately trying to humor himself in order to fill the void within his existance. We feel that this poem is well written because of the use of dialogue to heighten the interest. The symbolism of opening and shutting doors parallels with the life of Eben Flood and the friends and opportunities he has lost along the way. The techniques of the inconsistant rhyme scheme that Robinson uses craft the demeanor of a drunk.

Robinson's disturbing works are best exemplified in his poem "Richard Cory". Richard Cory, in Robinson's own wods, "was a gentleman from sole to crown/Clean favored, and imperially slim". He represents the perfect gentleman of the era. All of those who knew of him admired and wanted to emulate him, "So on we worked, and waited for the light". They were willing to work for the material possessions which Cory had acheived. However, Robinson ends his work with a grim, chilling turn of events. "And Richard Cory, one calm summer night/Went home and put a bullet through his head". This unexpected conclusion reflects all of Robinson's work in that it is stunningly original, and was ahead of its time. His work seems to foreshadow many of today's publications, in that they reach for a similar effect of shock or surprise (evident in many books and movies). Robinson deviated from the norm, and doing so created an entirely new theme in American literature.

Edwin Arlington Robinson wrote many of the most memorable and heartbreaking poems of the twentieth century, including such masterpieces as "Richard Cory," "Miniver Cheevy," "Reuben Bright," "Ben Jonson Entertains a Man From Stratford," and "Mr. Flood's Party." A master of the Petrarchan sonnet as well as many other metrical and rhymed forms, Robinson had an ear like no other (note the initials of his name), and possessed a unique insight into the sadness and nobility of his fellow human beings. Other poets may instruct and delight us; Robinson also frequently moves us to tears. Robert Mezey, the editor of this volume, has writtten a superb introductory essay, providing the reader with essential and fascinating details about Robinson's life that enhance one's understanding of the poems while setting Robinson's career and remarkable achievement squarely in the context of his times. More importantly, Mezey has expertly chosen the very best of Robinson's poetry for this volume, and he rounds out the selection with excerpts from Robinson's own letters and other writers' critical appraisals of Robinson's work. Included here is a rather wily introduction to Robinson's KING JASPER by Robert Frost, who owed a great debt in his own poetry to Robinson's richly nuanced plain style. Mezey's handsome and wonderfully edited volume is the best introduction available to the work of one of America's greatest and most neglected poets. END