Mindfield

This first major volume by Corso in eight years includes selections from six previous collections, ranging from The Vestal Lady on Brattle (1955) to Herald of the Autochthonic Spirit (1981), plus 23 previously uncollected poems spanning his entire career (including five dated 1989). Corso's three most memorable poems--"Marriage," "Bomb," and "Elegiac Feelings American"--are included, along with others that will remind readers of Corso's lyric grace and ability to view life with enthusiasm and humor bordering on self-mockery, no matter what the cost. Even the topicality of many poems, which would date the work of lesser poets, is given continual freshness by Corso's startling imagery. Line drawings by the author, embodying the same innocence as the poems, are a perfect complement. Essential.
- Rochelle Ratner, formerly Poetry Editor, "Soho Weekly News," New York