From Publishers Weekly
Much of the warmth and literary force in this brief book is due to the remarkable poet Denise Levertov. So great was her energy and life force, even in her early 70s, that the writer's friends were shocked by her sudden death last year. Levertov and Williams began corresponding when Levertov was still in her 20s and Williams already a sixtyish veteran of the modernist scene, yet it was clear who was teaching whom: a woman of powerful certainties, Levertov soon had Williams altering lines in his published plays. In one 1960 letter, he writes after her visit, "Your criticism of my own shortcomings is noted. I'll pay attention to what you say." And he soon became a one-man cheering section for her accomplishments; after recommending her three times for Guggenheim Fellowships, he crowed when she finally won in 1962: "No one ever deserved a Gug more than you!" Their letters do not consist only of literary matters; the poets also discussed the basic enjoyment of life?as when Levertov advises the elder poet, "Did you ever see N.Y. from one of the really high buildings? It's worth doing." Also "worth doing" as a life-enhancing experience is reading this charming and affectionate correspondence. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Book Description
"The Letters of Denise Levertov and William Carlos Williams" is the most engaging and lively of their literary correspondences--at once a portrait of two geniuses, the testimony of their remarkable friendship, and a seedbed of ideas about American poetry. With a 1951 fan letter, the young British poet introduced herself to Williams, declaring: "If a man is a force in one's life [and] is felt to enter the fabric of one's thinking & feelings & one's way of trying to work, he certainly ought to know it. So, thank you." The correspondence begins in Levertov's twenties as her first books appear in the US. By 1959, Williams in congratulating Levertov on her growth: "this book challenge[s] me so that I am glad I am not younger....You have not always written so excellently....I am going to read these first half-dozen poems--maybe more--until as an old man I have penetrated to where your secret is his." The letters also chronicle their search (individually and together) for a set of formal poetic principles, a search which culminated for Levertov in 1965, when she coined the term "organic form." The warmth, the directness,, the flavorsome individuality of the letters--thirty-three from Levertov and thirty-one from Williams--increased with their growing intimacy and mutual regard. Always intriguing, their independent-minded letters, which end with the elder poet's death in 1962, have great piquancy and charm. Denise Levertov herself initiated this project, and was then, in the year before her death, "fascinated to read the exchange." Professor Christopher MacGowan, who edited the definitive "Collected Poems of William Carlos Williams," contributes a superb introduction and intriguing annotations throughout. As James Laughlin, founder of New Directions, said: "For me Denise Levertov is the best of the organic form poets. She has that so important ability that Williams had: she knows where to end the line....Almost immediately she figured out from Williams how to write good free verse."

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The Letters of Denise Levertov and William Carlos Williams is the most engaging and lively of literary correspondences - at once a portrait of two geniuses, the testimony of their remarkable friendship, and a seedbed of ideas about American poetry. With a 1951 fan letter, the young British poet introduced herself to Williams, and by 1959, Williams is congratulating Levertov on her growth. The letters also chronicle their search (individually and together) for a set of formal poetic principles, a search which culminated for Levertov in 1965, when she coined the term "organic form." The warmth, the directness, the flavorsome individuality of the letters - 34 from Levertov and 42 from Williams - increased with their growing intimacy and mutual regard. Always intriguing, their independent-minded letters, which end with the elder poet's death in 1962, have great piquancy and charm. Denise Levertov herself initiated this project, and was then, in the year before her death, "fascinated to read the exchange." This edition also includes the correspondence between Levertov and Williams's widow Florence. Professor Christopher MacGowan, the noted Williams scholar, contributes a superb introduction and informative annotations throughout.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Much of the warmth and literary force in this brief book is due to the remarkable poet Denise Levertov. So great was her energy and life force, even in her early 70s, that the writer's friends were shocked by her sudden death last year. Levertov and Williams began corresponding when Levertov was still in her 20s and Williams already a sixtyish veteran of the modernist scene, yet it was clear who was teaching whom: a woman of powerful certainties, Levertov soon had Williams altering lines in his published plays. In one 1960 letter, he writes after her visit, "Your criticism of my own shortcomings is noted. I'll pay attention to what you say." And he soon became a one-man cheering section for her accomplishments; after recommending her three times for Guggenheim Fellowships, he crowed when she finally won in 1962: "No one ever deserved a Gug more than you!" Their letters do not consist only of literary matters; the poets also discussed the basic enjoyment of life--as when Levertov advises the elder poet, "Did you ever see N.Y. from one of the really high buildings? It's worth doing." Also "worth doing" as a life-enhancing experience is reading this charming and affectionate correspondence. (Nov.)

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