The Dolphin

Two Versions, 1972-1973

Fiction & Literature, Poetry, American
Cover of the book The Dolphin by Robert Lowell, Farrar, Straus and Giroux
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Robert Lowell ISBN: 9780374719975
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux Publication: December 10, 2019
Imprint: Farrar, Straus and Giroux Language: English
Author: Robert Lowell
ISBN: 9780374719975
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication: December 10, 2019
Imprint: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Language: English

I have sat and listened to too many
words of the collaborating muse,
and plotted perhaps too freely with my life,
not avoiding injury to others,
not avoiding injury to myself—
to ask compassion . . . this book, half fiction,
an eelnet made by man for the eel fighting
my eyes have seen what my hand did.

Winner of the 1974 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry, The Dolphin was controversial from the beginning: many of the poems include the letters that Robert Lowell’s wife, the celebrated writer and critic Elizabeth Hardwick, wrote to him after he left her for the English socialite and writer Caroline Blackwood. He was warned by many, among them Elizabeth Bishop, that “art just isn’t worth that much.” Nevertheless, these poems are a powerful document of an impulsive love, and a moving record of Lowell’s change from one life and marriage in America to a new life on new terms with a new family in England, rendered with the stunning technical power and control for which he was so celebrated. This new edition, which follows the 1973 edition, includes scans of the pages of Lowell’s original manuscript, giving us a look into the brilliant and complicated mind of one of our most beloved and distinguished poets.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

I have sat and listened to too many
words of the collaborating muse,
and plotted perhaps too freely with my life,
not avoiding injury to others,
not avoiding injury to myself—
to ask compassion . . . this book, half fiction,
an eelnet made by man for the eel fighting
my eyes have seen what my hand did.

Winner of the 1974 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry, The Dolphin was controversial from the beginning: many of the poems include the letters that Robert Lowell’s wife, the celebrated writer and critic Elizabeth Hardwick, wrote to him after he left her for the English socialite and writer Caroline Blackwood. He was warned by many, among them Elizabeth Bishop, that “art just isn’t worth that much.” Nevertheless, these poems are a powerful document of an impulsive love, and a moving record of Lowell’s change from one life and marriage in America to a new life on new terms with a new family in England, rendered with the stunning technical power and control for which he was so celebrated. This new edition, which follows the 1973 edition, includes scans of the pages of Lowell’s original manuscript, giving us a look into the brilliant and complicated mind of one of our most beloved and distinguished poets.

More books from Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Cover of the book The Pine Barrens by Robert Lowell
Cover of the book American Originality by Robert Lowell
Cover of the book A Change of Skin by Robert Lowell
Cover of the book The Young Unicorns by Robert Lowell
Cover of the book King by Robert Lowell
Cover of the book The Language of Passion by Robert Lowell
Cover of the book The Elizabethans by Robert Lowell
Cover of the book Imperium by Robert Lowell
Cover of the book The Modern Temper by Robert Lowell
Cover of the book Bastard Tongues by Robert Lowell
Cover of the book Omeros by Robert Lowell
Cover of the book The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick by Robert Lowell
Cover of the book A Massacre in Memphis by Robert Lowell
Cover of the book Rules for 50/50 Chances by Robert Lowell
Cover of the book False Papers by Robert Lowell
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy