Selected Poems

Once the subject of a literary cult, American poet Robinson Jeffers (1887-1962) was later rejected by liberal taste and by the academic establishment. But in the last decade he has found a new audience. His indictments of the modern world are increasingly pertinent; the passion behind his writing, his subtle and strong rhythms and his clearsightedness set him in a class of his own. Colin Falck suggests that the neglect of Jeffers 'may be a measure of the spiritual void at the heart of our culture, and a confirmation of some of his direst insights.' Jeffers's work has an energy and a spiritual intensity which are increasingly rare in poetry. Colin Falck draws mainly from Jeffers's shorter poems for this centenary edition, but also includes an extract from the celebrated translation of Euripides's 'Medea'.