The World Below the Window: Poems 1937-1997(Johns Hopkins: Poetry and Fiction)

The poems included in the "The world below the window", carefully selected by William Jay Smith, cover the entire career of one of America's acknowledged masters, a writer who deftly defies categorization. Smith melds an array of influence - from French symbolists to W.H. Auden and Wallace Stevens - into his own unmistakable voice, moving powerfully from the compressed, dark lyrics of his pre-war poetry ("Quail in Autumn") to experiments with a long free-verse line in the 1960's ("The Tin Can"). Here are memorable lyrics that capture the horror of World War II ("Dark Valentine: war poems") and hilarious light verse ("The tall poets") that exhibits the wit that has always enlivened even Smith's darkest works. Previously uncollected recent poems reveal the poet's tremendous range as he moves from discussing the ironies of age in "The shipwreck" to the dramatic intensity of "The Indian removal", a series of poems dealing with the forced removal of Indian tribes east of the Mississippi.

About the Author :
Author of more than fifty books of poetry, children's verse, literary criticism, translation, and memoirs, and editor of several influential anthologies, William Jay Smith served as Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress (a position now called Poet Laureate) from 1968 to 1970. His memoir, 'Army Brat', was praised by Eudora Welty and Ralph Ellison, among many others, and his translations have won awards from the French Academy, the Swedish Academy, and the Hungarian government. Two of his ten collections of poetry were final contenders for the National Book Award. His prize-winning children's verse is collected in 'Laughing Time: Collected Nonsense.' Poet-in-residence at Williams College from 1951 to 1961 and chairman of the Writing Division of the School of the Arts at Columbia University from 1973 to 1975, he is Professor Emeritus of English at Hollins College. A member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters since 1975 and its former Vice President for Literature, he divides his time between Cummington, Massachusetts, and Paris.

Review :
"The World below the Window... provides a welcome and generous retrospective of Smith's 'adult' work, which from its beginning has been defined by a passionate and deeply informed commitment to traditional rhymed metrical-stanzaic forms... That Smith has written poems replete with rhythm, rhyme, wit, and melody... is cause for celebration, homage, and gratitude." -- Elizabeth Frank, The Atlantic Monthly "The World below the Window: Poems 1937-1997 offers work by a very serious poet indeed. Serious, but not ponderous, never pretentious. Smith's career has been devoted to the poetry of ordinary events, deep feelings, and clarity. His touch is light and bittersweet; he plays the black keeys adroitly without neglecting the call of mundane joys... we would be diminished without the music and melancholy of such sweet lines." -- Fredric Koeppel, Memphis Commercial Appeal "This fine collection of poems written from 1937 to 1997 is a carefully selected sampling of his highly original and varied art... These are fine poems from an American master and deserve a place in any library." -- Library Journal "Throughout this summary of a formidable career, Smith's images reveal the inescapability of memory, testifying to its enduring capacity to affirm the power of the imagination." -- Publishers Weekly " "The World below the Window: Poems 1937-1997" offers work by a very serious poet indeed. Serious, but not ponderous, never pretentious. Smith's career has been devoted to the poetry of ordinary events, deep feelings, and clarity. His touch is light and bittersweet; he plays the black keeys adroitly without neglecting the call of mundane joys... we would be diminished without the music and melancholy of such sweet lines."--Fredric Koeppel, "Memphis Commercial Appeal" "The World below the Window... provides a welcome and generous retrospective of Smith's 'adult' work, which from its beginning has been defined by a passionate and deeply informed commitment to traditional rhymed metrical-stanzaic forms... That Smith has written poems replete with rhythm, rhyme, wit, and melody... is cause for celebration, homage, and gratitude." -- Elizabeth Frank, The Atlantic Monthly "The World below the Window: Poems 1937-1997 offers work by a very serious poet indeed. Serious, but not ponderous, never pretentious. Smith's career has been devoted to the poetry of ordinary events, deep feelings, and clarity. His touch is light and bittersweet; he plays the black keeys adroitly without neglecting the call of mundane joys... we would be diminished without the music and melancholy of such sweet lines." -- Fredric Koeppel, Memphis Commercial Appeal "This fine collection of poems written from 1937 to 1997 is a carefully selected sampling of his highly original and varied art... These are fine poems from an American master and deserve a place in any library." -- Library Journal "Throughout this summary of a formidable career, Smith's images reveal the inescapability of memory, testifying to its enduring capacity to affirm the power of the imagination." -- Publishers Weekly