Review by Booklist Review
Poe is so frequently reprinted that another selection can't possibly seem fresh. Reading him with the guidance of Wilbur, however, helps one think about him again. Wilbur has championed Poe before, and one of the best earlier Poe selections-with-comment was Wilbur's in the 1960s paperback Laurel poets series. Wilbur wants Poe to be appreciated as a transcendental cosmic theorist and "the most difficult of the symbolist writers of his century," and he appends selections from Poe's writings about poetics to help understanding of his cosmology and discusses some of Poe's most intense stories to exemplify his symbolism. The poems, presented chronologically, show again what a young prodigy Poe was, formulating his poetic thought while still in his teens, and what a sonorous Romantic musician he became. --Ray Olson Copyright 2003 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
