Selected Poems 1956-1994 (Oxford Poets)

From early work on Australian suburbs to the more public and international playfulness of his contemporary poetry, Chris Wallace-Crabbe has selected poems from eleven collections published between 1959 and 1993 for this book. The poet sought to include poems that, in the mind of his friends, critics, and not least, himself, still "worked." He also intended this selection to bear witness of his past selves in poetry. The poems trace an arc from his life in Australia to the "combination of seriousness and decorative hedonism" found in his poetry today. The result is a fascinating overview of a poet whose style reveals the depth, joy, and fragility of language.