Selected Prose

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Selected Prose contains a broad selection of texts by internationally acclaimed poet and critic John Ashbery. This third collection of Ashbery's critical writings dramatically expands the terrain covered by the first two, Reported Sightings: Art Chronicles 1957-1987 and Other Traditions (first presented as the Norton Lectures at Harvard in 1989-90). These essays on writers, artists, filmmakers, and the life of a poet provide insight into Ashbery's evolution as one of the major poets in English. Ashbery's unique sensibility has had a profound impact on the literature and arts of our time, and his influence is certain to be felt for decades to come. Editor Eugene Richie's introduction explores the poetic and cultural context of fifty years' worth of prose by one of America's finest poets.

SYNOPSIS