Robert Frost: Collected Poems, Prose, and Plays (Library of America) » (1st Edition)

Here is the first authoritative and comprehensive collection of Robert Frost's writings. It brings together in a single volume all the major poetry, all of Frost's dramatic writing, and the most extensive gathering of his prose writings ever published. The core of this collection is the 1949 "Complete Poems of Robert Frost," the last edition supervised by the poet himself—free of the unauthorized editorial changes introduced into subsequent editions. Also included is "In The Clearing" (1962), Frost's final volume of poetry. Verse drawn from letters, articles, pamphlets, and journals makes up the largest selection of uncollected poems ever assembled, including nearly two dozen early works printed here for the first time. The prose section is rich and diverse, presenting many newly discovered or rediscovered pieces, including Frost's written contribution for John F. Kennedy's inauguration, two fascinating 1959 essays on "The Future of Man," and the essays "'Caveat Poeta'" and "The Way There."...A selection of letters represents all of Frost's important comments about prosody, poetics, style, and his theory of 'sentence sounds.'

Library Journal

Never before has there been a more comprehensive collection of Frost in a single volume. Included are all of the plays, a generous selection of prose, all collected poems, and 94 uncollected poems, as well as 17 poems that were previously unpublished. The 1949 Complete Poems is the principle source for the poetry. In The Clearing (1962), as the only subsequent volume Frost published, is given a separate contents entry. Sources are given for all published and unpublished work. The 45 pages of notes cover the "significant differences" between first editions and the Complete Poems, including deleted dedications, notes and dates, and changes in wording. The notes also include helpful definitions and frequent attribution of quotation. Of the prose we are told that most of what is included "bears directly on [Frost's] work as a poet." Many of these texts are based on significant new editorial work by Richardson. Recommended for most collections.-Steven R. Ellis, Pennsylvania State Univ. Libs., State College