Product Description

This comprehensive and authoritative edition of Robert Frost's poetry brings together the full contents of all eleven of Frost's books of verse - from A Boy's Will to In the Clearing. This handsome volume, comprising more than 350 poems, was prepared under the editorship of Edward Connery Lathem, a Frost scholar and a friend of the poet. In his notes, Mr Lathem records extensive bibliographical information about the publication of Robert Frost's poetry during nearly three-quarters of a century - from 1894, when his first poem appeared in a national publication, to the final volume Frost worked on just before his death in 1963. The editor also carefully traces textual changes that have occurred in the poetry over the years. Robert Frost was not merely one of America's greatest poets; his voice speaks to all men.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #27825 in Books
• Published on: 2001-10-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 638 pages

About the Author
Robert Frost was born in San Francisco in 1874. After the death of his father he moved with his mother and sister to Massachusetts. His first collection, A Boy's Will, was published in 1913. In 1924 he won the first of four Pulitzer Prizes for his fourth book, New Hampshire. In the 1930s, as he became ever more revered, he suffered a series of family tragedies: his youngest child Marjorie died in 1934, his wife Elinor in 1938, and his son Carol in 1940. Another daughter, Irma, suffered from mental illness. Frost's last major collection, A Witness Tree (1942), contains a number of poems reflecting these disasters. In 1957 Robert Frost received honorary degrees from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. He died in January 1963.

Customer Reviews

The Road Less Traveled
"It is absurd to think that the only way to tell if a poem is lasting is to wait and see if it lasts, The reader of good poem can tell the moment it strikes him that he has taken an immortal wound-that he will never get over it...The proof of a poem is not that we have never forgotten it, but we knew at sight we would never forget it."

Robert Frost

I have to admit it! When I first met Robert Frost's poetry in Freshman English class I took an immortal wound-that I will never get over it. Perhaps the then recent memory of the white haired poet who inaugurated Camelot that cold, January day conditioned me to receive the wound. Maybe Fr. Sheridan's teaching opened these poems for me. Most of all, I think that it is the words themselves which have made the poetry of Robert Frost such an important part of my life for almost 35 years.

This complete collection complemented the high school text book to which I had so often referred over the years. Here is the source of lines which I have often quoted. Many family vacations have begun with: "I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep" (Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening).

When my son tries to silence his sister's singing he is reminded that "Of course there must be something wrong In wanting to silence any song" (A Minor Bird).

Here we find philosophical reflections. "Good walls make good neighbors" counters "Something there is that doesn't like a wall" (Mending Wall).

Here "The Death of a Hired Man" challenges us to reflect upon how we value and treat others while "Christmas Trees" reminds us that not all things have prices. Here we are invited to follow the road of the poet who wrote "I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference" (The Road Not Taken).

I have writen just a sampling of the treasures to be found in this collection, but I have written enough. It is now time to indulge again with words I have never forgotten. "I shan't be gone long-You come too." (The Pasture).