Robert Lowell (1917–1977)

This is a book I'll keep dipping into in front of the fire, the poems at hand, without concern for finishing.

Not a surprise due to their close friendship, but this is undeniably influenced by Elizabeth Bishop, especially toward the latter end of Life Studies. Skunk Hour and Night Sweat are the stars of the show in my opinion... how can you beat the subtle sorrow of "I dabble in the dapple of the day"?

3.75 because I'm feeling #pretentious.

So masterful of rhythm, sound, and allusional texture that I hardly ever cared to know the meaning. This is what Stevens would have been if he'd been good at the technical aspects of poetry.

I have never read correspondence before (except in epistolary novels) so I was pleasantly surprised by how readable it was. These letters cover a 30 year span which allows the reader to really get to know Bishop and Lowell. I would recommend either reading their poetry first or having it handy to refer to as (not surprisingly) there are a lot of references to specific poems (even to specific lines or words in the poems).