First Printing, second edition. 50pp. The original manuscript (1962) was cancelled because of some objections to the language and was printed a year later by Random House. The author refused to make changes and refrained from publishing again for 16 years. Scarce.
I'm the sort who begins with a language of contempt as a novice, then a language of praise as a journeyman. I'm reasonably comfortable enough with poetry to confidently ascertain what I don't like, but not yet to wholly appreciate what I like.
Seidel is a poet I like very much. He might be my favourite. This, his controversial breakout, is good. How good? I'm not certain. I don't have yet enough points of reference or comparison. That is something that requires much, much more reading. Maybe next year I'll be able to describe precisely why or how it is that I enjoy Seidel in a language that is confident and precise, but for now I can settle for "I enjoyed this."