Vain Empires

by William Logan

In words that are both disturbing and intense, a collection of poetry finds the Roman poet Ovid in London, Romeo and Juliet in Florida, and vanity corrupting everything in its path from the classical period to the Age of Television. Original.

Genres: Poetry

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

William Logan is Alumni/ae Professor at the University of Florida. He is the author of seven books of criticism, most recently Dickinson’s Nerves, Frost’s Woods: Poetry in the Shadow of the Past (Columbia, 2018), and eleven books of poetry. Logan has won the inaugural Randall Jarrell Award in Poetry Criticism, the Aiken Taylor Award in Modern American Poetry, the Staige D. Blackford Prize for Nonfiction, the Allen Tate Prize, and the National Book Critics Circle Award in Criticism.

Reviews

[C. Varn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Logan's exploration of the futility of time and political ambition fits his cranky perspective and critical persona. In these themes and the use of classical motifs and references in even the seedy and declined parts of America, Logan's moral intelligence and his critical judgment seem to be a gift to his precision of language, where on other things, sometimes Logan can feel profoundly airless and cheerless. Here he shines and his caustic sight and formal power feel at his most relevant. Excellent.

[Donald]

My favorite Logan poetry book so far. Logan is not only a poet and critic but a scholar also,
with a wide range of interests and subjects. I particularly liked "Keats in India." He often
brings an interesting slant to a historic situation or personage. I recently saw him read at
an informal venue and was impressed by the modesty of the man. Knowing of his acerbic critical
works, I expected a different type of person.

I've read "Vain Empires,", "Night Battle,: and "Madam X," his latest. I would recommend any of these.