The Collected Poems of James K. Baxter

by James K. Baxter, John Weir (Editor)

A new reissue of the definitive edition of 200 poems chosen from a corpus of 600, the work here ranges across his entire career, both before and after his conversion to Catholicism. This edition includes two poems not in the original, Moss on Plum Branches and A Pair of Sandals , both written
in the week of the poet's death.

Genres: Poetry

688 pages, Hardcover

First published February 26, 1981

About the author

James Keir Baxter was a poet, and is a celebrated figure in New Zealand society.

In his critical study Lives of the Poets, Michael Schmidt defines Baxter's 'Jacobean consonantal rhetoric'.Schmidt has claimed that Baxter was 'one of the most precocious poets of the century' whose neglect outside of New Zealand is baffling. His writing was affected by his alcoholism. His work drew upon Dylan Thomas and Yeats; then on MacNeice and Lowell. Michael Schmidt identifies 'an amalgam of Hopkins, Thomas and native atavisms' in Baxter's 'Prelude N.Z.

Reviews

[Abe Hanara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Highly recommend this book. It is a nice collection of all James K Baxters well published works. He is one of my favourite poets. James K Baxter strikes me as a person acquainted with grief and despair with a demeanor I envisage as aloof to things (in another world). An older friend of mine has met James before numerous times and describes him in this way. He has some very clever views on education and the effects of mainstream education.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

knew the man...sinner..saint....poet..

[Simon Sweetman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard to read a lot of this now but great - the best of it is really great

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Watching Baxter develop from a Dylan Thomas acolyte into his own self is fascinating, as is his embrace of religion and sobriety. As someone else put it here, the great stuff is really great.