Collected poems, 1931-1974

by Lawrence Durrell, James A. Brigham (Editor)

Book by Durrell, Lawrence

Genres: Poetry

350 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1957

About the author

Lawrence George Durrell was a critically hailed and beloved novelist, poet, humorist, and travel writer best known for The Alexandria Quartet novels, which were ranked by the Modern Library as among the greatest works of English literature in the twentieth century. A passionate and dedicated writer from an early age, Durrell’s prolific career also included the groundbreaking Avignon Quintet, whose first novel, Monsieur (1974), won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, and whose third novel, Constance (1982), was nominated for the Booker Prize. He also penned the celebrated travel memoir Bitter Lemons of Cyprus (1957), which won the Duff Cooper Prize. Durrell corresponded with author Henry Miller for forty-five years, and Miller influenced much of his early work, including a provocative and controversial novel, The Black Book (1938). Durrell died in France in 1990.

The time Lawrence spent with his family, mother Louisa, siblings Leslie, Margaret Durrell, and Gerald Durrell, on the island of Corfu were the subject of Gerald's memoirs and have been filmed numerous times for TV.

Reviews

[Jonfaith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection avoided my expectations. I was looking to loop this into my general reading of the Mediterranean and the peripatetic poetics of Patrick Leigh Fermor. Something went amiss. Somehow the themes of Durrell's verse failed to connect with me. His prowess as an author has always impressed me, though his willingness to provoke for the sake of transgression appeared a bit petulant. I liked his asides on Byron and Cavafy as well as his Hamlet-as-Christ but the other sections often appeared forced or artificial.

[Rupert Owen · Rating 1 out of 5]

This collection was part of a revised edition of Faber & Faber publications collated by Durrell in a casual fashion. Having enjoyed Durrell's prose, I thought I might dip into his poetry. Not for me, I'm afraid. To be perfectly honest, I needed heavy annotation with these poems, not just a dictionary. Either by Lawrence or someone else. Much of the geographical, mythological, political, historical linguistic referencing was lost on me. I also found the surrounding metaphor or lyrical symbolism too fragmented and oblique to get a satisfactory feeling or picture of each poem's purpose. I noticed that when I did reach for my dictionary, pretty much all the words I found myself looking up were technical terms. Each time I ran aground on a word, it was a technical definition. It made me wonder if Lawrence purposefully chose these technical words to sound cleverer or to make the poem sound more meaningful because in most cases they clashed with the other words used and frankly could have been substituted with better choices. The verse feels stilted, overly constructed and if I have to be honest, somewhat affected. This left me quite detached from it. By page 251, I found a couple of notable but whimsical poems I liked but nothing to quote.

[scarlettraces]

Not this edition - 2nd edition of the collected poems, published 1960.

Um, kind of more relatable than I was expecting?

[AL · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you enjoy his poetic prose, these poems will satisfy your expectations. Durrell is just a master of his craft, certainly augmented by his unique life experiences. A truly unique writer worthy of repeated reading and scrutiny.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

His poetry recalls Cavafy's mood and beauty. Excellent, thorough collection.

[carl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found Durrell to be just as at home in poetry as he is in his prose. If you enjoyed Alexandria Quartet you will like this.

[Rajesh]

Didn't finish entirely, but got a 100-page sampling. I guess I like his novels MUCH better than his poetry. I was hoping for something Robinson Jeffers-esque.