This selection, which is drawn from Pulitzer Prize–winning poet Anne Sexton's ten published volumes of poems as well as from representative early and last work, is an ideal introduction to a great American master.
ANNE SEXTON (1928–1974) was an American poet known for her highly personal, confessional verse. A celebrated poet of mid- twentieth century America, Sexton’s impressive body of work continues to be widely read and debated by literary scholars and cultural critics alike. Her poetry explored the many paradoxes within human behavior and motivation.
Anne Sexton (1928-1974) was born in Newton, Massachusetts. On the advice of her therapist, she began writing poetry in 1957 and soon established herself and developed her distinctive voice. She was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1967. She committed suicide in 1974.
Diane Wood Middlebrook is the author of several volumes of poetry and criticism as well as the prizewinning bestseller Anne Sexton: A Biography. The recipient of many fellowships and awards, she is a professor emeritus at Stanford University, where she has also served as the director of the center for research on women.
"The editors of this Selected Poems have carefully chipped away at the block of marble and revealed the true figure of Sexton's work: haunted, plaintive, raucous, as often exuberantly witty as it is afflicted." -- J. D. McClatchy "This selected edition of Sexton's poems, arranged chronologically and enhanced by an insightful introduction, will make her work accessible not only to students but to readers everywhere." -- Maxine Kumin —
