Into My Own: The English Years of Robert Frost, 1912-1915

Robert Frost wrote much of the poetry on which his reputation rests in the space of two years (Oct. 1912-Dec. 1914) while living in England. How a pistol-packing New England poultry farmer in his late 30s, a poet of relentless, superficial brooding, transformed himself into a virtuoso of dramatic narratives and mature nature lyrics is the mystery explored in this gracefully written study. Walsh ( The Hidden Life of Emily Dickinson ) argues on the basis of tantalizing if inconclusive evidence that most of the longer poems Frost wrote in England were continuations of early drafts brought over from America. While his wife Elinor suffered debilitating nervous breakdowns, Frost pursued his dream of total freedom and creative isolation. Walsh illumines the struggling poet's strange friendships with haughty, posturing Ezra Pound and sentimental versifier Wilfrid Gibson, as well as his tutelage of English poet Edward Thomas, who blossomed under Frost's influence. (Nov.)