Selected Poems: James K. Baxter

Divided into four stages to reflect the development of James K. Baxter’s work from the 1940s to 1972, this innovative assortment combines the poet’s widely known poems with more unusual and previously unpublished works. Placing these works in the context of global poetic developments during the mid-20th century, the collection showcases Baxter’s preferred position as a principled outsider—covering everything from mythology and religion, memory and death, Maori culture and the New Zealand landscape to travels to India and Japan and protesting the Vietnam War. Indicating the full breadth of Baxter’s writing, the selection pleases and surprises both new readers and those familiar with his poetry.