Amy Clampitt, Collected Poems

Celeste Goodridge (Bowdoin College)
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Published in 1997, three years after the poet's death in 1994,

The Collected Poems of Amy Clampitt

includes the five volumes of poetry Clampitt published during the last eleven years of her life:

The Kingfisher

(1983),

What the Light Was Like

(1985),

Archaic Figure

(1987),

Westward

(1990) and

A Silence Opens

(1994). Clampitt, a major voice in contemporary American poetry, occupies an increasingly secure place in the canon; she might best be described as a late romantic who is thoroughly engaged with her own historical circumstances. As Bonnie Costello maintains: “Clampitt has absorbed the art of her predecessors, while turning her gaze and adapting her skill to the particular urgencies of her time and place.“

In all of her volumes we encounter the same thematic concerns. From poems

787 words

Citation: Goodridge, Celeste. "Collected Poems". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 January 2001 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=5842, accessed 19 March 2024.]

5842 Collected Poems 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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