Hard to believe! Robert Penn Warren died in 1989, I believe, so his poems in Rumor Verified: Poems 1979-1980 are obviously from later in his lifetime. As such, they touch upon many themes one would expect from a talented man looking back over his life. Themes of death, fear, questioning one's life and truth run through all of the chapters, not just the ones the titles explain. It doesn't seem to be a book many people have read, and sadly in 2008, looking on Amazon, I'm not seeing a lot of his poetry available in print/new form. It would be very sad to see all of his work, especially his poetry lost in the shuffle of All the King's Men. Like Seinfeld would say, "not that there's anything wrong with it." It's just that there is so much more to the body of his work, and this book of poetry is no exception. I felt wistful as I read a new poem every morning and every night (which is how I "read" a whole book of poetry. Poetry is like very rich chocolate truffles and should really be savored one at a time to get the full impact, I believe. I think of fiction more as "real food" that's best eaten in large chunks -- like meals.) In any event, like most of Penn Warren's poetry, this book is highly recommended, especially for anyone grappling with life changes or getting older. ( )