"It is our good luck that one of Britain's most gifted poets was invited, shortly before his death, to set forth his views of poetry's present estate. Edwin Muir was a man of letters in a great tradition, and one whose own life was affected by many of the stresses of our time. What he has to say about the place of his art in society is especially cogent and free from can't . . . Muir's greatest gift was the ability to refashion from the fragmented modern world a sense of the unity and continuity of life."--Daniel G. Hoffman, "Saturday Review "These amiable statements are valuable for the light they shed on poetry and for their revelation of the belief of an important poet."--"Library Journal