Offered in homage to American poet Donald Justice, this book contains memoirs, reviews, and assessments of Justice’s work from friends, critics, and poets. The retrospections and essays focus attention on Justice’s singular talents, his poems, and the teaching skills that have made him one of the most influential poets of the last fifty years.
While not the subject of exhaustive academic criticism, Justice has nonetheless had the close attention of some astute reviewers. Certain Solitudes: On the Poetry of Donald Justice includes an extensive selection of contemporary reviews that chronicle his career. Reviews include Howard Nemerov, Irvin Ehrenpreis, and Derek Mahon.
In twelve memoirs, poets such as W.D. Snodgrass, Mark Strand, Philip Booth, and Jorie Graham make outstanding contributions toward Justice’s literary biography. They cover his years in graduate school, his time at Syracuse and Iowa, and his years in Florida. Seven essays, from writers like Robert Mezey, Bruce Bawer, and Richard Howard analyze Justice’s mastery of languages, his influences, and his themes.
Through these reminiscences, reviews, memoirs, and critical studies, the editors have afforded readers a broad and balanced picture of this Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, a writer many consider to be a central conscience of the late twentieth century.