With imagination and understanding, Edna St. Vincent Millay portrays people, places, and events in an extraordinarily passionate and moving way.

Among the beloved poems are "Buck in the Snow," "To the Not Impossible Him," "First Fig," "The Snow Storm," "Exiled," "The Little Ghost," and "Renascence," the poem that first brought her to the attention of the world, at age 20.

Many rich emotions are captured in these verses with vivid images and irresistible rhythm.

From the back cover

Edna St. Vincent Millay's poetry is about the wonder and mystery of ordinary life. Her poems seem very simple, but they vividly evoke everyday people and places, moving us not only with insight, power, and passion, but often with a cool wit.

Spend an "Afternoon on a Hill" with her:

I will be the gladdest thing
Under the sun!
I will touch a hundred flowers
And not pick one.

And share memories in "Recuerdo":

We were very tired, we were very merry,
We had gone back and forth all night long on the ferry;
And you ate an apple, and I ate a pear,
From a dozen each we had bought somewhere;
And the sky went wan, and the wind came cold,
And the sun rose dripping, a bucketful of gold.

Her story will inspire you: her impoverished but joyful childhood; her years as a young woman in Greenwich Village trying to get by as an actress and writer; her late nights struggling over poetry, plays, and short stories; her marriage, which brought her the love and freedom that made it possible for her to stay focused on her writing; the Pulitzer Prize she won in 1923; and her other triumphs.

Beautiful illustrations, commissioned especially for his book, and helpful definitions of some words, will give you an even better appreciation of the meaning and thoughts behind the passages.

Here's a superb introduction to the woman many consider one of the greatest American poets, and her work.

From the dust jacket flaps