The Loves and Love Poems of Edna St. Vincent Millay
By Daniel Mark Epstein
Even those who rely on poetry to cure insomnia may reconsider after reading the desire-drenched verse of Edna St. Vincent Millay, who, Epstein argues, is "America's foremost love poet." Epstein uncovers the real-life love affairs that inspired Millay, a sensual redhead who sparked the passions of both men and women until her death in 1950 at age 58. As a Vassar undergrad, Millay pursued her sex life "with gusto, with ingenuity, with a vengeance," Epstein writes. Graduation only widened her horizons, and the resulting heat ignited her poetry. "Let us pour all our passion; breast to breast/ Let other overs lie, in rest; Not we," she writes in Second April.) Weaving Millay's works and private letters with his own insights, Epstein creates a rendering worthy of the poet's energetic life. (Holt, $26)
Bottom Line: A lust cause
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