In The Seven Deadly Sins and Other Poems, veteran poet David R. Slavitt touches on topics from the mundane to the mysterious with his signature wit and intelligence. In "Stupid," for instance, he transforms a simple head cold into an appreciation for the richness of consciousness, and in "Waking," the very effort of rising from bed becomes something like a miracle: "I heave myself up to a sitting position, pause / a moment, and am amazed by what I have done. . . ." Slavitt explores the range of the human condition with such ease and insight that readers cannot help but ponder what life is--and what it could be. What if--like the mythic sea creature in "The Dogfish"--humans could return to the womb when frightened? In the collection's title poem, Slavitt gives a voice to the Seven Deadly Sins, each of which claims, persuasively, to possess a value to humans that is seldom noticed or appreciated. Slavitt has a unique ability to examine an idea--be it virtue or vice, dark or blithe--and offer perspective and wisdom about the conundrums of our existence.

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David R. Slavitt does not believe in literary criticism so much as in 'remarks', and in this witty and unusual work, he remarks on the life of the poet: how it was - and how it is - to be an American writer in our time. Combining personal reminiscence with deft literary analysis, incisive biographical sketches, and, sometimes, literary gossip, the essays in "Re Verse" give new perspectives on the famous, including Harold Bloom, Robert Penn Warren, Robert Frost, and Stephen Spender, and recover the charms of the nearly forgotten, such as Dudley Fitts, Winfield Townley Scott, Merrill Moore, and John Hall Wheelock. Slavitt writes with self-deprecating humor of his own literary education and uses his impressive experience and erudition to illuminate the whims of poetic influence, passion, and reputation. With a refreshing honesty and considerable poise, he gives readers an enlightening view of the vast and ever-changing literary universe....

In The Seven Deadly Sins and Other Poems, veteran poet David R. Slavitt touches on topics from the mundane to the mysterious with his signature wit and intelligence. In "Stupid," for instance, he transforms a simple head cold into an appreciation for the richness of consciousness, and in "Waking," the very effort of rising from bed becomes something like a miracle: "I heave myself up to a sitting position, pause / a moment, and am amazed by what I have done. . . ." Slavitt explores the range of the human condition with such ease and insight that readers cannot help but ponder what life is--and what it could be. What if--like the mythic sea creature in "The Dogfish"--humans could return to the womb when frightened? In the collection's title poem, Slavitt gives a voice to the Seven Deadly Sins, each of which claims, persuasively, to possess a value to humans that is seldom noticed or appreciated. Slavitt has a unique ability to examine an idea--be it virtue or vice, dark or blithe--and offer perspective and wisdom about the conundrums of our existence.

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Taking its inspiration from Sanders' own autobiography "Memoirs of a Professional Cad" (1960), this book is part witty, bawdy, and irreverent memoir, part moving meditation on the price of fame; like most of David Slavitt's work, it defies easy categorization. In George Sanders, "Zsa Zsa, and Me", Slavitt looks back to his career as a film critic in the glamorous - at least superficially - world of 1950s Hollywood, when he traveled in circles that included the talented British actor George Sanders (1906-1972) and his then-wife, Zsa Zsa Gabor, who was talented at, well, being famous. Sanders, who seemed to maintain an ironic detachment from roles that were often beneath him, nonetheless couldn't bear the decline of his later years and committed suicide at the age of sixty-five. Darkly humorous to the end, his note read, 'Dear World, I am leaving because I am bored. I feel I have lived long enough. I am leaving you with your worries in this sweet cesspool. Good luck'. Zsa Zsa, on the other hand, remains in the headlines (with her dubiously named husband Frederic Prinz von Anhalt) at age ninety-two. Although he punctuates his story with witty asides - the author's encounter with Marilyn Monroe is particularly memorable - Slavitt turns a critic's eye toward questions of talent and art, while also tackling the difficult and universal questions of aging, relationships, and mortality....