The definitive edition of an outstanding contemporary poet's work, the Collected Poems gathers together all of James Schuyler's published collections, including the long-out-of-print Freely Espousing (1969), The Crystal Lithium (1972), and Hymn to Life (1974), as well as poems from The Home Book (1977) and other small-press editions. It closes with a substantial group of previously uncollected poems. This compendium allows us to see the full range of Schuyler's achievement, confirming the widely held view that his is among this century's most vital and distinctive poetic careers.