Library Journal
Best known to general readers as the author of I, Claudius and Goodbye to All That , his superb memoir of World War II, Graves is an important figure in 20th-century literature. The letters collected here show his interests as a novelist, poet, and mythographer (his eccentric study of Greek myths still makes good reading). Although not a major poet, he was far from an amateur; Poems About War , an uneven volume that includes drafts, contains memorable work comparing favorably with, for example, Wilfred Owen's masterpieces. The selected correspondence will appeal especially to scholars, while the volume of poetry belongs in all collections of serious literature. See also Volume 2 of Richard Graves's biography, Robert Graves: The Years with Laura, 1926-40, reviewed in this issue, p. 100.--Ed.-- Vincent D. Balitas, Allentown Coll., Center Valley, Pa.