"No practicing poet has more talent than Robert Hass."-Atlantic Monthly Praise for his previous book20th Century Pleasures: "Here [is] the prose of an intelligent man who wishes to serve poetry-not appropriate it or crow over it or show off at its expense-and this is a rare enough experience to arouse gratitude and admiration."-Times Literary Supplement "[Hass'] final intention is not merely to judge but to give a picture of the writer's mind . . . Mr. Hass believes that poetry is what defines the self, and it is his ability to describe that process that is the heart of this book's pleasure."-The New York Times Book Review