The Collected Poems of Sara Teasdale: Sonnets to Duse and Other Poems, Helen of Troy and Other Poems, Rivers to the Sea, Love Songs, and Flame and Sha

Book excerpt: This sizable anthology contains the finest poems of Sara Teasdale, one of America's best-loved poets and lyricists, combined from a total of five earlier collections. A poorly child, the young Sara was taught at home in St. Louis, Missouri, until she was aged nine and deemed well enough to be educated in school. An introvert, her childhood home and quarters were designed to ensure privacy and solitude. By the time she was in her mid-teens, Sara had demonstrated an affinity for English verse and soon began to write her earliest poems. The five collections which comprise this anthology were published between 1907 and 1920; these were the years in which Sara Teasdale, as a young woman brimming with creative talent, authored her finest works. She won prizes for her poetry, and had soon gained national renown with her collections proving to be popular and much-endeared to the American public.