Sentenced to Life

<p>In this new collection of technically and emotionally heart-stopping poems (<em>Spectator</em>)--including Japanese Maple which was published in <em>The New Yorker</em> to great acclaim--Clive James looks back over an extraordinarily rich life with a clear-eyed and unflinching honesty. There are regrets but no trace of self-pity in these verses which--for all their grappling with death and his current illness--are primarily a celebration of what is treasurable and memorable in our time here.</p><p>Again and again James reminds us that he is not only a poet of effortless wit and lyric accomplishment but also an immensely wise one who delights in using poetic form to bring a razor-sharp focus to his thought. Miraculously these poems see James writing with his insight and energy not only undiminished but positively charged by his situation. The poems of <em>Sentenced to Life</em> represents a career high point from one of the greatest literary intellects of our age.</p>