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Collected Poems (I)
The poems have also been arranged, according to Durrell, 'not according to chronology but in what I hope is the most easily readable form.' Chronological order was fully restored in the third version of the Collected Poems, edited by James A. Brigham, and readers seeking the most complete volume of Durrell's poetry should turn to it first. However, weighing Durrell's own views on his poetry makes reading through this first version quite interesting, especially for those who view his poetry as being equal to his novels and travel writing. The sources for these poems, as listed by Durrell, are:
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Selected
by Durrell and excluding almost everything published before 1943s
A Private Country, this first version of the Collected
Poems was published at the height of Durrell's post-Alexandria
Quartet fame, in the same year as Clea. Therefore nearly
twenty years worth of poetry balance out the rich and luscious
backdrop of the Quartet. Durrell notes that 'Nothing has been
included from the two earliest pamphlets. I date my poetic appearance
from the publications of A Private Country...'