Summer Unbound and Other Poems

Summer Unbound and Other Poems was first published in 1958.The Amy Lowell Travelling Scholarship Fund made it possible for Mr. Mayo to spend two years recently in England, and it was during this time that most of these poems were written. He has said of this experience: "During my visit I came to love England and the English people very much, but I', not at all sure I understand them any better. I hope some of my affection shows in the poems -- as well as bewilderment."Travel abroad, I have found, tends to intensify one's sense of nationality. It broadens you at least to the extent of helping you realize your own narrowness. At the same time, however, by increasing your detachment, it allows you to see your own nation in a somewhat broader perspective."This is Mr. Mayo's third published collection of poetry. His first, The Diver, was published in 1947 by the University of Minnesota Press. The 45 poems in this volume are grouped under five general headings -- places, letters and encounters, myths and enactments, modes, and considerations. Some of the poems have appeared previously in periodicals, including the Times Literary Supplement (England), Poetry, the New Statesman and Nation (England), Truth (England), and the Nation.