SOURCE: "The Leaf-Caught World," in Louise Bogan: A Portrait, Alfred A. Knopf, 1985, pp. 108-30.

In the following excerpt, Frank analyzes the poems collected in Dark Summer.

The poems in Dark Summer are arranged in a loosely chronological sequence. The first section contains poems published for the most part between 1924 and 1927, and is followed by a section devoted to "The Flume," the long poem written in the summer of 1924. The third section consists of a selection of poems from Body of This Death, and is followed by a group of poems "in a later mood." The final section is again devoted to a single long poem, "Summer Wish," which Bogan finished just before she and Holden moved into the Hillsdale house in May 1929. Between the earlier and later groups it is difficult to single out strong differences. The earlier poems emphasize change, the later ones fulfillment, but both groups...