SOURCE: Evans, Elizabeth. “‘Expensive Commodities’: The Poems.” In May Sarton, Revisited, pp. 77-112. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1989.

In the following essay, Evans surveys the defining themes of Sarton's poetry and discusses her perception of the role of the poet.

Poems are, May Sarton wrote to Louise Bogan in 1955, “expensive commodities, as you well know” (Manuscript letter, 12 October 1955).¹ In 1937 Sarton published her first book of poems, Encounter in April; her most recent, a chapbook entitled The Phoenix Again in 1987; and The Silence Now in 1988. This half century for Sarton has brought forth some sixteen volumes of poetry, a body of work characterized by effective themes, diverse subject matter, and varied poetic forms. Consistently, she has declared that poetry is more important to her than the novels, memoirs, or journals. To poetry she would give her attention and in poetry she would prefer her reputation to be. Such has not...