James laughlin, with this collection, takes his place as one of the most original and accomplished contemporary American poets. With Laughlin, clarity is paramount. He uses no excess decoration. He has been called the best living love poet, celebrating Eros in its many forms. And at eighty years of age he writes of old age and death as few have. In recent years Laughlin has explored new metrical directions, such as the fastpaced colloquial rhythms of personal narrative in Byways, his work-in-progress, now offered in book form for the first time. This last section of The Country Road is notable for the revelation of this form.