Half-life: Collected Poems 1965-2016 by Frank Bidart

The Collected Poems 1965-2016 by Frank Bidart documents the life's work of one of the most distinguished and storied poets of the 20th century. Spanning five decades, Bidart's collection is a testament to the power of art to confront the complexities of human experience and offers the reader a provocative look at life, death, and the conflicts between reality and desire.

Bidart’s oeuvre is distinguished by a range of poetic forms and styles, from long elegiacs to brief narrative vignettes. His poems are unsettlingly honest and often confront difficult topics, such as grief, mortality, and self-empowerment. Bidweavings of personal and cultural history, the poems of Collected Poems offer a window into the depths of human experience.

Bidart’s poetry is marked by a relentless exploration of moments of pain and beauty, allowing the reader to confront these emotions head on. His first two collections, The Sacrifice and Scorpion Lies, Were, were nothing short of masterful elegies of death and grief which also examined our relationship to time and morality. In his most famous poem, “Dream Song 145”, Bidart explores the bondage between self-harm and creativity, offering a stunning analysis of the human experience through the lens of self-destruction.

Other sections of the collection feature poems that focus on identity, sexuality, and the struggle for identity. In “The Fourth Hour of the Night,” Bidart delves into questions of transgender identity and the nature of sexual desire, offering a nuanced exploration of this oft-neglected issue. The title poem, “Half-Life,” is a powerful meditation on the passage of time and the eternal cycles of life and death.

Through his collection of nearly four hundred poems, Bidart offers a vivid tapestry of suffering, hope, and wonder. His fearless exploration of the human condition feels as relevant and urgent today as it did when he first began writing. Through his unflinching gaze and masterful technique, Bidart has crafted an enduring testament to the power of art. Collected Poems 1965-2016 is a necessary read for those seeking to understand the full breadth of the human experience.