Late Romance: Anthony Hecht - A Poet's Life by David Yezzi has given me a starting place for my new relationship with Hecht's poetry. His writings and poems in particular carry an atmospheric mantle, which is deeply moving and based in the experiences of his own life. (More Light, More Light is this reader's favorite so far.)

It is always of interest how a book lands its name, and this one, mercifully, has the explanation given at the very beginning, before Part One. The author, a poet in his own right, observes that Shakespeare and scripture are woven tightly within Hecht's work, and that Hecht himself said like Shakespeare's late romance Tempest's character Ferdinand, he experienced a rebirth through a "late romance." Hecht's marriage to his second wife was the wave that carried him to a rebirth in his career.

To readers, this book is a persuasive encouragement to include and consider the works of this highly regarded poet in their academic and leisure studies. It is well-written and provides endpapers pointing to further research and exploration.

*A sincere thank you to David Yezzi, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and independently review.*

I admit that I have never heard of acclaimed American poet Anthony Hecht (1923-2004) and this excellent biography has inspired me to explore his writing now I have had the chance to explore the life. This is a meticulously researched, detailed, comprehensive and authoritative biography, very well-written, non-judgmental and demonstrating considerable insight. Everything a good biography should be, in fact. Yes, it’s long, but I’m not sure it could have been any shorter and I enjoyed taking my time over it.

LATE ROMANCE is a biography written by David Yezzi to chronicle Anthony Hecht (1923-2004) an American poet and winner of the Pulitzer Prize. I had not heard of Hecht before, and I am so glad to have learned about his life and his background that influenced his writing. I thought this was so well done.

While this book was dense at times, it was super interesting to read about a poet who has clearly been very influential in American literature but that I had never heard about before this. Enjoyable!

I struggled while reading this biography. It advertises itself as an in depth look at the life and poetry of Anthony Hecht, and that it is, perhaps too in depth. It gets so bogged down in repetition that it becomes difficult to continue reading, and I don't feel that enough attention was given to Hecht's work itself. Perhaps it could have benefited from stricter editing and a shorter word count. As it is, it's very arduous to slog through.

Late Romance by David Yezzi is a remarkable book about the poet Anthony Hecht. This biography is interspersed with details from Hecht’s life while including poems that were inspired by his experiences. Hecht served in the infantry during World War II and was present at the liberation of the concentration camps. Images from the war remained with him and he was able to share these experiences and feelings through his written work. What I find truly amazing about this biography is that David Yezzi brings Hecht to life as he details his many ups and downs. At all times David Yezzi treats his subject with a great deal of respect. It is not every biography that brings the subject to life the way this author does. I highly recommend this book to lovers of poetry and biography. Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this digital version.

Late Romance chronicles the life of Anthony Hecht, a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet who passed away in 2004. He would have turned 100 years old this year, and this book was published to commemorate that. He led a very interesting life, and Yezzi gives great detail about his childhood, upbringing, education, and adult life. I hadn't heard of Hecht before reading this book, but I found his life fascinating and would definitely recommend this book to others who enjoy reading biographies. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

Anthony Hecht was a poet who produced a fair number of books of poetry. He was a teacher of hundreds of college and university students and ultimately became the Poet Laureate of the United States.

Tony Hecht suffered from depressions over the years that affected his ability to produce poetry and affected his ability to hold jobs. His first marriage produced two sons and ended in a contentious divorce. His second wife brought him a third son and emotional stability, leading to greater professional success.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley for my honest voluntary review. This book is excessively long and meanders back and forth through time. My opinion is that it desperately needs more editing.