Without Saying

In Richard Howards new collection, voices of myth and memory prevail, if only by means of prevarication: the voice of Medeas mother trying to explain her daughters odd behavior to an indiscreet interviewer; or first and last the voice of Henry James, late in life, faced with the disputed prospect of meeting L. Frank Baum and then, later on, managing not only Maeterlincks Blue Bird but his own unruly cast of characters, including Mrs. Wharton and young Hugh Walpole. Richard Howards honors include the Pulitzer Prize, the PEN Medal for Translation, and grants from the Guggenheim and MacArthur foundations.