2001 0-7734-7475-7 This work provides a fresh and illuminating approach by combining close analysis and interpretation with a perspective that is not restricted to current post-colonial or even Caribbean readings of Walcott’s work. It explores his poetry in relation to the traditional canon, his departures from the canon and its authors, his critical position in relation to it. It examines the complex relations that his poetic discourse establishes with previous poetic registers, with its own problematic nature, and the interplay of poetic meaning, landscape, and history. Includes an interview with Derek Walcott.