Alvarez seeks to connect the work of poetry with the work of politics. She explores in this book and in the body of her work the function of poetry and fiction in contemporary society. Historically, poets have played powerful roles in the formation and preservation of homelands both as the instigators of revolutions and as celebrators of the status quo. One thinks, for instance, in the English tradition, of Edmund Spenser; William Shakespeare; John Dryden; and Alfred, Lord Tennyson. The intersection of poetry and politics can provide a wonderful and fruitful context for research and discussion. In addition, this novel has much to say about the relation between a poet's personal life and passions and the role she is expected to fulfill as a national spokesperson. Thus the tension between the private and public lives of poets (and other artists) would be a useful area to...